Alice Nielsen and the Gayety of Nations

Alice Nielsen was a magnetic stage presence starring in Broadway, grand opera and concerts. Her shows were Standing Room Only. Her mom an Irish musician, her dad a Danish troubadour, Alice combined Irish techniques with Italian bel canto. Born in Nashville, raised in Kansas City, she took the vaudeville trail to San Francisco, became a star in "Satanella" at Tivoli, a national star for The Bostonians in Victor Herbert's "Serenade." Nielsen jumped to grand opera in Italy and at Covent Garden, singing Mozart and Puccini with Caruso, giving joint concerts with Duse. Boston Opera was built for her in 1909. Famed as America's greatest lyric soprano, this is her first biography. Discover how Nielsen became Americana. "On Tuesday night she sang Lucia, on Wednesday evening she sang Marguerite, on Thursday evening she was Mimi, giving a portrait in harmony that will endure as long as the memories of those who heard and saw her," wrote Otheman Stevens, Los Angeles.