Opera Singer. A noted soprano of the 1920s and 1930s, she was later a respected voice teacher. Born Queena Marian Tillotson she was raised in New Jersey and studied with Polish soprano Marcella Sembrich prior to bowing with the San Carlo Opera Company in 1918. In the early 1920s she sang with baritone Antonio Scotti's touring Antonio Scotti Opera Company before making her debut with the Metropolitan Opera on November 30, 1922. Over her 345 performances at the venerable house her roles included Nedda in Leoncavallo's "I Pagliacci", Gilda from Giuseppe Verdi's "Rigoletto", Mimi in Puccini's "La Boheme", Sophie of Richard Strauss "Der Rosenvavalier", Micaela in Georges Bizet's "Carmen", and others. Queena was Gretel in Engelbert Humperdinck's "Hansel and Gretel" for the 1931 first-ever Saturday Metropolitan radio broadcast; on the West Coast she first appeared at San Francisco in 1923 as Mimi and in 1930 was the Child for the American premiere of Maurice Ravel's "L'Enfant et les Sortileges". After singing her final Metropolitan performance on December 26, 1938, she was a professor at New York's Juilliard School and Philadelphia's Curtis Institute while also earning praise under her real name as the author of opera-themed murder mysteries and, as 'Florence Bryant', of a newspaper column. A portion of her recorded legacy remains available.
Opera Singer. A noted soprano of the 1920s and 1930s, she was later a respected voice teacher. Born Queena Marian Tillotson she was raised in New Jersey and studied with Polish soprano Marcella Sembrich prior to bowing with the San Carlo Opera Company in 1918. In the early 1920s she sang with baritone Antonio Scotti's touring Antonio Scotti Opera Company before making her debut with the Metropolitan Opera on November 30, 1922. Over her 345 performances at the venerable house her roles included Nedda in Leoncavallo's "I Pagliacci", Gilda from Giuseppe Verdi's "Rigoletto", Mimi in Puccini's "La Boheme", Sophie of Richard Strauss "Der Rosenvavalier", Micaela in Georges Bizet's "Carmen", and others. Queena was Gretel in Engelbert Humperdinck's "Hansel and Gretel" for the 1931 first-ever Saturday Metropolitan radio broadcast; on the West Coast she first appeared at San Francisco in 1923 as Mimi and in 1930 was the Child for the American premiere of Maurice Ravel's "L'Enfant et les Sortileges". After singing her final Metropolitan performance on December 26, 1938, she was a professor at New York's Juilliard School and Philadelphia's Curtis Institute while also earning praise under her real name as the author of opera-themed murder mysteries and, as 'Florence Bryant', of a newspaper column. A portion of her recorded legacy remains available.
Bio by: Bob Hufford
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