Anna Case: Soprano in Vaudeville

Today is birthday of Anna Case (1888-1984). New Jersey born Case was said to have been the first person to sing at the Metropolitan Opera who hadn’t been trained in Europe. She debuted at the Met as a soprano in 1909, and sang with the company for a decade, in such works as Lohengrin, Carmen, Aida, and The Magic Flute. From 1919 through 1930, she gave concert recitals throughout the United States, including the vaudeville circuits. (e.g, she played the Palace in 1926). She retired in 1930 and married wealthy opera patron Clarence H. Mackey, father of Ellin Mackey, who married Irving Berlin. 

, consult No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous, available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and wherever nutty books are sold.