Clara Kathleen Rogers
Encyclopedia
Clara Kathleen Rogers was an American
composer
, singer, writer
and music educator.
, was an opera composer and was the first music teacher his children had; her mother, Eliza, was a singer. At the age of twelve, her family moved to Germany in order further the musical education of the children. Clara was denied acceptance to the Leipzig
Conservatory, but that decision was changed in 1857 in view of her talent, making her the youngest student ever admitted. Two of her siblings also attended the conservatory. During this time, John Barnett returned to England while Eliza Barnett stayed with her children, a trend that continued through-out the early part of Rogers's career.
While at Leipzig, Rogers began her studies at the piano, harmony, part writing, violin, cello, and voice. Although composition classes were not yet open to women at the conservatory, she nevertheless produced the first movement of her string quartet while a student there. Her classmate, Arthur Sullivan
, copied orchestra parts for her, found players and arranged a performance of the piece. Rogers spent three years at the Conservatory, graduating at sixteen with honors.
Rogers chose to pursue a vocal career and became an opera
singer. Using the pseudonym Clara Doria, she debuted in 1863 in Turin
, Italy in a performance of Robert le diable
by Giacomo Meyerbeer
. After touring in Italy
and five years in London as a concert singer, she came to America in 1871 as a member of the Parepa-Rosa Opera Company
and spent another seven years as a singer with at least three different troupes. Her singing career ended in 1878 when she married Henry Munroe Rogers, a lawyer living in Boston. Moving to Boston, Rogers had many artistic friends, such as Amy Beach
, Margaret Ruthven Lang
, George Chadwick, Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., Amy Lowell
, and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
. Longfellow wrote the poem “Stay at Home, My Heart, and Rest” especially for Rogers. She held weekly musicales at her home and helped to promote the careers of her artistic friends.
After her marriage, Rogers took up teaching and composing, which she said was “a supreme delight – amounting at times almost to intoxication!” By the early 1880s, she had begun publishing some of her songs with the Arthur P. Schmidt company. In 1888, she helped found the Boston Manuscript Club and was invited to join the Manuscript Club of New York in 1895 by Amy Beach. Although she had rejected a teaching position there in the past, Rogers joined the faculty of the New England Conservatory in 1902, where she taught voice, and began to write on music. Her literary works (see below) include six books on diction and technique and three autobiographies. She died in 1931 in Boston. Her correspondences and manuscripts are kept at the Harvard University Library.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, singer, writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
and music educator.
Biography
Clara Kathleen Barnett Rogers was born into a musical family. Her grandfather, Robert Lindley, was a cellist; her father, John BarnettJohn Barnett
John Barnett was an English composer and writer on music.-Life:Barnett was the eldest son of a Prussian Jew named Bernhard Beer, who changed his surname on settling in England as a jeweller. According to some he was a cousin of the composer Giacomo Meyerbeer...
, was an opera composer and was the first music teacher his children had; her mother, Eliza, was a singer. At the age of twelve, her family moved to Germany in order further the musical education of the children. Clara was denied acceptance to the Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
Conservatory, but that decision was changed in 1857 in view of her talent, making her the youngest student ever admitted. Two of her siblings also attended the conservatory. During this time, John Barnett returned to England while Eliza Barnett stayed with her children, a trend that continued through-out the early part of Rogers's career.
While at Leipzig, Rogers began her studies at the piano, harmony, part writing, violin, cello, and voice. Although composition classes were not yet open to women at the conservatory, she nevertheless produced the first movement of her string quartet while a student there. Her classmate, Arthur Sullivan
Arthur Sullivan
Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan MVO was an English composer of Irish and Italian ancestry. He is best known for his series of 14 operatic collaborations with the dramatist W. S. Gilbert, including such enduring works as H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado...
, copied orchestra parts for her, found players and arranged a performance of the piece. Rogers spent three years at the Conservatory, graduating at sixteen with honors.
