Constance Eberhart
Constance Eberhart | |
|---|---|
 Constance Eberhart, from a 1927 publication | |
| Born | Constance Richmond Eberhart April 15, 1897 York, Nebraska, U.S. |
| Died | March 1981 (aged 83) |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, music teacher |
| Parent | Nelle Richmond Eberhart |
| Relatives | Mignon G. Eberhart (cousin's wife) |
Constance Richmond Eberhart (April 15, 1897 – March 1981) was an American singer and music teacher. She sang with the Cincinnati Grand Opera Company and the Chicago Civic Opera Company.
Early life and education
[edit]Eberhart was born on a farm in York, Nebraska,[1] and raised near Pittsburgh, the daughter of Oscar Eberhart[2] and Nelle Richmond Eberhart. Her mother was a noted librettist.[3] She studied voice with Oscar Saenger,[4] Yvonne de Tréville, and others.[5]
Career
[edit]Eberhart was a mezzo-soprano,[6] and sometimes contralto,[7] who sang with the Cincinnati Grand Opera Company and the Chicago Civic Opera Company.[5][8] She also sang with the Papalardo Opera Ensemble in 1924.[9] and with the Cincinnati Zoo Opera annually, from 1927 to 1932.[7][10][11][12] She made her Chicago opera debut in 1927, in Falstaff.[3] As a concert singer, she was especially known for singing the works of her mother's collaborator, composer Charles Wakefield Cadman,[13][14] sometimes in costume.[15] "She has depth and richness of quality in her low tones," reported the Musical Courier in 1926, "while her high register is brilliant and free."[4]
In her later years, Eberhart was a voice teacher in Chicago schools,[16] at a summer arts colony in Arkansas,[17][18][19] and at a conservatory in Kansas City.[20][21] She directed the FMC Lyric Opera Workshop as a summer program in Arkansas in the 1950s, and donated a lodge to the program, in her mother's memory.[19] She was active in the National Opera Association.[21]
Personal life and legacy
[edit]Eberhart died in 1981, at the age of 83. Scrapbooks of memorabilia from her music career are in a collection of her mother's papers at Middlebury College.[22] In 1983 a biography, Constance Eberhart: A Musical Career in the Age of Cadman was published by the American Opera Association.[23] The Constance Eberhart Memorial Endowment of the National Opera Association funds scholarship awards for vocal music students.[24]
References
[edit]- ^ "Nebraska Girl in Opera; Constance Eberhart, Formerly of York, to Sing". Lincoln Nebraska State Journal. 1934-01-05. p. 12. Retrieved 2025-03-09 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Oscar Eberhart; He Was the Father of Constance Eberhart, a Singer". The Kansas City Star. 1955-11-28. p. 25. Retrieved 2025-03-09 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Constance Eberhart, Born on the Plains of Nebraska, Reaches the Pinnacle of Success in Opera". Polk County Democrat. 1927-11-17. p. 4. Retrieved 2025-03-08 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Oscar Saenger Completes Tenth Season in Chicago and Third of His Own Summer School". Musical Courier. 93 (12): 18. September 16, 1926 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ a b Key, Pierre (1931). Pierre Key's Musical Who's Who. pp. 154–155 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ "Constance Eberhart Entertained in New York City" Music News 21(1)(March 29, 1929): 4.
- ^ a b "Cincinnati Zoo Opera". Musical Courier. 95 (6): 20. August 11, 1927 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ "Hansel and Gretal Has Wide Appeal". Daily American Republic. 1936-10-03. p. 7. Retrieved 2025-03-09 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Papalardo Opera Ensemble Recital". Musical Courier. 88 (21): 14. May 22, 1924 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ "'Lakme' Opens at Zoo Tonight". The Cincinnati Enquirer. 1930-06-23. p. 9. Retrieved 2025-03-09 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "'Rigoletto' and 'Mefistofele' Offered At Zoo; New Tenor is Introduced". The Cincinnati Enquirer. 1931-06-28. p. 59. Retrieved 2025-03-09 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "The Geisha Opens Light Opera Season at the Cincinnati Zoo". Musical Courier. 105 (8): 20. August 20, 1932 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ "Pleiades Club Features Cadman Music". Musical Courier. 78 (16): 36. April 17, 1919 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ "Granberry Reception for Cadman". Musical Courier. 80 (22): 18. May 27, 1920 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ "Cadman's Song Gains Popularity". Musical Courier. 84 (13): 52. March 30, 1922 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ "Just for the Sake of Sociability". The New Teller. 1940-04-03. p. 5. Retrieved 2025-03-09 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Upton, Lucile Morris (1953-07-26). "Arias Inspire 'Inspiration Point'". The Springfield News-Leader. p. 35. Retrieved 2025-03-09 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Students kept busy with music this summer at Inspiration Point". The Chandler News-Publicist. 1956-07-12. p. 1. Retrieved 2025-03-09 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Blagdon, Jane (1956-08-05). "State Heat Not as Bad as Singing at the 'Met'". The Norman Transcript. p. 14. Retrieved 2025-03-09 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Honor Guest". The Kansas City Star. 1956-05-27. p. 126. Retrieved 2025-03-09 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Haskins, John (1966-12-25). "Music in Mid-America". The Kansas City Star. p. 58. Retrieved 2025-03-09 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Nellie Richmond Eberhart Collection, Middlebury College Special Collections.
- ^ Wu, Arlouine Goodjohn (1983). Constance Eberhart: A Musical Career in the Age of Cadman. National Opera Association. ISBN 978-0-938178-04-0.
- ^ "Constance Eberhart Memorial Endowment". National Opera Association. Retrieved 2025-03-08.