Blanche Hecht Consolvo Cariaggi
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December 28, 1880
Blanche Hecht Consolvo Cariaggi | |
|---|---|
 Blanche Consolvo, from a 1918 publication | |
| Born | Blanche Hardy Hecht December 28, 1880 Norfolk, Virginia |
| Died | July 16, 1961 Norfolk, Virginia |
| Spouse | Augusto Cariaggi |
Blanche Hardy Hecht Consolvo Cariaggi (December 28, 1880[Note 1] – July 16, 1961) was an American singer and socialite from Virginia, and after 1922, an Italian countess.
Blanche Hardy Hecht was born in Norfolk, Virginia, the daughter of Jacob Hecht and Susanne (Sanna) Moritz Hecht. Her parents were Jewish.[1][2] Her mother was born in Germany, as were her paternal grandparents. Her father was a merchant born in New York City, and one of the trustees of the local synagogue.[3]
Hecht was known from youth as a singer and elocutionist.[4][5] She was a debutante in Norfolk in 1899,[6] attended the Boston School of Oratory, and joined in local theatrical productions as a "dainty and extremely pretty" young woman.[7]
Career
During her first marriage, Blanche Consolvo, a contralto, sang in concerts with Frieda Hempel, Rosa Ponselle[8] and May Peterson,[9] and toured in the Southern states.[10][11] She was first president of the Norfolk Opera Company, when it formed in 1914.[12][13][14] She starred in the title role when the company produced Dolly Varden in 1915, as a charity fundraiser.[15] Consolvo sang as a soloist with the Naval Port Band in Norfolk in 1917, at a send-off for American troops during World War I.[16] She pursued further vocal training and experience in Italy in 1920.[17] While in Italy, she met her second husband.[18]
Sheet music for a marching song she composed, "Our Governor Elect" (1905), was dedicated to her close friend, Virginia congressman Claude A. Swanson, when he was running for governor.[19][20][21]
