“Her wealth is variously estimated from $2,000,000 to $5,000,000. Nearer than this I cannot estimate it,” said Seth Abbott, father of the deceased Emma Abbott, the “People’s Prima Donna.” He was quoted in a New York Times Jan. 5, 1891 article, “Emma Abbott’s Last Hours,” which was wired from Salt Lake City, Utah, by an uncredited writer who gave a eyewitness account of the singer’s last moments.
Abbott was one of the most successful of the 19th-century American operatic singers who formed and toured with their own English-language opera companies. The Abbott English Opera Company, formed in 1878, was touring at about the time Wild West lawman Wyatt Earp moved to Tombstone, Arizona.
Child Singer
Abbott was born in Chicago on the night of Dec. 9, 1850, while her father was giving a concert. No one could have imagined this little baby would become a singer of great fame and wealth.Little Emma’s musical gifts were apparent to her family from a very early age. At the age of 8, she gave her first musical concert in her father’s office for his friends. A few years later, an encouraging encounter came when sacred music composer and voice instructor William B. Bradbury heard her sing during a local music convention. “She sings as a lark does, because she can’t help it, and she sings beautifully too,” Bradbury remarked of the young Emma.
She was in a professional trio, accompanying her father and brother on the guitar. She soon dropped out of school to tour with a concert company, but then left them to produce her own concerts in “half-empty churches and hotel lobbies”
But a chance encounter with singer Clara Louise Kellogg, whose fame was already on the rise, catapulted Abbott onto a new path. After a Kellogg concert in Toledo, Ohio, Abbott introduced herself and asked if Kellogg would hear her sing. Upon hearing the young girl, Kellogg offered to give her letters of introduction to influential friends in New York and to advocate on her behalf to study with New York-based Italian voice teacher Achille Erani.
Devoutly religious and patriotic throughout her life, Abbott was hired to sing at Rev. Edwin Chapin’s Church of the Divine Paternity. That job proved very beneficial, as among the congregation were Horace Greeley, a presidential nominee; C.P. Huntington, American Industrialist and railway magnate; and merchant-millionaire George C. Lake. They quickly became fond of the sweet and pretty, young singer who stood less than five feet tall. When it came time for her to study in Europe, members of the congregation took care of her financial needs.
In 1875, one of her most ardent church supporters, Eugene Wetherell followed her to Europe when he heard she had taken ill. She recovered quickly and they married.
Back to Her Roots
Once back in America, after a very successful run at the Grand Opera House in New York of the Joseph Mazzinghi operetta “Paul and Virginia,” she her income was so great that her husband sold his business and became her manager. Subsequently, she and her husband formed The Abbott English Opera Company.
Arguably a more satisfying musical experience than the honky-tonk saloon music of the West, Sunday afternoon church programs, and the occasional touring solo singer, pianist or violinist, these touring opera companies held a significant place in the late 1800 American cultural landscape.
Abbott’s legacy stands out. Compared to other top touring companies, such as Caroline Richings’ and Euphrosyne Parepa-Rosa’s, her company surpassed them by thousands of dollars in profit. Her successful formula was to keep ticket prices low and sing English-language translations so the audience could follow the plots. Additionally, she shortened the operas so working people wouldn’t have to stay up too late and inserted the occasional popular aria or hymn.
While critics turned up their noses at these low-brow mutations of their beloved high-art form of operas commonly performed in their entirety in the original, foreign language, audiences flocked to Abbott’s performances. Preston wrote:
“Some establishment critics who wanted to remove opera from the world of popular entertainment … dismissed her as a charlatan who enjoyed ‘popular’ rather than ‘artistic’ success. Despite their efforts, Abbott was extremely popular, financially successful, and tremendously influential on American musical culture during the 1880s.”
A Faithful and Kind Heart
She actively practiced her faith throughout her life, which included attending church at most of the places where her company toured. Often, their choirs had an extra soprano for that service.Abbott was constant in her charitable contributions. She was known for her kindness and generosity throughout her life, and, as her wealth grew, donated thousands of dollars to various causes annually.
She died on the second anniversary of her beloved husband’s death. “Her last thoughts were of her dead husband,” begins an uncredited New York Times story. “Emma Abbott breathed her last breath at 8 o’clock this morning.” She had taken a chill while performing, but insisted on going on the next evening. When she did so, her condition declined so that her doctor found she had a 104-degree fever. But she finished that evening’s performance anyway.
