Anna Hamlin (September 10, 1898[1] – May 24, 1988) was an American soprano singer associated with the Chicago Civic Opera Company. From 1939 to 1959, she was a professor of voice at Smith College, and "widely known as one of the most distinguished of voice teachers".[2]
Early life and education
Hamlin was born in Chicago, the daughter of George Hamlin and Harriet Rebecca Eldredge Hamlin. Her father was a noted tenor singer.[3] She studied voice with Marcella Sembrich.[4]
Career
Hamlin was a lyric soprano who appeared in opera roles and gave recitals.[5] With the Chicago Civic Opera she played the Page in Masked Ball in 1927.[6] In 1928, she was a soloist at the Adirondack Music Festival[7] and sang in Monte Carlo.[8] Composer Amy Beach dedicated a song to Hamlin.[9] In 1931, she gave a recital in Cincinnati, including a song by local composer Louise Snodgrass.[10] She sang on radio in the 1930s.[11]
Hamlin died in 1988, at the age of 89, in a New York City nursing home. Her memorial service was held in a recital space at Carnegie Hall.[12] The George and Anna Hamlin Papers, including her diaries and concert programs, are in the collection of the New York Public Library.[21]
References
^Some sources give 1900 as Hamlin's birth year; her Cook County birth certificate shows the date 10 September 1898; this matches her age (11) in the 1910 U.S. federal census, and her 1966 claim for Social Security; all via Ancestry.
