Marcella Craft
{{short description|American actress}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Marcella Craft
| image = Marcella Craf 01.JPG
| caption = Burr McIntosh Monthly, 1906
| birth_name = Marcia Craft
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1874|08|11}}
| birth_place = Indianapolis, Indiana, US
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1959|12|12|1874|08|11}}
| death_place = Riverside, California, US
| nationality = American
| other_names = Sarah Marcia
| known_for = Opera singer
| occupation = Soprano
}}
File:AmyBeach&MarcellaCraft.02.14.1913 Munich Germany photobyH.Wiedenmannjpg.jpg on Valentines Day, 1913, in Munich, Germany]]
Marcella Craft (August 11, 1874 – December 12, 1959) was an American operatic soprano who performed internationally in the late 19th century and early 20th century.[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9D0CE3DF123AE633A25751C1A9679D946796D6CF Marcella Craft Heard], The New York Times, November 12, 1916. Retrieved 2010-05-16.
Personal life
Born Marcia Craft in Indianapolis, Indiana, she moved with her family to Riverside, California in 1887. Craft graduated from Riverside High School in 1893. During the graduation ceremony, at Riverside's Loring Opera House, she performed her first public solo.{{sfn|Hall|1996|p=18}}
Encouraged by the community, and with contributions from local businessmen, Craft studied opera in Boston, Massachusetts under maestro Charles R. Adams. Upon completion of her studies, she traveled to Italy for additional tutoring.
In 1917 Craft purchased a home for her parents on Prospect Avenue in Riverside. After leaving Germany in 1932, she returned to Riverside and also lived in the Prospect Avenue home until her death in 1959.{{sfn|Hall|1996|p=18}} She is buried in Riverside's Evergreen Cemetery.[http://www.evergreen-cemetery.info/founders.php?id=9873 Evergreen Memorial Historic Cemetery – Founders' Stories] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721200724/http://www.evergreen-cemetery.info/founders.php?id=9873 |date=2011-07-21 }}[https://books.google.com/books?id=7-DgDAAAQBAJ&dq=marcella+craft+evergreen&pg=PA163 Resting Places]
Career
While in Italy Craft's tutor changed her name to Marcella, and she started receiving leading operatic roles. She sang with Enrico Caruso and others.{{cite book|last=Lech|first=Steve|title=Riverside 1870–1940|year=2007|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|location=Charleston, SC|isbn=978-0-7385-4716-9|page=49}} Her biggest success came after she moved to Germany, where she became a lead with the Munich Opera. She was a favorite of composer Richard Strauss, working closely with the composer in a production of his opera Salome.{{Cite news |date=April 3, 1915 |title=Marcella Craft Describes Formulating Interpretation For Portrayal of Salome |pages=18 |work=The Christian Science Monitor}}
Although her career primarily kept her in Europe, Craft regularly returned to Riverside where she frequently sang at the annual Easter Sunrise Service on Mount Rubidoux.Durian, Hal. "Riverside Was Marcella Craft's 'American' Home", The Press-Enterprise, May 16, 2010, page C5.
Craft forged a strong personal and professional friendship with the American composer Amy Beach. They traveled and collaborated together in Europe when Craft was a prima donna in Germany. Craft hosted events for American and European musicians, which included performances of Beach's songs, accompanied on piano by the composer.Patton, Cynthia Jean. (2012). Marcella Craft and Opera in Riverside, California, 1932-57 (MA thesis). California State University, Fullerton. p. 69.
References
=Bibliography=
- {{cite book |last1=Hall |first1=Joan H. |title=Through the Doors of the Mission Inn |chapter=Marcella Craft |publisher=Highgrove Press |date=1996 |ISBN=0-9631618-2-2}}
=Citations=
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{commons category-inline|Marcella Craft}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Craft, Marcella}}
Category:American operatic sopranos
Category:Musicians from Riverside, California
Category:Burials at Evergreen Cemetery (Riverside, California)
Category:Musicians from Indianapolis
Category:Singers from California
Category:19th-century American actresses
Category:American stage actresses
Category:20th-century American actresses
Category:Classical musicians from California
Category:19th-century American women opera singers