Rogers chose to pursue a vocal career and became an opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
singer. Using the pseudonym Clara Doria, she debuted in 1863 in Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
, Italy in a performance of Robert le diable
Robert le diable (opera)
Robert le diable is an opera by Giacomo Meyerbeer, often regarded as the first grand opera. The libretto was written by Eugène Scribe and Casimir Delavigne and has little connection to the medieval legend of Robert the Devil. Originally planned as a three-act opéra comique, "Meyerbeer persuaded...
by Giacomo Meyerbeer
Giacomo Meyerbeer
Giacomo Meyerbeer was a noted German opera composer, and the first great exponent of "grand opera." At his peak in the 1830s and 1840s, he was the most famous and successful composer of opera in Europe, yet he is rarely performed today.-Early years:He was born to a Jewish family in Tasdorf , near...
. After touring in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and five years in London as a concert singer, she came to America in 1871 as a member of the Parepa-Rosa Opera Company
Carl Rosa Opera Company
The Carl Rosa Opera Company was founded in 1873 by Carl August Nicholas Rosa, a German-born musical impresario, to present opera in English in London and the British provinces. The company survived Rosa's death in 1889, and continued to present opera in English on tour until 1960, when it was...
and spent another seven years as a singer with at least three different troupes. Her singing career ended in 1878 when she married Henry Munroe Rogers, a lawyer living in Boston. Moving to Boston, Rogers had many artistic friends, such as Amy Beach
Amy Beach
Amy Marcy Cheney Beach was an American composer and pianist. She was the first successful American female composer of large-scale art music. Most of her compositions and performances were under the name Mrs. H.H.A. Beach.-Early years:Beach was born Amy Marcy Cheney in Henniker, New Hampshire into...
, Margaret Ruthven Lang
Margaret Ruthven Lang
Margaret Ruthven Lang was an American composer, affiliated with the Second New England School. Lang was also the first woman composer to have a composition performed by a major American symphony orchestra.-Life:...
, George Chadwick, Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., Amy Lowell
Amy Lowell
Amy Lawrence Lowell was an American poet of the imagist school from Brookline, Massachusetts who posthumously won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1926.- Personal life:...
, and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was an American poet and educator whose works include "Paul Revere's Ride", The Song of Hiawatha, and Evangeline...
. Longfellow wrote the poem “Stay at Home, My Heart, and Rest” especially for Rogers. She held weekly musicales at her home and helped to promote the careers of her artistic friends.
After her marriage, Rogers took up teaching and composing, which she said was “a supreme delight – amounting at times almost to intoxication!” By the early 1880s, she had begun publishing some of her songs with the Arthur P. Schmidt company. In 1888, she helped found the Boston Manuscript Club and was invited to join the Manuscript Club of New York in 1895 by Amy Beach. Although she had rejected a teaching position there in the past, Rogers joined the faculty of the New England Conservatory in 1902, where she taught voice, and began to write on music. Her literary works (see below) include six books on diction and technique and three autobiographies. She died in 1931 in Boston. Her correspondences and manuscripts are kept at the Harvard University Library.
Musical Output
- Around 100 songs
- Four piano works
- Two String Quartets
- Sonata for violin and piano
- Sonata for cello and piano
Other publications
- The Philosophy of Singing, published in 1893
- My Voice and I, published in 1910
- English Diction in Song and Speech, published in 1912
- Memories of a Musical Career, published in 1919/1920
- The Voice in Speech, published in 1915
- Your Voice and You, published in 1925
- Clearcut Speech in Song, published in 1927
- The Story of Two Lives, published in 1932
- Journal-Letters from the Orient, published in 1934
Discography
- Women at an Exposition: Music Composed by Women and Performed at the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago. Susanne Mentzer, mezzo-soprano; Sunny Joy Langton, soprano; Elaine Skorodin, violin; Kimberly Schmidt, piano. Koch International Classics 3-7240-2H1, 1993.
External links
Books- Books by Clara Kathleen Rogers (at the Internet ArchiveInternet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
)