Dive into this complete biography of Marie Van Zandt, a Brooklyn-born nineteenth-century opera singer who outshone her competitors with her extraordinary ability to learn parts quickly and sing them perfectly. Encompassed here is Marie's rise to fame, the men who loved her, her successes and failures, and the end of her long and exciting career.
Marie was born into show business. Her mother was a well-known singer whose travels to Europe led to a connection with Adelina Patti, a popular contemporary opera singer who promoted Marie's talent.
Marie had immediate successes in Italy and England, then quickly became the darling of Paris, where her capricious nature earned her the nickname "enfant gatée," or "spoiled child." She was a brilliant singer and a charming ingenue who inspired Leo Delibes to compose the opera Lakmé for her. However, she soon became the target of jealous colleagues and in 1885 was at the center of a series of near-riots in the city. She did not sing there again for over a decade, but had great successes in the rest of Europe, especially in Russia, as well as an American tour.
From the Opéra-Comique in France to Holland, where she was given the title of "Singer of the Court," and to Russia, where she stole the heart of the tsar's cousin, Marie led a life of successful artistic intrigue.
She remained immensely popular until the end of her career in 1898, when she married a Russian count and settled in Paris.
About the Author: Lawrence Dingman studied at Dartmouth and Harvard and taught in the hydrology program at the University of New Hampshire for thirty years. He has authored many scientific papers and published two textbooks: Physical Hydrology and Fluvial Hydraulics.
Jane Van Zandt Dingman is the great-niece of Marie Van Zandt. She grew up hearing many of the stories about Marie and inherited newspaper clippings, letters, programs, and artifacts that the late opera star originally collected. Jane studied at Wellesley and Yale and researched butterflies under the name of Jane V. Z. Brower. She taught biology at Mount Holyoke College and the University of New Hampshire and later became an antique dealer.
Lawrence and Jane have since retired to Cape Cod.
