Geneviève Ward
Quick Facts
Biography
Lucy Geneviève Teresa Ward, Countess de Guerbel, DBE (27 March 1837 – 18 August 1922), known popularly as Dame Geneviève Ward, was a United Kingdom-based American-born Russian soprano and actress. She was appointed Honorary Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire on her 84th birthday in 1921.
Life and career
Ward was born in New York City to Colonel Samuel Ward, and his wife, Lucy. She was the granddaughter of Gideon Lee, a former mayor of New York City. At the age of three she accompanied her parents to Europe. She began to display a preference for the arts, and devoted herself by turns to the study of painting, sculpture, and music. By degrees, music absorbed her entirely, and her proficiency on the piano attracted attention.
On 10 November 1856, at age 19, she married a Russian count, Constantine de Guerbel. After a few years' stay in Europe, the family returned to New York, and soon afterward made the acquaintance of Henriette Sontag, who encouraged Ward to study singing. When the Ward family returned to Europe, Sontag gave Geneviève a letter of introduction to the composer Rossini. In 1862, after Ward's last role in La Traviata, she retired due to vocal difficulties. Ward later became a stage actress, noted for dramatic roles.
Later years
She published a volume of reminiscences, Before and Behind the Curtain in 1918.
Death
Geneviève Ward, Countess de Guerbel, died of heart disease at her home in Hampstead on 18 August 1922, aged 85.