Doris Doe

Doris Doe
Doe, from a 1929 publication
Born
Doris Annabelle Doe

(1899-03-22)March 22, 1899
Bar Harbor, Maine, U.S.
DiedDecember 26, 1985(1985-12-26) (aged 86)
Chattanooga, Tennessee, U.S.
OccupationsOpera vocalist, music educator

Doris Annabelle Doe (March 22, 1899 – December 26, 1985) was an American opera vocalist. She gave over 300 performances with the Metropolitan Opera, sang in recitals and oratorios, and taught voice at the University of Chattanooga.

Early life and education

Doe was born in Bar Harbor, Maine, and raised in Maine and Florida, the daughter of John Watson Doe and Amy Bacheldor Rice Doe. Her father was a pharmacist. She trained in music, voice, and drama with Sibyl Sammis-MacDermid, Jeanne Boyd, Frank La Forge, and Charles A. Baker, and, with funds from Louise Homer and Sidney Homer, in Europe.

Career

From the 1920s into the 1940s, Doe, a contralto or mezzo-soprano, sang solos in oratorios, gave recitals, performed on radio, and made recordings on the Victor, Gennett, and Columbia labels, including duets with Homer Rodeheaver. She was a soloist at the Marble Collegiate Church in Manhattan.

Doe performed operas in Dresden, Paris, Monte Carlo and Milan before she was engaged by the Metropolitan Opera in 1931, and her debut as a dramatic contralto at the Met came in 1932, as Brangäne in Tristan und Isolde. She also appeared in Met productions of Die Walküre (1932), Lohengrin (1933), The Flying Dutchman (1937), Pelléas et Mélisande (1940), Boris Godunov (1942), and Louise (1943).

In 1935, 1941, and 1942 Doe gave recitals at New York's Town Hall venue, showing "her soundness as a singer, her intelligence as an interpretive musician and her curiosity to explore untrodden paths of vocal literature", according to The New York Times reviewer Olin Downes in 1942. In 1943, she sang at a memorial service for Philip A. Bennett, held in the United States House of Representatives.

Doe also performed in Florida. In 1940 she gave a recital at Mar-A- Lago, to benefit church charities in Palm Beach. In 1950, she toured the United States giving musical lectures about her career. Beginning in 1954, Doe taught voice at the University of Chattanooga's music conservatory.

