Weldon Georgina

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Weldon Georgina

Weldon, Georgina (née Thomas), English soprano; b. London, May 24, 1837; d. Brighton, Jan. 11, 1914. She took up singing after her marriage to Capt. Weldon in 1860, and did not appear in public until 1870. She organized an orphan asylum for the purpose of musical education, and also dabbled in music publishing. Special interest attaches to her because of her romantic friendship with Gounod, who during his London sojourn (1870-75) lived at her residence, and whom she assisted in training the Gounod Choir. She translated his autobiography (which goes only as far as 1859) into English (1875). Their relationship deteriorated, leading to a legal entanglement in connection with her claims regarding the copyright of Gounod’s choral works; she wrote acrimonious letters to the press, defending her stand. She also publ. some songs of her own (to French texts) and the didactic manuals Hints for Pronunciation in Singing (1872) and Musical Reform (1875).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire

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