Maybelle Marston

Maybelle Zenobia Berretta Marston (May 14, 1895 – February 22, 1983) was an American contralto singer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Maybelle Marston
Maybelle Zenobia Berretta, from a 1916 publication.
Maybelle Zenobia Berretta, from a 1916 publication.
Born
Mabel Zenobia Berretta

May 14, 1895
Philadelphia
DiedFebruary 22, 1983
NationalityAmerican
OccupationOpera singer

Early life

Mabel Zenobia Berretta[1] was from Philadelphia. She won a "cutest baby" contest at the New Jersey shore in 1896.[2]

Career

Maybelle Beretta Marston sang with the Philadelphia Civic Opera Company, at the Philadelphia Academy of Music and other large venues. In 1925 Marston sang Gilbert and Sullivan roles in H.M.S. Pinafore (1925) The Mikado (1926 and 1941), and Iolanthe (1927). She also sang parts in Feuersnot (1927, its U.S. premiere), Die Walküre (1928 and 1929), I gioielli della Madonna (1928), Ariadne auf Naxos (1928, its U.S. premiere), Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (1928 and 1930), Cavalleria rusticana (1928), Le Chemineau (1929), Carmen (1929), Prince Igor (1929), Roméo et Juliette (1929), Das Rheingold (1929), Götterdämmerung (1930), Die Zauberflöte (1930), Le nozze di Figaro (1930), Robin Hood (1932), Hänsel und Gretel (1935), Rigoletto (1938), all in Philadelphia.[3] She and other Philadelphia Civic Opera singers appeared in Marc Blitzstein's Triple Sec (1929) in a show for the Society for Contemporary Music.[4] In 1932 she sang as a soloist in a performance of Henry Kimball Hadley's A New Earth.[5]

Other appearances by Marston included The Pirates of Penzance (1923),[6] a 1927 concert with the Reading Choral Society, where she shared soloist billing with Nelson Eddy,[7] and a 1930 production of The Chimes of Normandy with the Community Music Club of Collingswood, New Jersey.[8]

Marston was in demand as an oratorio and cantata soloist,[9][10] gave recitals,[11][12] sang on radio broadcasts,[13] and taught music later in her career;[14] she also directed the chorus of the Women's Club of Ardmore, Pennsylvania,[15] and the Alumnae Choral Club of William Penn High School for Girls.[16]

Personal life

Maybelle Berretta married a Philadelphia attorney named M. Randall Marston in 1917.[17] She had a son, M. Randall Marston Jr., born in 1918. In 1934 she had another son, after an affair with singer Nelson Eddy; the child was raised by adoptive parents to protect Marston's and Eddy's reputations.[18][19][20] Maybelle Berretta Marston died in 1983, aged 87 years.[21]

References

  1. "Sing the Mikado". The Philadelphia Inquirer. November 17, 1916. p. 7. Retrieved May 5, 2019 via Newspapers.com.
  2. "Untitled news item". The Times. August 16, 1896. p. 14. Retrieved May 5, 2019 via Newspapers.com.
  3. Hamilton, Frank. Opera in Philadelphia: Performance Chronology, 1925–1949 Archived 2012-02-06 at the Wayback Machine.
  4. Pollack, Howard (October 1, 2012). Marc Blitzstein: His Life, His Work, His World. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199977086.
  5. "Strawbridge & Clothier Chorus". The Philadelphia Inquirer. May 1, 1932. p. 87. Retrieved May 5, 2019 via Newspapers.com.
  6. "Pirates of Penzance Longwood Saturday". The News Journal. May 30, 1923. p. 11. Retrieved May 5, 2019 via Newspapers.com.
  7. Britton, William Wood (December 6, 1927). "Few Seats Left for Strand Concert". Reading Times. p. 22. Retrieved May 5, 2019 via Newspapers.com.
  8. Ramsay, John P. (January 29, 1930). "Collingswood Club Scores with Chimes". Courier-Post. p. 3. Retrieved May 5, 2019 via Newspapers.com.
  9. "Protestant Episcopal". The Philadelphia Inquirer. February 28, 1920. p. 9. Retrieved May 5, 2019 via Newspapers.com.
  10. "Notes of Music, Musicians". The Philadelphia Inquirer. February 22, 1948. p. 64. Retrieved May 5, 2019 via Newspapers.com.
  11. "Opera Singer to Appear Here". Standard-Speaker. December 18, 1930. p. 11. Retrieved May 5, 2019 via Newspapers.com.
  12. "Maybelle Marston in Contralto Recital". The Philadelphia Inquirer. June 2, 1937. p. 2. Retrieved May 5, 2019 via Newspapers.com.
  13. "Memorial Park Orchestra and Vocalists". The Philadelphia Inquirer. November 30, 1930. p. 66. Retrieved May 5, 2019 via Newspapers.com.
  14. "Voice Study Popular at Granoff School". The Philadelphia Inquirer. December 27, 1953. p. 70. Retrieved May 5, 2019 via Newspapers.com.
  15. "Music Notes". The Philadelphia Inquirer. December 18, 1938. p. 60. Retrieved May 5, 2019 via Newspapers.com.
  16. "William Penn Grads to Dine on Saturday". The Philadelphia Inquirer. April 19, 1942. p. 45. Retrieved May 5, 2019 via Newspapers.com.
  17. "Marriage Licenses Issued". The Philadelphia Inquirer. April 13, 1917. p. 6. Retrieved May 5, 2019 via Newspapers.com.
  18. Lacher, Irene (March 1, 1995). "MacDonald-Eddy: Stoking the Passions of New Fans". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 5, 2019.
  19. Fleming, E. J. (November 17, 2004). The Fixers: Eddie Mannix, Howard Strickling and the MGM Publicity Machine. McFarland. p. 168. ISBN 9780786420278.
  20. Rich, Sharon (September 1, 1994). Sweethearts: the timeless love affair--on-screen and off--between Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy. Donald I. Fine. pp. 23, 40. ISBN 9781556114076.
  21. "Death notices". The Philadelphia Inquirer. February 25, 1983. p. 34. Retrieved May 5, 2019 via Newspapers.com.

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