Personal life

Doe was injured in a car accident in 1940. In 1942, her home in Bennington, New Hampshire burned down. She lived with her former student, singer Louise Holdam, in New York City and in Chattanooga. Doe died in 1985, at the age of 86, in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Doris Doe, Maine Diva, to Join Metropolitan; Contralto, Who Has Been Singing in Europe, Engaged After Audition in Milan". The New York Times. July 14, 1931. p. 28. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-10-28.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Jordan, Eloise M. (1950-07-15). "Famed Opera Singer Doris Doe Embarks on Three-Fold Career". Sun-Journal. pp. A4, A7. Retrieved 2026-10-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. 1 2 3 Reynolds, Mary M. (1959-11-11). "Loves Sharing Her Voice, Experience; Doris Doe Leaves Own Operatic Career to Train Others". Chattanooga Daily Times. p. 7. Retrieved 2026-10-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ "Doris Doe and Mother Better". The New York Times. November 18, 1940. p. 22. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-10-28.
  5. ↑ "John Watson Doe; Father of Doris Doe of the Metropolitan Opera". The New York Times. April 24, 1935. p. 21. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-10-28.
  6. ↑ "Sibyl Mac Dermid and Doris Doe Heard in Joint Program" The Music News (May 31, 1929): 10.
  7. ↑ "Sibyl Sammis and her Singers". Lyceum Magazine. 29: 29. August 1919.
  8. ↑ "Oratorio Society Plans Concerts" The Musical Digest (November 16, 1926): 15.
  9. ↑ "Lillian L. Silver" The Music News (May 17, 1929): 22.
  10. ↑ "Listening In: Doris Doe Tries Radio; Metropolitan Opera Singer, With Queer Name, Sings Tonight". The Knoxville News-Sentinel. 1934-06-22. p. 21. Retrieved 2026-10-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "Opera Singer Doris Doe Will Appear Five Times". The Memphis Press-Scimitar. 1946-10-04. p. 10. Retrieved 2026-10-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. 1 2 "Doris Doe". Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved 2026-10-28.
  13. ↑ "Miss Doris Doe Will be Soloist at Dedication of Memorial Windows". Portland Press Herald. 1932-09-22. p. 6. Retrieved 2026-10-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ↑ "Doris Doe at Whitfield; Contralto is Heard in Recital at Chase Barn Theatre". The New York Times. August 19, 1935. p. 18. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-10-28.
  15. ↑ Downes, Olin (December 24, 1932). "New Wotan Hailed in 'Die Walkuere'; Ludwig Hofmann Applauded and Cheered at End of Metropolitan Performance". The New York Times. p. 10. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-10-28.
  16. ↑ Gardiner, Goodsir (1933-02-11). "'Lohengrin' at High Mark in Prelude, Bridal Scene; Schorr, Doris Doe Score". The Standard-Star. p. 2. Retrieved 2026-10-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ↑ "How an Obstinate Cough Drop Brought Doris Doe Plaudits for Her Acting". The Albuquerque Tribune. 1942-05-07. p. 8. Retrieved 2026-10-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ↑ Downes, Olin (March 19, 1937). "'Flying Dutchman' at Metropolitan; Last Performance of Special Wagner Matinee Cycle Is Cheered by Audience". The New York Times. p. 27. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-10-28.
  19. ↑ Downes, Olin (December 21, 1940). "'Pelleas' is Heard at Metropolitan; Melisande Role Sung by Helen Jepson, Leinsdorf Conducts the Opera by Debussy Kipnis in Part of Arkel; Raoul Jobin, Natalie Bodanya, John Brownlee and Doris Doe Also Give Performances". The New York Times. p. 23. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-10-28.
  20. ↑ Downes, Olin (December 31, 1942). "'Boris Godunff' at Metropolitan; George Szell Directs Benefit Performance of Opera, With Ezio Pinza in Lead Role". The New York Times. p. 19. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-10-28.
  21. ↑ Downes, Olin (January 16, 1943). "Beecham Directs the Opera 'Louise'; Leads Work for First Time at the Metropolitan, With Grace Moore in the Title Role". The New York Times. p. 11. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-10-28.
  22. ↑ "Doris Doe, Contralto of Opera, in Recital; American of the Metropolitan Roster Is Heard in Lieder and Manuscript Songs". The New York Times. January 12, 1935. p. 13. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-10-28.
  23. ↑ Taubman, Howard (November 4, 1941). "Doris Doe is Heard in a Song Recital; Metropolitan Opera Contralto Opens Program With Works of Thomson and Britten". The New York Times. p. 31. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-10-28.
  24. 1 2 Downes, Olin (November 3, 1942). "Doris Doe Offers Unusual Songs; Metropolitan's Mezzo-Soprano Gives Recital of Contrasts at the Town Hall". The New York Times. p. 18. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-10-28.
  25. ↑ Memorial Services Held in the House of Representatives of the United States: Together with Remarks Presented in Eulogy of Philip Allen Bennett, Late a Representative from Missouri. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1945.
  26. ↑ "Many at Recital in Palm Beach; Doris Doe of the Metropolitan Sings at Benefit of Guild of Holy Trinity Church". The New York Times. April 2, 1940. p. 30. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-10-28.
  27. 1 2 "Singer from Met Aided by Cadek; Doris Doe to Teach Voice at Conservatory, With Opera 17 Years". Chattanooga Daily Times. 1954-06-25. p. 3. Retrieved 2026-10-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  28. ↑ "Doris Doe in Auto Skid; Metropolitan Singer and Mother Are Bruised in Pennsylvania". The New York Times. November 14, 1940. p. 33. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-10-28.
  29. ↑ "Doris Doe's Home Burns". The Buffalo News. 1942-08-03. p. 22. Retrieved 2026-10-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  30. ↑ "Untitled brief social item". Chattanooga Daily Times. 1947-03-02. p. 30. Retrieved 2026-10-28 – via Newspapers.com.
  31. ↑ "Soprano to Have First Opera Role; Miss Holdam, Who Brought Doris Doe Here, to be Nurse in Rigoletto". Chattanooga Daily Times. 1959-04-16. p. 4. Retrieved 2026-10-28 – via Newspapers.com.