Charlotte Dolby
(1821-1885)

Charlotte Dolby was a famous contralto, esteemed by Mendelssohn, who in 1860 married the French musician Prosper Sainton. The latter was on friendly terms with everyone in the musical world, from Chopin to Berlioz.

Charlotte Helen Dolby was born in London on 17 May 1821 and soon showed unusual musical ability. In 1832 she entered the Royal Academy of Music, where she studied under John Bennett, Elliott, and Crivelli. Crivelli, who examined her for voice on her entrance to the Royal Academy of Music, recommended her 'for the present not to make it a principal study.' Five years later she was elected to a king's scholarship. On 14 June 1841 she made her first appearance as a singer at a Philharmonic concert, and sang under Mendelssohns's auspices at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig on 25 October 1845 with such success as induced her to make a tour abroad. Mendelssohn dedicated to her his six songs (Op. 57) and wrote the contralto music in Elijah with her voice in mind. She appeared in the first performance of the revised version of that oratorio at Exeter Hall on 16 April 1847 under the composer's direction, and from that date until her retirement from professional life in 1870 she occupied the foremost place among concert contralti in England. In 1872 she opened a vocal academy in London.

Mme Sainton-Dolby excelled chiefly in ballad-singing, but was also known as a composer. Among her compositions are the cantatas The Legend of St Dorothea (London, 1876), The Story of the Faithful Soul (London, 1879), Florimel (London, 1885), and Thalassa (a number of songs and ballads that enjoyed an ephemeral popularity).

Her last appearance in public took place at her husband's farewell concert in June 1883. She died at Gloucester Place, London, on 18 February 1885, and was buried in the same grave as her mother in Highgate Cemetery. A scholarship in her memory was founded at the Royal Academy of Music.