ELLEN
BEACH YAW (BORN SEPTEMBER 14, 1868, BOSTON, NEW YORK, U.S. — DIED SEPTEMBER 9, 1947, WEST
COVINA, CALIFORNIA)
Initially working as a secretary for a New York lawyer, she later
pursued her singing studies with Theodore Bjorksten in New York and Mathilde
Marchesi de Castrone in Paris. In 1894, she made her concert debut in St. Paul,
Minnesota, and in 1895, she toured Germany and Switzerland. She performed at
Carnegie Hall in New York in 1896 and, in 1899, appeared at the London Savoy
Theatre in the world premiere of Sullivan's operetta The Rose of Persia.
Her opera debut came in 1905 as Lucia in Lucia di Lammermoor, and she
sang the same role in a single performance at the Metropolitan Opera in New
York in 1908, alongside Alessandro Bonci. Despite achieving encouraging success
on the opera stage, she dedicated herself primarily to concert singing,
undertaking major tours in Europe and America until 1928.
She gained attention for the remarkable pitch of her soprano voice,
which reached an exceptional E in altissimo—a phenomenon rare among singers,
alongside noted artists like Erna Sack, Mado Robin, and Wilfriede Lüttgen, as
documented in her recordings. Additionally, she established the "Lark
Ellen League" to perform concerts in hospitals, homes, and jails, as well
as the "Lark Ellen School for Boys," which she founded early in her
career in the 1890s and was later taken over by the Lions Club.
Yaw is commemorated in Covina by Lark Ellen Elementary School and Lark
Ellen Avenue, a main thoroughfare connecting Covina to neighboring West Covina.
TRACKLIST
1. Lakmé (Delibes) Où
va la jeune Hindoue 74090 C4831-2 Victor, USA 1907-09-25
2. Il flauto magico
(Mozart) Aria della Regina 3104 Berliner, London 1899
3. Il Re Pastore
(Mozart) L'amerò sarò costante 74091 C4829-1 Victor, USA 1907-09-24
4. L'Etoile du Nord
(Meyerbeer) Ronde bohémienne 3105 1657 Berliner, 18-03-1899
5. Lucia di Lammermoor
(Donizetti) Ardon gl'incensi Victor HRS1026
6. Manon Lescaut
(Auber) l'Eclat de rire 3097 Berliner, London 1899
7. Mignon (Thomas)
Polonaise 50001 Keen-O-Phone (Rex, Rishell, McKinley), USA 1913
8. Noces de Jeannette
(Massé) Air du rossignol 74092 C4830-2 Victor, USA 1907-09-24
9. O dolce concento
(Mozart) 3096 Berliner, London 1899
10. Perle du Brésil
(David) Charmant oiseau (Eng) AGSB66 Victor, USA 1907-09-24
11. Skylark (Yaw)
50002 Keen-O-Phone (Rex, Rishell, McKinley), USA 1913
12. Swiss echo song
(Eckert) (w. orch) 64079 B4832-2 Victor, USA 1907-09-24
13. The Skylark (Yaw)
82049 Edison, New York 1913-04
14. The star-spangled
banner (Key) unpubl Victor, USA 1907-09-25
15. Timbre d'Argent (Saint-Saëns) Le Bonheur est chose légère Victor HRS1026
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