Melva Clemaire

Melva Clemaire (1874 — April 18, 1937) was the stage name of Mellie Wilde, an American soprano singer.

Melva Clemaire, from a 1908 publication.

Early life

Mellie M. Wilde was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, the daughter of Francis F. Wilde and Melvina Ganyaw Wilde. Her father, who was born in Vienna, was a veteran of the American Civil War, and a real estate lawyer.[1] She studied music with Emil Oberhoffer.[2]

Career

Mellie Wilde made her first public concert appearance in 1895, at the Metropolitan Opera House in St. Paul.[3] Melva Clemaire toured Sweden in 1906, and sang at London's Albert Hall.[2] In 1907 and 1908 she was the featured performer touring nationally with the Bostonia Sextette Club.[4][5][6] She was described as having "a beautiful, clear soprano voice that shows fine training."[7] She also sang with the Henry W. Savage Opera Company and the Gallo Italian Grand Opera Company.[2] In 1915 she arranged for the San Carlo Grand Opera Company to perform in Minneapolis.[8]

Personal life

Mellie Wilde was a Christian Scientist.[9] She married Mark O. Graves in 1896.[10] She was widowed in 1924,[11] and she died in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1937, aged 63 years.[12]

References
  1. Henry Anson Castle, History of St. Paul and Vicinity (Lewis Publishing Company 1912): 876.
  2. "Mrs. Melva M. Graves" Star Tribune (April 20, 1937): 14. via Newspapers.com
  3. "A Week of Music" Saint Paul Globe (April 14, 1895): 14. via Newspapers.com
  4. "Bostonia Sextette" Wausau Daily Herald (December 11, 1907): 1. via Newspapers.com
  5. "Melva Clemaire, at Home and Abroad" Musical Courier (April 1, 1908): 30.
  6. "A Double Concert" The St. Johnsbury Caledonian (March 4, 1908): 4. via Newspapers.com
  7. "The Bostonia Sextette" Manhattan Nationalist (October 17, 1907): 1. via Newspapers.com
  8. "San Carlo Grand Opera Coming to Metropolitan" Star Tribune (December 19, 1915): 50. via Newspapers.com
  9. "Christian Science Practitioners" Christian Science Journal (July 1921): xxxiii.
  10. "Sunday's Pioneer Press" Little Falls Weekly Transcript (April 17, 1896): 9. via Newspapers.com
  11. "Apartment Manager Dies" Minneapolis Star (May 16, 1924): 18. via Newspapers.com
  12. "Melva Graves' Funeral is Set" Minneapolis Star (April 20, 1937): 13. via Newspapers.com
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