Bessie Pickens Abott

Bessie Abott
Background information
Birth name	Bessie Pickens
Born	1878 Heuvelton, New York
Died	February 9, 1919
Genres	Opera

Bessie Abott (1878 – February 9, 1919) was an American operatic soprano who had an active international career during the early 20th century. She was particularly associated with the Paris Opera and the Metropolitan Opera, and excelled in performances of Italian and French operas of the Romantic Period.

Bessie Abott was one of twin daughters, Bessie and Jessie, born in Heuvelton, New York as Bessie Pickens to John Pickens, Jr., and his wife, Frances Josephine Button. Her father was a descendant of General Andrew Pickens of South Carolina. She utilized her mother's maiden name, Abbott, as her stage name and later dropped one "b" after she saw a misprinted theater program in Paris.

Abott made her professional stage debut in a vaudeville act with her twin sister Jessie at Pickens Hall, which was built by her grandfather, John Pickens sr.. The act was known as the Abbott Sisters. In 1894 she was hired by Edward E. Rice to star in the American premiere of Ivan Caryll's Little Christopher Columbus at the Garden Theatre in New York. The following year, she was engaged by Rice to star in a successful revival of R. A. Barnet's 1492 Up To Date. While in New York she studied singing with Frida Ashforth.

In 1897 Abott went to London where she performed in operettas in the West End. While there, she drew the attention of Jean de Reszke in 1898 after he saw her perform. He advised her to pursue an opera career, and she briefly studied singing with him. Under de Reszke's advice, she moved to Paris to study singing with Jacques Bouhy, Victor Capoul, and Mathilde Marchesi for the next three years.

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