Laura Andrews Rhodes
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Laura Andrews Rhodes (October 1, 1854 – February 5, 1909) was an American operatic soprano.
Laura Andrews was born in Casey, Illinois, on October 1, 1854. She was the second oldest daughter of Rev. John Redding Andrews, a Methodist minister, and Delilah Andrews, the parents of the Andrews family, of which the well-known Andrews Opera Company was mainly composed. Initially John Redding Andrews went to southern Minnesota from Russellville, Illinois, in 1856, with his wife and their four oldest children. John Andrews' father, Thomas, was the son of an English West Indies planter and his Spanish wife. Thomas went to Virginia during the Revolutionary War; he was present at the siege of Yorktown, and married a Virginia girl. He migrated westward, going eventually to Indiana, where his son, John Redding, was born.[1][2]
She possessed in a remarkable degree the musical ability which was the heritage of the Andrews family. She had a lyric soprano voice of great purity, richness and compass. She was sent to St. Paul to study music, so she could teach the younger children, including her youngest sister, Alice A. Andrews.[1][2]
Among her instructors were Prof. W. N. Burritt, of Chicago, Prof. Lowenthal, of the Conservatoire de Paris, and Madam Corani, of the Milan Conservatory.[1]
