La Palme, Béatrice (1878–1921)

Canadian soprano and violinist who was the first Quebec singer to star in great opera houses after Emma Albani. Born Marie Alice Béatrix Beloeil near Montreal, Quebec, on July 27, 1878; died in Montreal on January 8, 1921; studied violin with Frantz Jehin-Prume; studied voice with Gustave Garcia; married Salvator Issauerl (a French tenor), in 1908.

Was first winner of the Lord Strathcona scholarship to the Royal College of Music in London (1895); made debut at Covent Garden (1903), Opéra-Comique in Paris (1905), Montreal Opera Company (1911), Century Opera House in New York (1913); retired to teach (1914); gave last public performance (1919).

Béatrice La Palme was born Marie Alice Béatrix Beloeil near Montreal, Quebec, in 1878. She began her musical career as a violinist and was the first winner of the Lord Strathcona scholarship to the Royal College of Music in London in 1895. There, she began studying voice with Gustave Garcia, and Dame Emma Albani advised her to devote herself exclusively to singing. La Palme's Covent Garden debut occurred on July 18, 1903, when she replaced Fritzi Scheff at the last minute as Musetta in La Bohème. She continued to perform in London until 1911, when she returned to Montreal with her husband Salvator Issauerl, the French tenor, whom she had married in 1908. She performed for two seasons there. In 1913, La Palme made her New York debut at the Century Opera House, where she sang 56 performances of 15 operas. In 1914, she was in Chicago for a season at Ravinia Park. Physical exhaustion and hearing problems as well as the uncertainty of World War I caused her to retire early at the age of 36. She then devoted her career to teaching, joining her husband at the studio he had opened in Montreal in 1911. Unfortunately, no recordings of her work exist.

John Haag , Athens, Georgia