HALL [née BROWN], Edna (b Woodstock, Vermont, 21 December 1839; d 246 Dartmouth Street, Boston, 3 December 1896)

This chapter presents a biography of mid- to late-19th-century singer Edna Hall. On 15 November 1873, Madame Edna Hall shows up on the programme of the Saturday Crystal Palace concerts, sharing the vocal duties with Janet Patey. Mrs Edna Hall had come from nowhere, with no reputation before or behind her, and had accomplished an amazingly successful season in the difficult world of the West End concert. In September she went to Glasgow for the Saturday concerts ('Bel raggio'), in October to Rea's concerts in Newcastle and de Jong's at Manchester, to Enfield for Henry Drake, and back to town for the Covent Garden proms. On 8 January 1876 Mrs Hall can be seen at the Brighton Aquarium, and in March she is back in the West End and, seemingly, back into gear, singing at several Ballad Concerts, including the last Boosey programme of the year, under Sullivan at the Royal Aquarium, and then at the Schubert Society.