Florence Easton

Florence Easton (25 October 1882 – 13 August 1955) was a popular English dramatic soprano in the early 20th century. She was one of the most versatile singers of all time. She sang more than 100 parts, covering a wide range of styles and periods, from Mozart, Meyerbeer, Gounod, Verdi, Wagner, Puccini, Strauss, Schreker and Krenek. In Wagner she sang virtually every soprano part, large and small from Senta onwards, including the Götterdämmerung Brünnhilde.

She described herself as "lyric dramatic soprano", which seems barely adequate in relation to the range of types of role in which she excelled. Her high international reputation, founded mainly in Germany and North America, was almost unique for a British singer of her time. She could move easily through all stages from the light coloratura to the Hochdramatische, from girlish romanticism to powerful Wagnerian and Straussian drama. The voice could be light and airy, gently melancholic or intensely passionate. The involvement in the character of the role was total. John Steane has suggested that "This great strength of hers was also, in a strange way, a source of weakness. She sang so many roles very well that she never quite became identified with any of these". Despite her often suspect Italian diction she was chosen by Puccini to create Lauretta in his 1917 opera Gianni Schicchi.

There is no connection between Florence Easton and the singer Robert Easton, born 1898 in Sunderland.

Florence Easton was the elder daughter of John Thomas Easton and Isabella Yarrow, and niece of Fletcher Easton. Known professionally as 'the nightingale of South Bank', she was born on 25 October 1882 at 52 Napier Street, South Bank, Middlesbrough (many biographies show her birthdate incorrectly as 1884). Her parents left England when she was 5 years old and settled with Florence (then known as Flossie) and her younger brother in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Flossie sang in the choir of Parkdale Methodist Church, where her father was choirmaster and her mother was organist. Her musical talent became evident in early childhood and she had piano, organ and singing lessons with JDA Tripp and Mr Harrison. She appeared publicly as a pianist when she was 8 years old.

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