Engaging Women: A Musical Tale of Tuolumne County

 

The upcoming benefit concert and Victorian Tea at The Red Church in Sonora features the stories and songs of engaging women in Tuolumne County.

Elizabeth Leary of Columbia California was one of the first women to take advantage of the Sole Trader act, which allowed her to start her own business in the Performing Arts. 

There is a lingering misconception that amusements in Columbia during the Gold Rush were all in the nature of saloons, fandangos, and gambling halls. 

The surprising truth is that by 1853, Elizabeth Leary, the wife of Constable John C. Leary, was presenting some of the finest performing artists in the world right here in Tuolumne County.

Two of the "Celebrity Songbirds," of the era: Eliza Biscaccianti (The American Thrush) and Catherine Hayes (The Swan of Erin) performed at Mrs. Leary's Assembly Hall at Fulton and Broadway in Columbia.

Both of these famous Cantatrices were represented by P.T. Barnum, who had begun promoting opera stars as a way to build his own respectability, while continuing to make enormous amounts of money. Although women had been allowed on the English stage for almost 200 years, the respectability of female performing artists hadn't kept pace with their popularity. 

Queen Victoria advanced the social station of many Opera stars by inviting them for private concerts, and by studying with famous Bass opera star Luigi Lablanche, but the difficulty wasn't with singing opera, the problem was the acting it required.

Elisa Biscaccianti, The American Thrush, and Catherine Hayes, The Swan of Erin, played the role of Lucia Di Lammermoor, a character who sings her most famous aria while wearing a bloody wedding gown, and carrying the knife she just used to stab her bridegroom to death. The worry was that playing such a character would damage a woman's moral character.

Barnam had a solution for this concern. He made a point of featuring the songbirds' generosity and gentility whenever they received coverage in the press. Their natural grace and modesty spoke for themselves, but the most important factor in their popularity and acceptance into polite society was the quality of their performances. The public, reporters, and most critics, were simply enraptured over their singing and their ability to move people to tears, laughter, and joy.

This reminds me of Steve Martin's advice for the performer who wants succeed,

"You have to be so good they can't ignore you."

 When it comes to the Celebrity Sopranos of the California Gold Rush, they were so good, and so talented, they helped make opera singers welcome everywhere.

Tickets for the benefit are Available at Eventbrite.com

Also available at The Mountain Bookshop and at the door on the day of the event.

 

Biscaccianti as Lucia