Abbott, Emma (1850–1891)
Abbott, Emma (1850–1891)
American soprano. Born in Chicago, Illinois, on December 9, 1850 (some sources cite 1849); died in Salt Lake City, Utah, on January 5, 1891; studied in New York with Achille Errani and in Europe with Wartel, Sangiovanni, and Delle Sedie; married Eugene Wetherell, in 1875.
Debuted at Covent Garden in London as Marie in La fille du régiment (1876); debuted in New York in the same role (1877).
Emma Abbott began her musical education in the choir of Plymouth Church, Brooklyn, and afterward studied in Milan and Paris. She made her debut at Covent Garden, London, before she and her husband Eugene Wetherell came to the United States, where she appeared successfully in the operas of Verdi, Gounod, and Bellini. One of the most popular sopranos of her time, she became the first woman to establish an opera company. The Emma Abbott English Grand Opera Company, formed in 1878, presented shortened versions of contemporary operas, sometimes interspersed with current ballads. The ensemble toured throughout the United States, including the West, until one month before Abbott's death in January 1891.