Flora Batson

Flora Batson
Flora Batson
Background information
Birth name	Flora Batson
Also known as	The Double-Voiced Queen of Song
Born	April 16, 1864; Washington, D.C., U.S.
Died	December 1, 1906 (aged 42); Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Genres	light opera, popular music
Years active	1885–1906

Flora Batson (1864–1906) was a popular and well-known black concert singer, nicknamed "The Double-Voiced Queen of Song" because of her soprano-baritone range. She was also called "the colored Jenny Lind" in the press.[1][2]

Batson was born in Washington, D.C. on April 16, 1864.[3] She began singing at a young age, in her church choir. In 1885, she began touring with the Bergen Star Company and became internationally known. She was a contemporary of Marie Selika Williams, Madam Flower "Bronze Melba", and Matilda Sissieretta Joyner Jones. She performed with Jones in 1885 in Providence, Rhode Island and was sometimes considered her rival.[4] She married John Bergen in 1887[5] and their interracial marriage was fodder for tabloids.[6] Bergen promoted Batson's career and rivalry with Jones, even dubbing Batson "The Real Patti" in response to Jones' promotion as "The Black Patti."[7] Supported by Bergen's management and touring company, she performed all over the world, including performances for royalty and religious leaders.

After Bergen's death in 1896, she toured with a variety of singing companies. She sang duets with Gerard Millar in the South before the War Company. They also toured together in Australia in 1899 and 1900 with Orpheus McAdoo's Georgia Minstrels and Genuine Alabama Cake Walkers.[8][9]

Batson died in Philadelphia on December 1, 1906.

References

"Los Angeles Herald". 33 (13). 24 October 1889. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
"Advertisement for Singer Flora Batson at Spurgeon's Opera House, Santa Ana". The Bowers Museum Blog. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
Facts on File encyclopedia of Black women in America. New York: Facts on File. 1997. p. 54. ISBN 0816034257.
Lee, Maureen D. (2013). Sissieretta Jones: "The Greatest Singer of Her Race," 1868-1933. Univ of South Carolina Press. ISBN 978-1611172812.
Majors, Monroe Alphus (1893). Noted Negro Women: Their Triumphs and Activities. Donohue & Henneberry. p. 92. Flora Batson, the colored Jenny Lind.
"Batson, Flora (1864-1906)". Blackpast.org. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
The Death of Flora Batson (Dec 15, 1906). "The Freeman".
Nettles, Darryl Glenn (2003). African American Concert Singers Before 1950. McFarland. p. 14. ISBN 0786414677.
Abbott, Lynn; Seroff, Doug (2009). Out of sight the rise of African American popular music, 1889-1895. Jackson, Miss.: University Press of Mississippi. p. 464. ISBN 978-1604730395.

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[1] "Los Angeles Herald". 33 (13). 24 October 1889. Retrieved 24 July 2015.

[2] "Advertisement for Singer Flora Batson at Spurgeon's Opera House, Santa Ana". The Bowers Museum Blog. Retrieved 24 July 2015.

[3] Facts on File encyclopedia of Black women in America. New York: Facts on File. 1997. p. 54. ISBN 0816034257.

[4] Lee, Maureen D. (2013). Sissieretta Jones: "The Greatest Singer of Her Race," 1868-1933. Univ of South Carolina Press. ISBN 978-1611172812.

[5] Majors, Monroe Alphus (1893). Noted Negro Women: Their Triumphs and Activities. Donohue & Henneberry. p. 92. Flora Batson, the colored Jenny Lind.

[6] "Batson, Flora (1864-1906)". Blackpast.org. Retrieved 24 July 2015.

[7] The Death of Flora Batson (Dec 15, 1906). "The Freeman".

[8] Nettles, Darryl Glenn (2003). African American Concert Singers Before 1950. McFarland. p. 14. ISBN 0786414677.

[9] Abbott, Lynn; Seroff, Doug (2009). Out of sight the rise of African American popular music, 1889-1895. Jackson, Miss.: University Press of Mississippi. p. 464. ISBN 978-1604730395.