American Soprano Elizabeth Wheeler ~ Elizabeth's Prayer (c.1909?)

American soprano Elizabeth Wheeler (1875-1971) / Elizabeth's Prayer / Tannhauser (Wagner) / Recorded: circa 1909 (?) --

Jim Walsh of Hobbies Magazine in 1961 described Elizabeth Wheeler and William Wheeler as "the most successful husband and wife duet pair in the history of the phonograph." She was born Bess Nicholson in Kokomo, Indiana, in 1875; he was born in Shawano, Wisconsin in 1879. They married in 1904, and performed widely, doing standard ballads, light opera, and hymns. Mr. Wheeler made some solo recordings for Leeds & Caitlin, Edison and others, and then the two began their duet recordings in 1910, for Victor. "Beautiful Isle of Somewhere" was an early hit, though it did not reach the 1917 Victor catalog, where there were 17 other titles by the pair. Their final Victor recording was the most popular one, "What a Friend We have in Jesus." Mrs. Wheeler made many solo Victors beginning in 1909; she sang ballads and children's songs, and also "Elizabeth's Prayer" from Tannhauser. William Wheeler did some solo work for Pathe. They did not record after the acoustic period, and "What a Friend" was the only one of their titles to reach the 1927 Victor catalog. Elizabeth Wheeler died in 1971; William Wheeler died in 1967. (From "The Encyclopedia of Recorded Sound in the United States" / edited by Guy A. Marco / Garland Publishing, Inc. - 1993)

******************************

Category:

Music

Tags:

• American
• Soprano
• Elizabeth
• Wheeler
• Opera
• Wagner
• Tannhauser
• Acoustic
• 78RPM
• CurzonRoad

[AulicExclusiva]

Lovely phrasing, at an expressive, flowing tempo that doesn't make such a meal of the piece as some German sopranos do. She also had perfectly equalised registers, a lost art. Priceless disk.

[AlmaWinemiller]

Beautiful.

[grahamrankin]

Very evocative and full of beautifully expressed feeling.

[Bivolari]

Very purely sung. This seems to engage her more than the Merry Widow song. Perhaps it is the devotional tone of the piece that inspires her.

[65attila]

How beautiful and musical.

Thanks Doug.

Regards-John