Clara Louise Kellogg
Clara Louise Kellogg was a nineteenth century female vocalist. Though her career was fraught with numerous failures, she was determined to become a professional singer. She continued to cultivate her voice until she was considered one of the finest singers in American. She also was the first American singer to win recognition in Europe.
Clara Louise Kellogg was born in 1842 at Sumpterville, South Carolina, but her childhood was spent in the North. Both of her parents were of considerable note, her father being inventor George Kellogg, and her mother being an excellent musician. She was evidently born a singer, for at nine months old she could hum a tune correctly.
When she was fourteen years old, Clara’s parents move the family to New York for Clara to begin a thorough course of musical studies. A professional career was in the minds of both parents from the start and all her training had that end in view.
Sarah studied both the French and Italian methods of singing and made a special study of Marguerite in Gounod’s “Faust”, and in that no one has ever equaled her. Beriloz was in the United States at the time and heard her. He was astonished at the skill with which se interpreted the subtler shadings of the poet, which he believed were beyond the reach of lyric art.
Upon appearing in Her Majesty’s Theater in London, as Marguerite, she won a brilliant victory. She also sang in the Handel Festival held in the great Crystal Palace, a great honor for an American.
When she returned to America, the public was ready to receive her and she was met by crowds everywhere she performed. In one winter she sang over one hundred and fifty nights. After some years she accepted an engagement in Austria, where she sang in Italian with a German opera company. She even journeyed to Russia and sang in St. Petersburg.
Clara had a good heart and was always offered help to struggling artists. She was quite wealthy by the end of her career and spent much of it on philanthropic enterprises.
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