Florence Easton

Florence Easton (25 October 1882 – 13 August 1955) was an English soprano of the early twentieth century. She was a versatile singer, appearing in more than 100 roles, covering a wide range of styles and periods, from Mozart, Meyerbeer, Gounod, Verdi, Wagner, Puccini, Strauss, Schreker and Krenek. She specialized in singing Wagnerian opera parts, from Senta in Der fliegende Holländer to Brünnhilde in Siegfried.

Easton described herself as a "lyric dramatic soprano." Her international reputation, founded mainly in North America and Germany, was unique for a British singer of her time. She could move easily through all stages from the light coloratura to the Hochdramatische, from girlish romanticism to the powerful drama of Wagner and Strauss. The critic John Steane has suggested that "This great strength of hers was also, in a strange way, a source of weakness. She sang so many roles very well that she never quite became identified with any of these." Despite some minor difficulty with Italian diction, she was chosen by Puccini to create Lauretta in his 1917 opera Gianni Schicchi.

Biography

Early life

Florence Easton was the elder daughter of John Thomas Easton and Isabella Yarrow, and niece of Fletcher Easton. Known professionally as 'the nightingale of South Bank,' she was born on 25 October 1882 at 52 Napier Street, South Bank, Middlesbrough. Her musical talent became evident in early childhood. She appeared publicly as a pianist when she was about 8 years old.

In 1901 she went to Paris to study singing with Elliott Haslam,

It was her performance as the Saint Elisabeth in the staged version of Liszt's Die Legende von der heiligen Elisabeth in 1918 which set her into the first rank of Metropolitan Opera stars.

Florence Easton as Lauretta at the world premiere of Gianni Schicchi, 14 December 1918.

Easton created the role of Lauretta at the world premiere of Puccini¹s Gianni Schicchi on 14 December 1918 at the Met;

Recordings Florence Easton made more than 100 records in the 1920s and 1930s. She recorded for Odeon, Aeolian-Vocalion but mostly for Brunswick, initially recording acoustically, but electrically from 1926. She embraced opera, operetta, sacred songs and popular ballads. One of her most important Wagnerian records was made for His Master's Voice in 1932: the superb Siegfried "Brünnhilde" opposite Lauritz Melchior (Covent Garden, 1932) "Heil dir Sonne! Heil dir Licht!" (the best recording in her own estimation). She recorded six operatic items for Edison (1927), but only two were issued; and in 1933, His Master's Voice recorded six sides of Lieder and songs for RCA Victor, accompanied by Gerald Moore.

Partial discography Recital 1921–1942 (Arias and songs by Wagner, Verdi, Bizet, Gounod, Rimsky-Korsakov, Puccini, Haydn, Wolf, Dvořák, Brahms, R. Strauss, Schumann. Popular American and German songs) Claremont – Florence Easton; Absolute Soprano (Recordings 1918-1933/1939/1940) Brunswick (original company, re-issued widely for example Marston & Symposum: Gianni Schicchi (Puccini) O mio babbino caro (Creator recording which though beautifully sung exhibits one of the worst Italian accents of any major singer on record). Marston – Wagner, Der Ring des Nibelungen (The "Potted Ring") Pearl – Lauritz Melchior Edition Vol. 5 Off-air recordings include two Götterdämmerung extracts from a Lewisohn Stadium concert and 14 items (mainly Lieder) from a recital at the Juilliard School of Music (13 July 1939) – International Record Collectors Club (IRCC). Three Tristan excerpts (two with Arthur Carron plus the Liebestod) followed from the Celanese Hour broadcast (1942). According to the label of IRCC 3004, the love duet and liebestod were both sung in Easton's own English translation. RCA Victor 1705 – "My Laddie" – an enchanting "Scotch love song" – with words by US novelist Princess Amélie Rives Troubetzkoy and music by William Armour Thayer, a Brooklyn organist. Apparently issued in 1933.

There are two less well-known recordings, made by Brunswick in the 1920s when she was in her absolute prime: Laisse-moi... O nuit d’amour! with Mario Chamlee (Marguerite in Gounod's Faust Brunswick 1927) Parigi o cara with Mario Chamlee (Violetta in Verdi's La traviata Brunswick 1927) A compilation 2-CD set was released in 1997 by Claremont in South Africa (GSE 78-50-72/73) from original shellac discs.