Jenny Twitchell Kempton facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jenny Twitchell Kempton
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Jenny Twitchell Kempton, 1860
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Jane Elizabeth Twitchell
October 4, 1835 Dublin, New Hampshire, U.S.
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| Died | March 13, 1921 (aged 85) Los Angeles, California
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| Years active | 1850–1921 |
Jenny Twitchell Kempton (born Jane Elizabeth Twitchell; October 4, 1835 – March 13, 1921) was a talented American opera singer. She was known for her deep, rich voice, called a contralto. Jenny had a very long career, singing in hundreds of shows across the United States and Europe for over 50 years, starting in 1850.
Early Life and Music Start
Jenny Twitchell Kempton was born Jane Elizabeth Twitchell in Dublin, New Hampshire, in 1835. She was the oldest of three children. Her father, Reuben Wilder Twitchell, was a cabinetmaker and also a musician. He played music for the Union Army during the American Civil War, even leading the band for General William Tecumseh Sherman during his famous March to the Sea in 1864. Sadly, during the Civil War, Jenny faced personal loss. Her brother, John, and her father-in-law, Ezra, passed away in August 1864.
Jenny showed amazing musical talent from a very young age. Her voice could reach very low and very high notes easily, even without training. When she was 14, she moved to Boston to study singing. Soon after, she began performing as a contralto for the Handel and Haydn Society in Boston. She became well-known after singing the main part in the first American performances of Mendelssohn's St. Paul and Elijah in 1850.
In the 1850s, Jenny performed many solo concerts around Boston and in Portland, Maine. She often sang at the First Parish Church in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She also entertained famous writers like James Russell Lowell, John Greenleaf Whittier, Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr., Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. She became lifelong friends with Longfellow. By 1855, people called her "the favorite contralto of Boston."
Around 1857, Jenny moved to New York City to continue her studies with another famous contralto, Elena D'Angri. She performed many concerts there. From about 1858 to 1861, she joined Father Kemp's Old Folks Concerts Company. She was the lead singer in over 100 concerts. She even performed for President James Buchanan and future-President Abraham Lincoln while touring the East Coast and Midwest. Her great success caused some jealousy among other performers, but Robert 'Father' Kemp supported Jenny.
Later Career and Life
On May 1, 1860, Jenny married James Monroe Kempton in New York. They had two children. She continued to perform, singing in 41 concerts in New York between 1862 and 1864. During this time, she became good friends with the Venezuelan pianist Teresa Carreño. People started calling her "The Favorite American Contralto."
In 1864, Jenny signed a contract with the Richings-Bernard Opera Company. She traveled by steamship to San Francisco, where she gave many solo performances at Maquire's Academy of Music from 1864 to 1865. In San Francisco, she earned the nickname "San Francisco's Little Adopted." She was even made an honorary member of the San Francisco Fire Department in 1864. Her voice and success were often compared to the very famous singer Jenny Lind.
After her success in San Francisco, Jenny returned to New York briefly. Then, she spent two years in Europe (1865-1867) to train further and perform in major cities. Her first European show was at the Carcano Theater in Milan. She performed for important leaders like King Victor Emmanuel II in Florence, Emperor Napoleon III in Paris, and Queen Victoria in London. People even said she looked a lot like Queen Victoria! Under the guidance of the famous composer Gioachino Rossini, she was the first American to perform his Stabat Mater in Paris in 1865.
Jenny returned to the United States and continued performing concerts in Boston and New York from 1867 to 1877. This included shows at the World's Peace Jubilee and International Musical Festival in Boston in 1873. She also worked with the Carl Rosa Opera Company and had a 60-night engagement with the Theodore Thomas Orchestra.
In 1878, Jenny moved to Chicago to teach voice lessons and keep performing. By the 1880s, she mostly focused on teaching opera singing. She moved to San Francisco by 1899, and then to Los Angeles in 1905. She kept teaching voice lessons until she passed away in 1921.
Jenny was a strong supporter of the suffrage movement, which worked to get women the right to vote. She performed benefit concerts for this cause from the 1890s until at least 1910. She also helped start the Dominant Music Club of Los Angeles and was called the "Mother of Music in Southern California."
Jenny Twitchell Kempton passed away on March 13, 1921, at the age of 85. She was buried at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.
