Maine Women in History Rediscovering Their Lives and Legacies

Lillian Nordica, born Lillian Norton on Dec. 12, 1857, in Farmington, was America’s first and most glamorous soprano opera singer to attain true international prominence.

She studied in Milan, where she made her operatic debut in 1879.

Nordica was the first American diva to sing Wagner and the first to sing Elsa. She studied the role under Cosima Wagner, Richard Wagner’s wife.

She sang in St. Petersburg, Paris, and London and in 1883 made her debut at the Academy of Music, New York City, and in 1890 at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. On Feb. 4, 1898, at the same place, Nordica added another to her list of great roles by singing the Brunnhilde of Die Walkure for the first time on any stage.

On Nov. 28, 1904, she appeared in a revival of La Gioconda with Enrico Caruso at the Metropolitan in New York.

Nordica became known for wearing her diamond tiara, and Coca-Cola capitalized on it by using images of her in advertising campaigns in the early 1900s.

She often traveled with her beloved black standard poodle, Turk, throughout the United States and Europe.

The opera singer had such international renown that a ship was named after her. The S.S. Lillian Nordica was launched on March 17, 1944, from the ways of the New England Shipbuilding Corp. at South Portland. Mrs. Guy P. Gannett of Portland, president of the National Federation of Music Clubs, was the ship’s sponsor, and Rep. Margaret Chase Smith was matron of honor.

The S.S. Lillian Nordica served the beachhead supply lines from Normandy to Antwerp, frequently under enemy fire. The ship visited Copenhagen, Egypt, Hamburg, London, Liverpool, and Le Havre, carrying coal, bulk grain and flour.

The nameplate was removed by the Maritime Administration for distribution through the Liberty Ship Memorial Program and was given to the Nordica Museum in Farmington.

Nordica died in 1914.

Nordica’s birthplace home in Farmington, overlooking the Sandy River Valley in western Maine, is now the Nordica Homestead Museum. It is on the National Register of Historic Places and is maintained by the Nordica Memorial Association. Many of Nordica’s belongings can be viewed at the museum, including her gowns, tiaras, furniture and paintings.Source: The Maine Historical Society’s Maine Memory Network, www.mainememory.net

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