Louise Le Baron
Encyclopedia
Louise Le Baron was an American contralto
singer who performed in opera
and musical theatre
during the early years of the twentieth century.
in 1874 and at around the age of sixteen began singing with a church choir at Boston area engagements. She received her early training at the Boston Conservatory
and under various private instructors including Madame Etta Edwards, then in Boston. Le Baron first sang with the Bostonian Opera Company before joining Fritzi Scheff
and her famous company. During this time she played Lady Jane in the The Two Roses by Ludwig Engländer
and Stanislaus Stange, with a libretto
adapted from Goldsmith’s
She Stoops to Conquer
, and as Marie Louise de Bouvray in Mlle. Modiste
by Victor Herbert
and Henry Blossom
. Over the following seasons she would perform with the Castle Square Opera Company
, San Carlo Company
and on two separate occasions the Aborn Opera Company
. With the latter she played the title role in Carmen
, Seibel in Faust
and Suzuki in Madame Butterfly. In 1913 she shared the male role of Alan-a-Dale
with actress Florence Wickham in the comic opera Robin Hood
by Reginald De Koven
and Harry B. Smith
.
As her career began to wind down Le Baron settled in Lincoln, Nebraska
where she had always been well received and opened a voice school. She died there on February 11, 1918 after struggling with a long and painful illness. She was survived by her son, Ernest Gillmore (or Gilmore), whose father she had married at an early age. At the time of his mother’s death Ernest was serving aboard a US Navy torpedo boat.
Contralto
Contralto is the deepest female classical singing voice, with the lowest tessitura, falling between tenor and mezzo-soprano. It typically ranges between the F below middle C to the second G above middle C , although at the extremes some voices can reach the E below middle C or the second B above...
singer who performed in opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
and musical theatre
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
during the early years of the twentieth century.
Biography
Louise Le Baron (née Shepherd) was born in Winchester, MassachusettsWinchester, Massachusetts
Winchester is a town located in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, eight miles north of Boston. With its agricultural roots having mostly disappeared, it is now an affluent suburb...
in 1874 and at around the age of sixteen began singing with a church choir at Boston area engagements. She received her early training at the Boston Conservatory
Boston Conservatory
The Boston Conservatory is a performing arts conservatory located in the Fenway-Kenmore region of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It grants undergraduate and graduate degrees in music, dance and musical theater...
and under various private instructors including Madame Etta Edwards, then in Boston. Le Baron first sang with the Bostonian Opera Company before joining Fritzi Scheff
Fritzi Scheff
Fritzi Scheff was an American actress and vocalist.-Biography:Born in Vienna, Austria, she studied at the Hoch Conservatory in Frankfurt and made her début in Munich in the title röle of Martha...
and her famous company. During this time she played Lady Jane in the The Two Roses by Ludwig Engländer
Ludwig Engländer
Ludwig Engländer was an Austrian-born American composer of more than 30 musicals.He was born in Vienna, Austria. According to his obituary in the New York Times he had studied with Jacques Offenbach...
and Stanislaus Stange, with a libretto
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
adapted from Goldsmith’s
Oliver Goldsmith
Oliver Goldsmith was an Irish writer, poet and physician known for his novel The Vicar of Wakefield , his pastoral poem The Deserted Village , and his plays The Good-Natur'd Man and She Stoops to Conquer...
She Stoops to Conquer
She Stoops to Conquer
She Stoops to Conquer is a comedy by the Irish author Oliver Goldsmith, son of an Anglo-Irish vicar, first performed in London in 1773. The play is a great favourite for study by English literature and theatre classes in Britain and the United States. It is one of the few plays from the 18th...
, and as Marie Louise de Bouvray in Mlle. Modiste
Mlle. Modiste
Mlle. Modiste is an operetta in two acts written by Victor Herbert, libretto by Henry Blossom. It concerns hat shop girl Fifi, who longs to be an opera singer, but who is such a good hat seller that her employer, Mme. Cecil discourages her in her ambitions and exploits her commercial talents...
by Victor Herbert
Victor Herbert
Victor August Herbert was an Irish-born, German-raised American composer, cellist and conductor. Although Herbert enjoyed important careers as a cello soloist and conductor, he is best known for composing many successful operettas that premiered on Broadway from the 1890s to World War I...
and Henry Blossom
Henry Blossom
Henry Martyn Blossom was the lyricist for several Victor Herbert musicals, including The Yankee Consul , Mlle. Modiste , The Red Mill , Eileen , and Kiss Me Again , and was a master at puzzle solving and cipher writing.Born in St...
. Over the following seasons she would perform with the Castle Square Opera Company
Castle Square Theatre
The Castle Square Theatre in Boston, Massachusetts, was located on Tremont Street in the South End.-Further reading:* : containing portraits and sketches of the principal singers and a record of the casts of characters of the various operas produced together with a short story of each. Boston:...
, San Carlo Company
San Carlo Opera Company
The San Carlo Opera Company was the name of two different opera companies active in the United States during the first half of the twentieth century.-History:...
and on two separate occasions the Aborn Opera Company
Aborn Opera Company
The Aborn Opera company was an American opera company that was active from 1895 through 1922.-History:Founded and operated by brothers Milton Aborn and Sargent Aborn , the company was based out of New York City but spent most of its time on the road touring the United States...
. With the latter she played the title role in Carmen
Carmen
Carmen is a French opéra comique by Georges Bizet. The libretto is by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée, first published in 1845, itself possibly influenced by the narrative poem The Gypsies by Alexander Pushkin...
, Seibel in Faust
Faust (opera)
Faust is a drame lyrique in five acts by Charles Gounod to a French libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré from Carré's play Faust et Marguerite, in turn loosely based on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust, Part 1...
and Suzuki in Madame Butterfly. In 1913 she shared the male role of Alan-a-Dale
Alan-a-Dale
Alan-a-Dale is a figure in the Robin Hood legend...
with actress Florence Wickham in the comic opera Robin Hood
Robin Hood (comic opera)
Robin Hood is a comic opera by Reginald De Koven , Harry B. Smith and Clement Scott . The story is based on the Robin Hood legend, during the reign of King Richard I . The opera was composed in Chicago, Illinois during the winter of 1888-1889.Robin Hood was first performed at the Chicago Opera...
by Reginald De Koven
Reginald de Koven
Henry Louis Reginald De Koven was an American music critic and prolific composer, particularly of comic operas.-Biography:...
and Harry B. Smith
Harry B. Smith
Harry Bache Smith was a writer, lyricist and composer. The most prolific of all American stage writers, he is said to have written over 300 librettos and more than 6000 lyrics. Some of his best-known works were librettos for the composer Victor Herbert...
.
As her career began to wind down Le Baron settled in Lincoln, Nebraska
Lincoln, Nebraska
The City of Lincoln is the capital and the second-most populous city of the US state of Nebraska. Lincoln is also the county seat of Lancaster County and the home of the University of Nebraska. Lincoln's 2010 Census population was 258,379....
where she had always been well received and opened a voice school. She died there on February 11, 1918 after struggling with a long and painful illness. She was survived by her son, Ernest Gillmore (or Gilmore), whose father she had married at an early age. At the time of his mother’s death Ernest was serving aboard a US Navy torpedo boat.