Edna Alexander (singer)

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Not to be confused with the composer and singer from Iowa, Edna Alexander.
Photo from a 1902 article and interview in the Colored American

Edna Alexander was a Canadian-born soprano based in the United States and later Europe. She sang with various theater companies in the United States, including the Afro-American Opera Company, Cole & Johnson, and Williams and Walker Co.

Biography[]

Alexander was born in Woodstock, Canada, the daughter of George Alexander. When she was young, her family moved to Toledo, Ohio and then Chicago, Illinois. She started out singing as a child in the Quinn Chapel choir in Chicago, and later sang in the choir at Bethel Church.[1][2]

In 1895 she moved to the East Coast, where she performed as a singer. In 1896 she was part of the Afro-American Opera Company.[3] She was the lead soprano in Cole & Johnson's "A Trip to Coontown", and also performed for the Williams & Walker Company.[4][5] In 1905, she traveled to Europe as part of a performance, and continued to live there until the end of her life. While abroad, she married "Billy" Farrell who worked in variety shows.[4]

Alexander died from tuberculosis in August 1913 in Vienna, Austria.[4]

Theater[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Here and There". The Colored American Magazine. Vol. 3, no. 2. June 1901. pp. 140–145.
  2. ^ "Actress Refused By Church". Chicago Tribune. 6 May 1899. p. 6. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  3. ^ McAllister, Marvin (5 December 2011). Whiting up: Whiteface Minstrels and Stage Europeans in African American Performance. p. 88. ISBN 9780807869062.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Edna Alexander Dead". The New York Age. 14 August 1913. p. 6. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  5. ^ Abbott, Lynn (2007). Ragged But Right. University Press of Mississippi. p. 71. ISBN 978-1-57806-901-9. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  6. ^ "Week's Attractions". The Butte Miner. 11 May 1902. p. 38.
  7. ^ "The Play: Published Weekly in the Interests of the Theatre and Amusement-going Public". 1901.
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