SHAW, Mrs Alfred [POSTANS, Mary] (b Lee, Kent, bap 14 August 1814; d Hadleigh Hall, Suffolk, 9 September 1876)

This chapter presents a biography of mid- to late-19th-century Victorian vocalist Mrs Alfred Shaw. Mary Postans shone over the world of British music for only a decade, but she holds a very special place in its history, as well, apparently, as in the hearts of those who heard and saw her. Mary appeared alongside the great names of the Italian theatre and the English choral establishment ('Ebben a te ferisci', 'Cruda sorte') in public and also at the private soirees of royalty. At the end of the Yorkshire Musical Festival she was married at York (14 September 1835) to the young artist (he is always quoted as such) Alfred Shaw. From Milan, Mrs Shaw was deployed to Novara, where she opened on 18 January 1840, with Hortense Duflot-Maillard, as Arsace in Semiramide. In April, she played at the Fenice in Venice, and in July she was at Udine as Bianca in Il giuramento.