ESCOTT [EASTCOTT, née GRANT], Lucy (b Springfield, Massachusetts, 4 January 1829; d Paris, 26 November 1895)

This chapter presents a biography of mid- to late-19th-century singer Lucy Escott. Lucy sang with Henri Herz and Camillo Sivori on 11 October 1847 at the Tabernacle, New York, taking the part of Zerlina alongside Mme Fleury Jolly when they gave a selection from Don Giovanni. In August 1856 the 'National Opera Company' went to the provinces, with Il trovatore as its main offering, but with Maritana, Lucia di Lammermoor, Esmeralda, The Bohemian Girl, Cinderella, Norma, Lucrezia Borgia and, as the tour moved on, La traviata, or The Blighted Flower among its baggage. This travel went on until 1 June 1857 when they came to rest at London's Surrey Theatre. After an umpteenth 'last performance' in concert at the Sydney Prince of Wales Theatre on 24 August 1868, the troupe sailed back to San Francisco and opened at the Metropolitan Theatre on 21 December 1868 with their grandiose production of Les Huguenots.