Margaret Burke Sheridan
- Category : 1889-births
- Type : GP
- Profile : 2/4 - Hermit / Opportunist
- Definition : Triple Split
- Incarnation Cross : RAX Maya 3
Biography
Irish operatic soprano who became a major star in Italy.
From 1909 to 1911 she studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London, during which time she was introduced to the Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi, who was instrumental in arranging further studies for her in opera in Rome. She made her debut there in Puccini's opera La Bohème in 1918. In 1922 she first sang at La Scala, Milan, in La Wally by Catalani under the direction of Toscanini. For the next few years she would sing at La Scala with great success. Perhaps her greatest role was Madama Butterfly, which she sang extensively in Italy and at Covent Garden in London. When she played the part of Madame Butterfly, Puccini was said to be spellbound.
Despite her successes, Sheridan's career was short. Later she suffered vocal difficulties: it is likely that she was a mezzo-soprano rather than a true soprano, which would have caused her problems reaching the highest notes. Also Toscanini was reputed to disapprove of female opera singers over the age of 40, so she went into retirement around 1930 except for a few concerts. Physically she was a blonde haired blue-eyed beauty, which further attracted her to Italian audiences. Bríd Mahon, in her 1998 book While Green Grass Grows, p. 123, states that: "It was rumoured that an Italian whose overtures she had rejected had blown his brains out in a box in La Scala, Milan, while she was on stage and that after the tragedy she never sang in public again."