Isabel Richardson Molter

Isabel Richardson Molter
Isabel Richardson Molter, from a 1929 publication
Bornabout 1885
Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
OccupationSoprano singer

Isabel Richardson Molter (born about 1885, died after 1930) was an American soprano singer from Chicago,[1] heard in oratorio, concert, and recital settings in the 1920s.

Early life and education

Richardson was born in Cincinnati and raised in the Chicago area, the daughter of George Parker Richardson and Isabel Lorena Adams Richardson. Her father was a businessman from New Hampshire.[2] She lived in St. Joseph, Michigan, as a young woman.[3][4] She trained as a singer with Franz Prochowsky in Germany.[5]

Career

Molter was a dramatic soprano. She began her career in Chicago in the 1910s,[6][7] and toured in the United States in the 1920s.[8][9] She was associated with the David Bispham's Society of American Singers.[10][11] The New York Times commented that her voice "when unforced, has good quality in its middle register, and her phrasing and enunciation of the texts of her songs revealed true musicianship."[12] The Boston Globe found that Molter "showed keen dramatic instinct, and a high degree of musical intelligence."[13]

Molter sang with the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra in 1925,[10] and gave concerts at a church in Kenosha in 1925 and 1926.[14][15] She sang on a radio concert in 1927.[16] In New York, she sang at Aeolian Hall in 1926,[17][18] and at Town Hall in 1927,[19] and sang on programs organized by the Washington Heights Musical Club,[20]

In 1928, Molter toured in the American South,[21] and sang in at the Texas Music Teachers' Association conference in Waco, and at concerts in Fort Worth and Dallas.[22] In 1929 she performed in Maine and Massachusetts,[22] and was a last-minute substitute in a performance of Handel's Judas Maccabeus in Chicago.[23] In 1931, she sang in Chicago at a concert-format demonstration of Manabozo, an opera by Francis Neilson and William Lester, based on Ojibwe legends.[24]

Personal life

Richardson married pianist and educator Harold Molter in 1921.[25][26] They had a son.[15]

References

  1. ↑ "Concession to Students". The Daily Nonpareil. 1928-02-19. p. 19. Retrieved 2025-05-19 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ↑ "George P. Richardson, Silk Man, Dies in East". Chicago Tribune. 1919-02-14. p. 15. Retrieved 2025-05-19 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ↑ "Recital Here on May 5 is Anticipated Event". The Herald-Press. 1925-04-24. p. 12. Retrieved 2025-05-19 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ "SInger Gets Tribute at High School; Isabel Richardson Molter Again Delights Local Friends Tuesday". The Herald-Palladium. 1925-05-06. p. 3. Retrieved 2025-05-19 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ "Recital May 5 to be Brilliant Music Event; Mrs. Isabel Richardson Molter, Formerly of this City". The Herald-Palladium. 1925-04-16. p. 3. Retrieved 2025-05-19 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ "Makes Musical Debut Today". The Inter Ocean. 1912-10-30. p. 7. Retrieved 2025-05-19 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ "Miss Isabel Richardson". Chicago Tribune. 1914-03-07. p. 9. Retrieved 2025-05-19 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ "Isabel Molter Sings in New York" The Musical Leader 57(20)(November 14, 1929): 8.
  9. ↑ "Engagements for Isabel Molter" The Musical Leader 57(20)(November 14, 1929): 19.
  10. 1 2 "Soloist at Symphony Concert". The Duluth News Tribune. 1925-12-06. p. 44. Retrieved 2025-05-19 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "Music Lovers Will Welcome Noted Artist". The Herald-Palladium. 1925-05-04. p. 3. Retrieved 2025-05-19 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ "Isabel R. Molter Sings: Soprano is Cordially Received as her Recital in Guild Theatre" The New York Times (January 14, 1929): 33.
  13. ↑ "Song Recital by Isabel R. Molter; Soprano Shows Keen Dramatic Instinct". The Boston Globe. 1927-10-21. p. 12. Retrieved 2025-05-19 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ↑ "Noted Soprano at M. E. Church; Madam Isabel Richardson-Molter to Sing Here Sunday Evening". Kenosha News. 1925-10-17. p. 4. Retrieved 2025-05-19 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. 1 2 "Isabel Molter will Reappear in Concert Here". Kenosha News. 1926-09-29. p. 4. Retrieved 2025-05-19 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ↑ "Laclede Gas Co. to Sponsor 'Pop' Concerts on KWK". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 1927-12-11. p. 58. Retrieved 2025-05-19 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ↑ "Isabel R. Molter Sings; Concert Artist Is at Her Best in Lyrics of MacDowell". The New York Times. October 11, 1926. p. 12. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-05-19.
  18. ↑ "Programs of the Week". The New York Times. October 10, 1926. p. 201. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-05-19.
  19. ↑ "Isabel R. Molter Sings; Soprano at Her Best in the Quieter Moods of French Songs". The New York Times. October 15, 1927. p. 16. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-05-19.
  20. ↑ "Isabel Molter, 'A Singer Who Can Really Sing'" The Musical Leader 56(3)(January 17, 1929): 10.
  21. ↑ "Dramatic Soprano Will be Heard in Recital in City". The Birmingham News. 1928-11-18. p. 81. Retrieved 2025-05-19 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. 1 2 "Isabel Richardson Molter". The Music News: 7. January 25, 1929.
  23. ↑ "Mrs. Molter Substitutes at Last Minute" The Musical Leader 56(22)(May 30, 1929): 22.
  24. ↑ Moore, Edward (1931-02-18). "Authors Offer Opera Based on 'Hiawatha'". Chicago Tribune. p. 19. Retrieved 2025-05-19 – via Newspapers.com.
  25. ↑ "Weddings". Chicago Tribune. 1921-12-18. p. 80. Retrieved 2025-05-19.
  26. ↑ "Isabel Molter to Sing at Guild Theatre" The Musical Leader 56(2)(January 10, 1929): 31.
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