Post by tonyloco on Mar 3, 2020 15:02:24 GMT
Going off on something of a tangent, I am reminded that some years ago it was not uncommon for opera singers to change their names to seem to be more classy or more important than they actually were and singers from Australia did this all the time. They often took a new name to reflect where they were from as can be seen from the following list:
Helen Porter Mitchell became Nellie Melba (Melbourne)
Florence Wilson became Florence Austral (Australia)
Elsie Mary Fischer became Elsa Stralia (Australia)
June Gough became June Bronhill (Broken Hill)
Sarah Cohen became Syria Lamonte (more exotic)
Catherine Mary Ryan became Marie Narelle
Flora Flanagan became Florrie Forde
Ivy Ansley became Irene Ainsley (classier)
Fanny Davis became Frances Alda (her married name had been Adler)
Lance Ingram became Albert Lance (because Ingram was not an easy name for the French to pronounce when he settled in Paris)
Lionel Cecil Sherwood became Lionello Cecil (better for his career in Italy)
Clearly Joan Sutherland did not need to change her name because her surname was close enough to 'South Land' to identify with Australia as the Great South Land.
When I see some of today's opera stars with unpronounceable names I rather wish it was still the fashion to change to something easier to remember as well as say!
Helen Porter Mitchell became Nellie Melba (Melbourne)
Florence Wilson became Florence Austral (Australia)
Elsie Mary Fischer became Elsa Stralia (Australia)
June Gough became June Bronhill (Broken Hill)
Sarah Cohen became Syria Lamonte (more exotic)
Catherine Mary Ryan became Marie Narelle
Flora Flanagan became Florrie Forde
Ivy Ansley became Irene Ainsley (classier)
Fanny Davis became Frances Alda (her married name had been Adler)
Lance Ingram became Albert Lance (because Ingram was not an easy name for the French to pronounce when he settled in Paris)
Lionel Cecil Sherwood became Lionello Cecil (better for his career in Italy)
Clearly Joan Sutherland did not need to change her name because her surname was close enough to 'South Land' to identify with Australia as the Great South Land.
When I see some of today's opera stars with unpronounceable names I rather wish it was still the fashion to change to something easier to remember as well as say!
