Farrar, Geraldine

Farrar, Geraldine (fərär`), 1882–1967, American operatic soprano, b. Melrose, Mass.; pupil of Lilli Lehmann. She made her debut in Europe (1901) and sang at the Metropolitan Opera, New York City, from 1906 to 1922. Her most famous roles were in La Bohème, Madame Butterfly, and Carmen.

Bibliography

See her autobiography, Such Sweet Compulsion (1938).

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Farrar, Geraldine

(born Feb. 28, 1882, Melrose, Mass., U.S.—died March 11, 1967, Ridgefield, Conn.) U.S. soprano. She received vocal training in New York and Paris and made her debut in Charles Gounod's Faust in 1901. Coached by Lilli Lehmann (1848–1929), she made her Metropolitan Opera debut in 1906, performed in the American premiere of Madama Butterfly opposite Enrico Caruso (1907), and was later a celebrated Carmen. She retired in 1922. She also acted in silent films.

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Farrar, Geraldine (1882–1967) soprano; born in Ridgefield, Conn. Daughter of a baseball player, she began vocal studies in Boston and went to Europe for further training at age 17. After a successful debut in 1901 at the Berlin Opera, she appeared with Caruso in La Bohème at Monte Carlo in 1903. Her American debut came three years later at the Metropolitan in New York; she remained there for 16 seasons, her famous roles including the lead in Madame Butterfly, which she sang over 100 times. An erratic singer but a vivacious personality with a cult following among young women, she also appeared in a number of silent films beginning with the Carmen of 1915. She retired from opera in 1922 and from recitals in 1931.