Ann Swinburne Munroe
Ann Swinburne Munroe | |
|---|---|
 Ann Swinburne, photographed by Arnold Genthe | |
| Born | Ann Ditchburn April 5, 1886 Eugene, Oregon, U.S. |
| Died | November 17, 1973 (age 87) Nassau, Bahamas |
| Other names | Ann Schirmer Ann Benkard |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, socialite, and a director of G. Schirmer, Inc. |
| Children | 2, including Rudolph Edward Schirmer Jr. |
| Relatives | Bertha King Benkard (sister-in-law) |
Ann Swinburne Munroe (April 5, 1886 – November 17, 1973), born Ann Ditchburn, was an American singer and socialite. She was a director of G. Schirmer, Inc., a music publishing company.
Early life and education
Ditchburn was born in Eugene, Oregon, the daughter of John Ditchburn and Ada (Addie) Ray Thatcher Ditchburn.[1] Her father was a lawyer and a judge,[2] and her mother was a dressmaker.[3]
Career
She has stated in an interview in the Sunday Oregonian that her aunt had accompanied her as she had arrived in New York City by ship from Europe and stopped over a for few days with friends hers:[4]
I was asked to sing at a reception given to me, and it happened that there was a man present who knew Joe Weber well. After he heard me sing, he asked to be presented and told me I must meet Mr. Weber and sing for him. He told me about The Climax which had had such a success and about the opportunity in it for a voice like mine...We took it as a joke.
She later sang for Weber was cast in the number two company of the show The Climax.[4]
As Ann Swinburne, she had a brief but successful career in light opera in New York,[5] appearing in:
- The Climax (1910)[6]
- Robin Hood (1912)[7]
- The Count of Luxembourg (1912) with the portrayal of the character Angele Didlier.[8][9][10]
- The Madcap Duchess (1913-1914) as Saraphina, with score by Victor Herbert.[11][12]
She also sang in concert settings, and wore gowns by Lady Duff-Gordon.[13] According to a Count of Luxemberg reviewer:[14]
Ann Swinburne not only looks like Angele, but her voice is of excellent quality, and she uses it with skill and discretion, and in addition acts extremely well.
With her career, she once had explained in an interview about her luck as well as her luck at not being in the musical The Man from Cook's:[4]
Why, I've been lucky all my life. I was even lucky in having typhoid fever. I thought It was most dreadful that I should fall ill and have to give up a leading part... but when a week or two after its New York premiere the piece was sent to the storehouse, I just turned over and thanked my lucky stars that I was saved from all the disappointments that go with such an experience.
She was later a director of G. Schirmer, Inc., a music publishing company, from 1919-1964.
She was instrumental as a supporter of the early careers of composers Samuel Barber and Gian Carlo Menotti.[1]
Personal life
Ann Ditchburn married three times. Her first husband was Rudolph Edward Schirmer; they married in 1916[15] and he died in 1919,[16] leaving her a significant estate.[17] They had a son, Rudolph. Her second husband was stockbroker John Philip Benkard; they married in 1921[15][18] and he died in 1929.[3][19] They had a son, J. Philip Benkard. Her third husband was retired financier Charles Andrews Munroe; they married in 1949 in Monte Carlo,[20] and she moved to the Bahamas with him in 1955. He died there in 1957.[21] She died in 1973, at the age of 87, at a hospital in Nassau.[1]
References
- ^ a b c "Ann Swinburne Munroe Dead; Singer Was Schirmer Director". The New York Times. 1973-11-21. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-07-14.
- ^ "Ann Swinburne, Star in Single Leap". Atlantic City Gazette-Review. 1910-11-07. p. 3. Retrieved 2025-07-14 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Philip Benkard, Husband of Portland Woman, Dies in East". The Oregon Daily Journal. 1929-04-13. p. 4. Retrieved 2025-07-14 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c Mac Leod, Della (December 21, 1913). "'Just Plain Luck' That How Anne Swinburne (Dichburn) Explains Her Stage Triumps". The Sunday Oregonian. Portland, Oregon. p. 5.
- ^ "Bits that Have Made Actors Big". The Theatre. 22 (173): 25. July 1915.
- ^ "Chat with Ann Swinburne; Prima Donna of "Luxembourg" Had No Thorny Road to Travel for Success". The New York Times. November 17, 1912. p. 72. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-07-14.
- ^ "Of Interest to Playgoers". Harper's Weekly. 56 (2894): 20. June 8, 1912.
- ^ "Scenes in 'The Count of Luxembourg' at the New Amsterdam". The Theatre Magazine. 16 (141): 157. November 1912.
- ^ Saunders, Ripley D. (1912-11-15). "Waltzing Up and Down the Stairs Comedy Novelty". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. 6. Retrieved 2025-07-14 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Norton, Richard C. (2002). A chronology of American musical theater. Internet Archive. Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-508888-5.
- ^ "Globe: The Madcap Duchess". The Theatre Magazine. 18 (154): 178. December 1913.
- ^ "'Madcap Duchess' Scores at Globe". The Sun. 1913-11-12. p. 7. Retrieved 2025-07-14 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Makes Her Debut in Concert Work in New York This Thursday". The Oregon Daily Journal. 1915-10-17. p. 34. Retrieved 2025-07-14 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "New Amsterdam: The Count of Luxembourg". The Theatre Magazine. 16 (139): xiii–xiv. September 1912.
- ^ a b "J. Philip Benkard to Marry Rudolph E. Schirmer's Widow". New York Herald. 1921-06-15. p. 11. Retrieved 2025-07-14 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "R.E. Schirmer Dies As His Wife Sings; New York Music Publisher Requests an Air from Beethoven Before He Passes Away". The New York Times. August 21, 1919. p. 11. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-07-14.
- ^ "Schirmer Estate $248,838; Music Publisher Left Life Interest to Widow--Trust for First Wife". The New York Times. November 1, 1922. p. 28. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-07-14.
- ^ "Ann Swinburne Remarried". Dramatic Mirror and Theatre World: 1069. June 25, 1921.
- ^ "J. Philip Benkard '94C". Columbia Alumni News: 18. April 12, 1929.
- ^ "Mrs. A. S. Benkard Wed; Bride in Monte Carlo of Charles A. Munroe, Retired Financier". The New York Times. August 13, 1949. p. 9. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-07-14.
- ^ "Charles Munroe, Financier, Dies at 83; Retired Executive of Midwest Utilities". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-07-14 – via Newspapers.com.
External links
- Ann Swinburne Munroe at the Internet Broadway Database
- Arnold Genthe, "Ann Swinburne" (photograph), in the Library of Congress