Clara Louise Kellogg by Sarony (1)

Clara Louise Kellogg (1842-1916); American soprano.
In 1861 she made her debut as Gilda in Verdi’s “Rigoletto” at the Academy of Music in New York. In 1863 she performed the rôle of Marguerite in the New York première of Gounod’s “Faust”. In 1863 she also made a guest appearance at Her Majesty’s Theatre in London and proved successful in La Traviata, Linda di Chamounix, Don Giovanni and Martha. In 1868-1872 she made extensive tours in the USA. In 1872 she founded together with the soprano Pauline Lucca, the Kellogg-Lucca Opera Company which had a short-lived existence. In 1873-1876 she was the director of the English Opera Company that made extenive guest tours in the USA. Sometimes they made over a 125 performances per season. In 1877 she toured with Carl Rosa’s opera company “Tre Grazie”. In 1880 she made a guest appearance in Vienna and in 1881 in St. Petersburg. In 1887 she retired from the stage. She was married to her manager Carl Strakosch. In 1913 she published her life story in “Memoirs of an American Prima Donna”.