2295743Woman of the Century — Genevieve Ward

WARD, Mrs. Genevieve, singer and actor, born in New York, N. Y., 27th March, 1833. She is a granddaughter of Gideon Lee. Her full maiden name was Lucia Genoveva Teresa, and the name GENEVIEVE WARD. by which she is known is only her stage-name. In childhood she lived in France and Italy. In 1848 her fine voice attracted the attention of Rossini, who trained her in music. She sang in "Lucrezia Borgia," in La Scala, Milan, and afterward in Bergamo and Paris. In London, Eng., she sang in English opera. In December, 1851, she sang in "Messiah," in London. She became the wife of Count Constantine Guerbel, a Russian officer, before she went upon the operatic stage, and for a time she used the name Madame Guerrabella on the bills. In 1862 she gave Italian operas in London, and in that year she came to the United States. She sang in New York, Philadelphia and Havana, Cuba. She was ill with diphtheria and lost her singing voice. She then gave vocal lessons in New York for several years and prepared for the dramatic stage. She was coldly received in New York City. In 1873 she went to England, and on 1st October made her début as Lady Macbeth in Manchester. She succeeded and added other standard tragedies to her list, and played successfully in all the larger English and Irish towns. In 1877 she went to Paris to study with François Joseph Regnier, and there she played a French version of Macbeth so successfully that she was invited to join the Comédie Française. She then repeated her success in London, and in 1878 she appeared in New York City. In 1879 she returned to London, and since then she has played in England and the United States with great success. In 1882 she started on a tour of the world, which was ended in November, 1885. She then became the manager of the Lyceum Theater in London. In 1888 she retired from the stage.