Blauvelt, Lillian Evans
Blauvelt, Lillian Evans
Blauvelt, Lillian Evans, American soprano; b. Brooklyn, March 16, 1874; d. Chicago, Aug. 29, 1947. She received violin lessons and made her debut at a recital in N.Y.’s Steinway Hall when she was 8; then entered the National Cons, of Music of America there at age 15 to pursue vocal training with Bouhy and Fürsch-Madi; continue studies in Paris with Bouhy before making her operatic debut in Gounod’s Mireille in Brussels on Sept. 6, 1891. In 1899 she sang before Queen Victoria and in 1902 sang the coronation ode for Edward VII, who presented her with the Coronation Medal. In 1903 she made her first appearance at London’s Covent Garden as Gounod’s Marguerite. In later years, she appeared mainly in concerts. Following further training with Alexander Savine, whom she married in 1914, she created the title role in his opera Xenia (Zurich, May 29, 1919). She spent her last years as a voice teacher in N.Y. and Chicago.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire