Dame Clara Butt | |
|---|---|
 Butt in 1897 | |
| Born | Clara Ellen Butt (1872-02-01)1 February 1872[1] Southwick, Sussex, England |
| Died | 23 January 1936(1936-01-23) (aged 63) North Stoke, Oxfordshire, England |
| Alma mater | Royal College of Music |
| Occupation | Singer |
| Years active | 1892–1936 |
| Height | 6ft 2in (188cm)[2] |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
| Relatives | Lawson Butt (brother) |
Dame Clara Ellen ButtDBE (1 February 1872 – 23 January 1936) was an English dramaticcontralto and one of the most popular singers from the 1890s through to the 1920s. She had an exceptionally fine contralto voice and an agile singing technique, and impressed contemporary composers such asSaint-Saëns andElgar; the latter composed hisSea Pictures, Op. 37 with her voice in mind.
Her main career was as a recitalist and concert singer. She appeared in only two operatic productions, both ofGluck'sOrfeo ed Euridice. Later in her career she frequently appeared in recitals together with her husband, thebaritoneKennerley Rumford. She made numerous recordings for the gramophone.
Clara Butt was born inSouthwick, Sussex, the eldest daughter of Henry Albert Butt, a sea captain, and his wife Claranée Hook.[3] In 1880, the family moved to the port city ofBristol. Butt was educated at South Bristol High School, where her singing ability was recognised and her talent as a performer encouraged. At the request of her headmistress, she was trained by thebass Daniel Rootham (father of the composerCyril Rootham) and joined the Bristol Festival Chorus, of which Daniel Rootham was musical director.[3]
Butt won a scholarship to theRoyal College of Music (RCM) in January 1890. Her voice teachers were John Henry Blower[4] andAlbert Visetti,[5] while her piano teacher wasMarmaduke Barton.[6] During her fourth year of vocal lessons at the college she spent three months studying in Paris sponsored byQueen Victoria. She also studied in Berlin and Italy.[3]
Butt made her professional debut on 7 December 1892 at theRoyal Albert Hall in London inSullivan'scantataThe Golden Legend. Three days later she appeared as Orfeo inGluck'sOrfeo ed Euridice at theLyceum Theatre.[4] This was an RCM production, conducted byCharles Villiers Stanford.[7]Bernard Shaw, who was then the music critic forThe World, wrote that she "far surpassed the utmost expectations that could reasonably be entertained", and forecast a considerable career for her.[8]
Later Butt polished her skills in Berlin with the famous retiredsopranoEtelka Gerster.[3] The French composerCamille Saint-Saëns heard her, and wanted her to study his operaSamson et Dalila, but at the time the representation of biblical subjects on the British stage was forbidden, and nothing came of it.[9] When the law changed and the work was given atCovent Garden in 1909 the part of Delila was sung byKirkby Lunn, to Butt's disappointment.[10] In 1896 she took a break from singing and returned to Paris for further vocal studies, this time underJacques Bouhy.[11]
Butt acquired a reputation in Britain for her vocal attributes and her physical presence on the concert platform: she was 6 feet 2 inches tall.[4] She made manygramophone recordings, often accompanied by the (uncredited) pianist Lilian Bryant. Among her recordings are several of Sullivan's song "The Lost Chord";[12] her friendFanny Ronalds bequeathed the original manuscript of the song to her.[n 1] She was primarily a concert singer; her only operatic performances were in two productions ofOrfeo ed Euridice. She also sung ballads by popular composers like Thomas Arthur Goring and Elva Lorence (Florence Eva Simpson).[15] The leading composer of the era,Edward Elgar, composed his song-cycleSea Pictures for contralto and orchestra with her in mind as soloist; she sang at the first performance of the work at theNorwich Festival on 5 October 1899, with the composer conducting.[16]
On 24 March 1900 Butt performed at the Bournemouth "Winter Gardens" with thebaritoneKennerley Rumford,[17][18] and they were married in Bristol on 26 June 1900. Thereafter Butt would often appear with him in concerts.[4] They had a daughter, Joy, in 1901, who, in 1928 married Claude H Cross (no issue), and they also had two sons, Roy (1904-1923) and Victor (1906-1934).[19][3] Besides singing in many important festivals and concerts, Butt appeared by royal command before Queen Victoria,King Edward VII, andKing George V. She made tours of Australia, Japan, Canada, New Zealand, the United States and to many European cities.[3]
During the First World War, Butt organised and sang in many concerts for service charities, and for this was appointedDame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 1920 civilian war honours.[3] That year she sang four performances of Gluck'sOrfeo ed Euridice at Covent Garden, withMiriam Licette, under the baton ofSir Thomas Beecham. According toThe Times she was ill at ease on stage, and in the most famous number, "Che farò", her "attempt to sing it dramatically made her play fast and loose with the time and spoil the phrasing".[20] It was her only appearance on the professional operatic stage.[7]
Clara Butt performed 110 times at theRoyal Albert Hall in her career, organising many important fund-raising concerts for charities during the First World War.[21] She sangThe Dream of Gerontius with the Australian contraltoEileen Boyd for King George V and Queen Mary in 1917.[22]
Butt's three sisters were also singers. One, Ethel Hook, became a famous contralto in her own right, made some solo recordings, and in 1926 appeared in an earlysound film made in theLee de ForestPhonofilm sound-on-film process.
She was clouded by tragedy in her later years, with both her sons predeceasing her. During the 1920s, she became seriously ill withspinal cancer. Nevertheless, she continued to give concerts and make records. A devoutChristian Scientist, she took part in revivalist meetings, singing, and giving sermons. She died atNorth Stoke on 23 January 1936.[3]
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