Claude Albright, opera star in the early 20th century.
Historic Fairview Cemetery is the final resting place of many notable people, including Claude Albright. Ms. Claude Elwood Albright (Roberts), (June 5, 1873-June 26, 1923) was known as New Mexico’s nightingale during the early 20th century.
Her father, John G. Albright, a newspaperman who would later own the Albuquerque Journal, and mother, Franc Luse Albright, a famous local photographer, were prominent Albuquerque residents. Claude was born in Kansas but would move to New Mexico in the late 1880s where she attended St. Vincent’s Academy in Albuquerque, the Kenwood Institute in Chicago, and finally Vassar College.
After Vassar, she moved to Paris where she took voice lessons and later joined the Opéra-Comique. She could sing in six different languages and perform both internationally and nationally in Africa, London, British Iles, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, New York, Washington, DC, Denver and of course Albuquerque.
In 1915 she performed at San Diego’s Panama-California Exposition to an audience of over 20,000 followed by a season with the La Scala Grand Opera Company in Los Angeles. She married Edward W. Roberts in 1917 and stepped back from the limelight. Click on the link to hear Claude Albright singing Habanera.
The Albright burial location is Section Family 5, Plot 2 in Historic Fairview Cemetery.
The cemetery is located at 700 Yale Blvd. SE in Albuquerque, NM. To enter Historic Fairview Cemetery, enter through the gates of Fairview Memorial Park, near the intersection with Caesar Chavez Blvd. Drive straight ahead toward the cemetery office. At the intersection, turn left and head north into Historic Fairview Cemetery. It’s just to the left of the wall that says Congregation Albert Cemetery.
Join Albuquerque’s Historic Fairview Cemetery Meetup Group to be kept apprised of upcoming events at the cemetery. Learn more about the cemetery’s history here. A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, Historic Fairview Cemetery welcomes your tax deductible donations to help share the history of the cemetery and improve and maintain the grounds.