Opera Singer. A soprano who was respected for her performances in major venues on both sides of the Atlantic, she is remembered both for her career and for her numerous romantic entanglements. Born Edith Marjory Barnes, she was raised mostly in Iowa where her mother moved following her father's death. Disregarding her mother's wishes, Edith pursued a career in music and following study in Boston, Philadelphia, and Paris, made her January 27, 1912 Boston Opera Company professional bow as Nedda from Leoncavallo's "I Pagliacci". Taking 'Mason' from one of the earlier of her many husbands, Edith spent the next three seasons in France, earning acclaim at Nice, Marseilles, and Paris with such roles as Mimi in Puccini's "La Boheme", Marguerite of Gounod's "Faust", Violetta in Verdi's "La Traviata", Micaela from Bizet's "Carmen", and the title lead of Puccini's "Madame Butterfly". Forced to return home by the onset of World War I, she made her November 20, 1915 Metropolitan Opera debut as Sophie from Richard Strauss' "Der Rosenkavalier". Edith sang at the Met 88 times up thru 1917, along the way making friends with Maestro Arturo Toscanini and tenor Enrico Caruso, on one legendary occasion bailing the great singer out of jail when he was locked-up for pinching a girl in Central Park. In 1921, she moved to the Chicago Opera Association (later, Chicago Civic Opera) which would remain her base over the rest of her career, though she did make guest appearances with Toscanini at La Scala Milano and the Salzburg Festival and also returned to the Metropolitan during the 1936-1937 season. Edith gave her 1942 farewell as Mimi, then served for 10 years as a professor at De Paul University while being much in demand as a Master Class presenter. Last seen in public at a 1966 Met Gala, she eventually married a man name Ragland and settled in San Diego where she suffered a fractured hip and a long period of decline prior to her death from a stroke. At her death, her remains were returned to St. Louis for burial in the family plot. Today, a goodly portion of her recorded legacy has been preserved and is available on CD.