Amparito Farrar

Amparito Farrar, from a 1918 publication.

Amparito Farrar (1893 — October 31, 1989) was an American soprano concert singer who went to France to perform for the troops during World War I.

Early life

Amparito Farrar was born in Portland, Oregon, and raised in Sacramento, California, the daughter of Louis C. Farrar and Guadalupe Farrar.[1][2] She studied music in Paris, London, Vienna, and Milan.[3]

Career

Farrar had her break in 1914 when she was promoted from the chorus to the starring role in High Jinks.[4] In 1916, Farrar co-starred with Bradford Kirkbride in The Lilac Domino.[5] Farrar made her New York debut in 1917, in Treasure Trove, conducted by Walter Damrosch, and soon after had her recital debut at the Aeolian Hall in 1918.[3]

Amparito Farrar, from a 1918 publication about her work in France during World War I.

During World War I, Farrar performed in France[6] for five months at hospitals and canteens,[7] under the auspices of the YMCA's Overseas Theatre League.[8][9] Her mother went along as her accompanist on piano.[10] "I have sung in motor camps, huts, bakeries, hospitals, even at the bedsides of the boys, one at a time," she wrote, describing her efforts.[11] She also encouraged fans to send recordings, sheet music, and musical instruments to veterans' hospitals and military camps.[12] Upon her return,[13] she gave concerts in various North American cities.[14][15]

Soon after her return to the United States, she was in a traffic accident as a passenger in a taxi in New York City, and required surgery to treat her facial injuries.[16]

Personal life

Amparito Farrar married Goodrich Truman Smith, a medical doctor she met overseas, in 1919. They lived in New York City.[17][18] She died in 1989, aged 96 years, in Florida.[19]

References

  1. ↑ Myra D. Steele, "Society" Sacramento Union (June 13, 1919): 10. via California Digitial Newspaper Collection
  2. ↑ "Farrar at Aeolian Hall, Jan. 18" Musical Monitor (January 1918): 242.
  3. 1 2 "Contemporary American Musicians No. 93: Amparito Farrar" Musical America (November 29, 1919): 17.
  4. ↑ "Miss Farrar Promoted" New York Times (April 19, 1914).
  5. ↑ "Bradford Kirbride and Amparito Farrar" Allentown Leader (January 17, 1916): 8. via Newspapers.com
  6. ↑ "Amparito Farrar Writes from France" Musical Leader (November 28, 1918): 521.
  7. ↑ "What We Are Doing in France" Musical Leader (October 3, 1918): 329.
  8. ↑ "Amparito Farrar Now Due in America" Musical Leader (November 21, 1918): 494.
  9. ↑ "Amparito Farrar Sails for France to Sing to Boys" Decatur Herald (August 25, 1918): 20. via Newspapers.com
  10. ↑ "Bridesmaid Soon to be Bride" Musical Monitor (May 1919): 383.
  11. ↑ James William Evans, Gardner Ludwig Harding, Anita Parkhurst, Ethel Rundquist, Entertaining the American Army: The American Stage and Lyceum in the World War (Association Press 1921): 132-133.
  12. ↑ "Personalities" Musical America (December 6, 1919): 16.
  13. ↑ "Miss Farrar to Return from Europe" Musical Leader (October 24, 1918): 402.
  14. ↑ "Amparito Farrar Scores in Halifax" Musical Courier (August 8, 1918): 31.
  15. ↑ "Second Penn Wheelmen Concert" Reading Times (February 17, 1919): 9. via Newspapers.com
  16. ↑ "Amparito Farrar's Accident" Musical Monitor (April 1919): 331.
  17. ↑ "Amparito Farrar Weds Captain Smith" Music Trades (June 14, 1919): 27.
  18. ↑ "'Flu' Gets Her a Husband" Atlanta Constitution (May 19, 1919): 6.
  19. ↑ Obituaries, Orlando Sentinel (November 5, 1989).
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