The May Esther Peterson Thompson Collection |
at Southwestern University |
Biographical Note |
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May Esther Peterson Thompson,
an opera singer with an international career, was born in Oshkosh,
Wisconsin, where her father was a Methodist
minister. Her earliest musical performances were singing for her father’s
services in church. After beginning formal musical studies at the Chicago
Conservatory of Music, Peterson traveled to Europe when she was in her
late teens to pursue a career in opera. She struggled financially for
many years, sometimes living on bread and milk. Eventually, for health
reasons, she moved to France where she was asked to learn the extremely
difficult title role in Manon. Her performance was critically acclaimed,
and in 1918, she signed a contract to sing soprano with the Metropolitan
Opera Company. She also had a contract with the Vocalion record label
and gave radio concerts. She famously declared that she “avoided
romance” because of the demands of her career. In 1921, she apparently
had a change of heart when Col. Ernest Thompson escorted her to a party
in Amarillo, Texas, where she was performing. Thompson was a prominent
lawyer, businessman and politician who ran for Governor and served in
several political offices. They married in 1924, and Peterson, now known
as May Esther Peterson Thompson, soon retired from the opera and relocated to
Texas where she continued to give concerts in local venues. On October
8, 1952, she died of natural causes at their summer house in Colorado.
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