Marguerite Dunlap
Born20 July 1887 Edit this on Wikidata
Camden Edit this on Wikidata
Died7 January 1959 Edit this on Wikidata (aged 71)
Upper Montclair Edit this on Wikidata
Resting placeBloomfield Cemetery Edit this on Wikidata
OccupationConcert singer Edit this on Wikidata
Employer
  • Victor Light Opera Company Edit this on Wikidata

Marguerite Dunlap (July 20, 1887 – January 7, 1959) was an American contralto opera singer. She is mainly remembered for her recordings for Victor Records from 1904–1928. She recorded a wide range of music from operas to Broadway musicals to sacred music, popular music, and songs from the classical concert repertoire.

Personal life

Dunlap was born on July 20, 1887, in Camden, South Carolina[1][2] to Margaret Cunningham Dunlap and Charles J. Dunlap, a former Confederate Army surgeon. Her family subsequently moved to Atlanta.[1]

She married Joseph E. Garabrant,[1] a marine engineer,[3] and kept singing under her maiden name.[4] She had a daughter, Margaret G. Derr, and a son, Joseph E. Garabrant Jr. She moved to Montclair in 1920, and retired in the 1920s. Her last address was at 217 Montclair Avenue, Upper Montclair.[1] She was a member of St John's Episcopal Church in Montclair and the Upper Montclair Country Club.[4]

After an operation, she was ill for a long time, and she died at her home on January 7, 1959,[1] aged 71.[4] She had three grandchildren at the time of her death. She was buried in Bloomfield Cemetery,[1] after a service at the Van Tassel Funeral Home.[4]

Career

78 rpm phonograph record of "Beautiful Ohio", ballad sung by Dunlap and Olive Kline[5]

Dunlap began to show singing talent early in life, becoming an expert pianist by the age of 16.[1] She sang alto with the First Baptist choir in Atlanta.[6] When she was 18 she went to New York City and in a competitive audition won a scholarship to the Metropolitan Opera school.[1] She studied with Madam Florence Manchester.[6] She made professional recordings as part of the Trinity Choir (at Trinity Church)[3] for Victor Talking Machine Co.[7][8] She would go on to record 360 records for Victor Records,[7] including being a contralto soloist.[9][1] In October 1913 she recorded a duet with the Canadian singer (and Victor Records manager) Harry MacDonough of "When It's Apple Blossom Time in Normandy".[10]

Dunlap had her debut at the Metropolitan Opera on January 18, 1907, in the first production of Manon Lescaut, composed by Puccini, with Enrico Caruso as the lead singer;[11] her last portrayal of this role was on March 2, 1907.[12] In 1911, she was one of the performers in the sextet for Lucia di Lammermoor in New York,[9] and also recorded "Mighty Lak' a Rose" ("Mighty Like a Rose") by Ethelbert Nevin in 1911.[13] In 1914, she was involved in a production of "Sextet from Lucia" for a record.[14] She performed in Arkansas in 1915, including songs such as "Mammy Song" by Harriet Ware, and "Mighty Lak' a Rose".[15] She and Olive Kline made one of the early recordings of "Beautiful Ohio" in 1919.[5][13] This song would become the official state song of Ohio.[16] Dunlap sang in the first radio broadcast of the AM radio station WEAF (later called WNBC) in New York in 1922.[1] Dunlap made recordings up to 1928.[7]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Former Concert Singer Dies at 71". The Montclair Times. 8 January 1959. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ↑ Sullivan, Steve (17 May 2017). Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9781442254497.
  3. 1 2 "Memorial Obituary". The New York Times. 8 January 1959.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Ex-Singer, 71, Of Montclair". Newark Evening News. 8 January 1959.
  5. 1 2 "Victor matrix B-22474. Beautiful Ohio / Marguerite Dunlap ; Olive Kline". Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
  6. 1 2 "Talented Atlanta Girl Returns to New York". The Atlanta Constitution. 29 August 1909. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. 1 2 3 "Dunlap, Marguerite – Discography of American Historical Recordings". adp.library.ucsb.edu. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  8. ↑ "Marguerite Dunlap". Discogs. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  9. 1 2 Hoffmann, Frank; Cooper, B. Lee; Gracyk, Tim (12 November 2012). Popular American Recording Pioneers: 1895–1925. Routledge. ISBN 9781136592294.
  10. ↑ Marguerite Dunlap; Harry Macdonough; Mellor; Gifford; Trevor (27 October 1913), When It's Apple Blossom Time in Normandy, Internet Archive, Victor, retrieved 17 October 2021
  11. ↑ "Metropolitan Opera Premiere". archives.metoperafamily.org. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
  12. ↑ "BiblioTech PRO V3.2b". archives.metoperafamily.org. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
  13. 1 2 Whitburn, Joel (1986). Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890–1954. Wisconsin, USA: Record Research Inc. p. 549. ISBN 0-89820-083-0.
  14. ↑ "Memoirs of my Recording and Traveling Experiences for the Victor Talking Machine Company". www.davidsarnoff.org. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
  15. ↑ "Musical Artists For Next Season". Arkansas Daily Traveler. 18 May 1915. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ↑ "Ohio State Song". Retrieved 18 October 2021.
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