t h e r o s a t r o u p e
The Seguins
Edward Seguin
Edward Seguin, born in London in 1837, was from a musical family. His father was the famous bass *Arthur Seguin; his mother was the soprano Ann Childe. Two of Arthur’s siblings, Elizabeth and William (Edward’s aunt and uncle) were professional singers. Elizabeth was also the mother of the soprano Euphrosyne Parepa (Edward’s cousin). Arthur and Ann came to America with their children in 1838 after success in London and formed the Seguin English Opera Troupe which successfully toured the eastern states. When Arthur died in 1852 his wife remained in New York and devoted herself to teaching until her death in 1888. Zelda Harrison, a local contralto, became one of her pupils, and met Edward who had followed the family’s vocal tradition. They married in 1867 and appeared with touring companies.
Zelda Seguin
Parepa, now a celebrated soprano, had arrived in 1865 for an American concert tour and reunion with the Seguins. Two years later she married the violinist Carl Rosa, and in conjunction with C.D.Hess of Chicago and possibly some input from the Seguins, prepared to launch the Parepa-Rosa English Opera Company with herself as the star and Carl as musical director. Edward and Zelda joined Parepa’s new company, which opened at the French Theatre in New York on 11 September 1869. Edward made his debut on the first night as Ralph in Balfe’s Puritan’s Daughter but Zelda had to wait until 22 September to sing Lazarillo in Maritana. Both sang for Parepa in seasons 1869–70 and 1871–72 and for C.D. Hess in 1870–71.
Ann Childe Seguin
Their Rosa activities were similar as they frequently sang together. Edward did not have a great voice but he was an excellent actor who appeared in twelve roles in 288 performances. Devilshoof in Bohemian Girl was probably his most famous impersonation. Zelda sang fifteen roles in 275 performances with Azucena in Trovatore as her favourite role. They sang their final Rosa performance in Fra Diavolo at the Brooklyn Academy of Music on 23 March 1872 with Santley in the title role. Parepa subsequently invited them to join the British company but they declined and remained in America. Edward died suddenly in 1879 at Rochester, New York, whilst with the Emma Abbott company.
Arthur Seguin
Zelda was not a widow for long. A year later she married David Wallace, a member of a prominent Indianapolis family which included Lew Wallace the author of Ben Hur. Her operatic career continued with a number of companies and finally ended with a New York Mikado in 1886. Subsequent concert work was curtailed by a railway accident a decade later. She died at Indianapolis on 19 February 1914 and was buried in Crown Hill Cemetery.
Zelda’s career was over before the advent of commercial recording but she may have made a record. The obituary in Indianopolis News of 20 February 1914 noted that Mrs. William E. English, a member of a prominent local family, had ‘a phonographic record ‘ which Zelda had made for her. Does anyone know if this recording still exists?
*Arthur’s full name was Arthur Edward Sheldon Seguin and he is sometimes named as Edward especially in America. I have referred to him as Arthur throughout to avoid confusion.
© 2019 John Ward
