Florence Easton

For the Victorian era British operatic soprano of the same name, see Florence Easton (1890s soprano).

Florence Easton (25 October 1882 – 13 August 1955) was an English soprano of the early twentieth century. She was a versatile singer, appearing in more than 100 roles, covering a wide range of styles and periods, from Mozart, Meyerbeer, Gounod, Verdi, Wagner, Puccini, Strauss, Schreker and Krenek. She specialized in singing Wagnerian opera parts, from Senta in Der fliegende Holländer to Brünnhilde in Siegfried.

Easton described herself as a "lyric dramatic soprano." Her international reputation, founded mainly in North America and Germany, was unique for a British singer of her time. She could move easily through all stages from the light coloratura to the Hochdramatische, from girlish romanticism to the powerful drama of Wagner and Strauss. The critic John Steane has suggested that "This great strength of hers was also, in a strange way, a source of weakness. She sang so many roles very well that she never quite became identified with any of these." Despite some minor difficulty with Italian diction, she was chosen by Puccini to create Lauretta in his 1917 opera Gianni Schicchi.

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