Mason, Edith (Barnes)

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Mason, Edith (Barnes)

Mason, Edith (Barnes), American soprano; b. St. Louis, March 22, 1893; d. San Diego, Nov. 26, 1973. She studied in Cincinnati, and then with Enrico Bertran and Edmond Clément in Paris. Following her operatic debut in Marseilles (1911), she sang in Boston (1912), Montreal (1912), Nice (1914), and N.Y. (Century Co., 1914–15). On Nov. 20, 1915, she made her Metropolitan Opera debut in N.Y. as Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier, remaining on its roster until 1917. After singing in Paris (1919–21), she was a principal member of the Chicago Opera (1921–29). She also sang at Milan’s La Scala (1923), was again on the roster of the Metropolitan Opera (1934–36), and appeared at the Salzburg Festival (1935). In 1941 she made her farewell appearance in Chicago as Mimi. She was married twice to Giorgio Polacco. Among her other roles were Gilda, Gounod’s Marguerite, Thaïs, Elsa, and Cio-Cio-San.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire

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