Homer, Louise, 1871-1947

Variant names
Dates:
Birth 1871-04-30
Death 1947-05-06
Americans,

Biographical notes:

American opera star.

From the description of Louise Homer letter to Mrs. Will Owen Jones [manuscript], 1906 November 20. (University of Virginia). WorldCat record id: 708253781

Louise Homer (née Louise Dilworth Beatty), American contralto, was born in Shadyside, Pennsylvania, on April 28, 1871. She studied in Philadelphia and later Boston, where she met her future husband, the composer Sidney Homer. They were married in 1895. Together they went to France where she studied voice with Fidèle Koenig, and drama with Paul Lhérie.

Homer made her operatic debut in 1898 as Leonora in La Favorita at Vichy. The following year she was engaged at the Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels, and soon after was engaged by Covent Garden. She made her Metropolitan Opera debut as Amneris in Aïda on November 14, 1900, while the company was on tour in San Francisco. Her house debut in the same role was on December 22, 1900. With one exception (1914-15) she appeared regularly with the company until 1919. From 1920-25 she appeared with the Chicago Opera Company, and in 1926 appeared with the San Francisco and Los Angeles opera companies. She returned to the Metropolitan Opera in 1927, and gave her final staged performance there on November 28, 1929.

Moving to Florida, Homer gave recitals for a while and taught singing for several years. In 1939, Sidney Homer published an autobiographical account of their lives, My Wife and I .

Louise Homer died at Winter Park, Florida, on May 6, 1947. In 1973, one of her daughters, Anne Homer, published a biography, Louise Homer and the Golden Age of Opera .

From the guide to the Louise Homer collection of vocal scores, 1849-1911, (The New York Public Library. Music Division.)

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