Martha Atwood

Martha Atwood (sometimes referred to as Martha Atwood Baker) (October 1886, Wellfleet, Massachusetts - April 7, 1950, Hyannis, Massachusetts) was an American operatic soprano and the founder of the Cape Cod Institute of Music. She was awarded the Medal of Honor from the National Society of New England Women.

Life and career

Born in Wellfleet, Massachusetts to Captain Simeon and Martha Burtee Atwood, Atwood was part of a family with a long association with Seafaring and the Cape Cod community. She attended Lasell Seminary for Young Women (now Lasell College) before pursuing studies in Italy, France, and Belgium. She later became a pupil of Arthur Wilson in Boston.

Atwood made her professional opera debut in Siena and was actively performing in opera houses in the Italian provinces prior to World War I. With the outbreak of World War I, she returned to the United States and began a career as a leading soprano in Boston, making her first appearance in that city at the Boston City Club. She went on to appear in concert with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and for performances at the Boston Opera House.

On November 16, 1926 Atwood made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera as Liu in the United States premiere of Giacomo Puccini's Turandot, and was one of the earliest exponents of that role. She performed that role 9 times at the Met, and also performed the role for the work's Philadelphia debut at the Academy of Music. She continued at the Met through 1930 with her final performance there being Nedda in Pagliacci. In 1927 she portrayed the title role in Puccini's Tosca with the Philadelphia Grand Opera Company. That same year she performed at the American Legion Convention in Paris. She was also active as a recitalist, performing in such venues as Carnegie Hall, Town Hall, and New York's Gallo Theater among others.

In 1938 Atwood founded the Cape Cod Institute of Music which she continued to lead until 1943. She was married three times during her life. Her first marriage to Reuben Baker ended in divorce in 1927; as did her second to baritone Alessandro Alberini in 1935. Her third marriage to Manufacturers Trust Company Vice President George R Baker ended upon his death in 1944.

Atwood died at Cape Cod Hospital in 1950 at the age of 63.