Sanderson, Sibyl

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Sanderson, Sibyl

Sanderson, Sibyl , American soprano; b. Sacramento, Calif., Dec. 7, 1865; d. Paris, May 15, 1903. She was educated in San Francisco, where her musical talent attracted attention; taken to Paris by her mother at the age 19, she studied at the Cons. with Massenet, Sbriglia, and Mathilde Marchesi. Massenet was charmed with her voice and her person and wrote the leading part in Esclarmonde for her; she created it at the Opéra-Comique, on May 14, 1889. The role of Thais (Paris Opera, March 16, 1889) was also written by Massenet for her. Other French composers were equally enchanted with her; Saint-Saëns wrote Phryné for her (1893). She made her American debut at the Metropolitan Opera in N.Y. as Manon (Jan. 16, 1895), but had little success with the American public. In 1897 she married a wealthy Cuban, Antonio Terry, who died in 1899.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire

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