Opera Scotland

Pauline Joran Suggest updates

Clara Pauline Joran, later the Baroness de Bush.

Born Freepoint, Illinois 1870.

Died London, 13 August 1954.

American soprano.

Pauline Joran came from a musical family, with two sisters who were talented pianists. She made her concert debut as a violinist at the age of nine. When she came to Europe to continue her training, she took up singing seriously. When L'amico Fritz, the opera by Mascagni, received its British premiere on 23 May 1892 at Covent Garden, she took the role of Beppe, which required her both to sing and to play the violin. She then toured Britain with the Carl Rosa company, appearing in several operas, including the Scottish premieres of the Mascagni work and of Bizet's Djamileh.

She was recruited by Sir Augustus Harris for his seasons at Covent Garden, singing Marguerite, Nedda, Carmen and Alice Ford. She went on to appear in Sullivan's late opera, The Beauty Stone (1898). She sang twice in gala performances before Queen Victoria at Windsor. Her retirement from the stage came in 1899, following her marriage to William Ernest, Baron de Bush. After his death in a railway accident in 1903, she spent her final years as a musical patron.