Easton, Florence (Gertrude)
Easton, Florence (Gertrude)
Easton, Florence (Gertrude), English soprano; b. South Bank, Yorkshire, Oct. 25,1882; d. N.Y., Aug. 13, 1955. She studied with Agnes Larkcom at the Royal Academy of Music in London and with Elliott Haslam in Paris; in 1903 she made her operatic debut as the Shepherd in Tannhauser with the Moody-Manners Co. in Newcastle upon Tyne; toured the U.S. with Savage’s opera company in 1904–05 and 1906–07. She was a member of the Berlin Royal Opera (1907–13) and the Hamburg Opera (1912–16); after singing with the Chicago Grand Opera (1915–17), she made her Metropolitan Opera debut in N.Y. as Santuzza on Dec. 7, 1917, remaining on its roster until 1929; she created the role of Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi there in 1918. In 1927 and 1932 she sang at London’s Covent Garden and in 1934 appeared at Sadler’s Wells Opera in London. She then returned to the Metropolitan Opera in 1936 as Briinnhilde in Die Walküre before retiring from the stage.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire