home page Catherine Hayes

Updated: May 2008
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19th Century - Operatic Biography

Catherine Hayes
The Hibernian (Irish) Prima Donna

Basil Walsh

Foreword by conductor, Richard Bonynge

(372 page Biography, with photos and a chronology of her travels and performances)

          TV &Film rights available on the biography - (Request TV mini-series concept document)

             (see below what the London, New York and Dublin critics say about this book)



Welcome to the Catherine Hayes web site - Ireland's First Great International Prima Donna!

The book "Catherine Hayes: The Hibernian Prima Donna," 'by Basil Walsh, is published by Irish Academic Press, with distribution in Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand.

This is a remarkable story of a unique young Irishwoman who traveled the globe during the 19th century, singing opera and songs with great passion and success everywhere. Perhaps her greatest moment came in Buckingham Palace, London in 1849... after an evening of singing Italian operatic arias for Queen Victoria and 500 guests she responded to the Queen's request for an encore by singing the beautiful Irish song, "Kathleen Mavourneen." The Queen was so impressed, that she recorded her comments on the Irish Prima Donna's performance for posterity in her diary the next day. The Queen was very complimentary!

Read What the Critics in Europe & America say about the book:

Daily Express - London: " A rags to riches tale... Hayes was the "Madonna" of her day, she was the 19th-century operatic equivalent of the world's most famous pop star... Catherine Hayes had it all, a voice that captivated her public, financial rewards and a man she loved... then tragedy"

Classical Music Magazine - London: "Basil Walsh has drawn on letters, theatrical memorabilia and newspaper reviews to build a picture of her career... his affectionate portrait offers fascinating glimpses into the social and musical world of 150 years ago..."

OperaNow - London: "Thanks to Basil Walsh's extensively researched biography... Catherine Hayes is at last receiving the historical and musical recognition she deserves"

Donizetti Society Newsletter - London: " A long overdue study of a fascinating Irish artist, a famous Lucia and Linda, a beautiful angelic redhead soprano who took Italy by storm, a great star. A fine and exhaustive biography by Basil Walsh... immaculate presentation, indexed, chronology, repertoire..."

The World of Hibernia Magazine - New York: " Thank you Mr. Walsh for extending our horizons with this delightful story... Basil Walsh has worked hard to inform us of this enigmatic woman, her fabulous voice, her devoted family loyalty and her charitable nature, he gives facts, meticulous footnotes and rare illustrations, which all together create a vivid picture of Catherine Hayes"

Sunday Independent - Dublin "In the absence of recording evidence [Catherine Hayes' 'time was long before gramophone records were invented] it is impossible to assess the merit of operatic voices of the past with the result that we rely on their biographers which isn't 'always satisfactory. However, in the case of Basil Walsh, a Dublin author living in Florida, such is his detailed research in numerous countries that one is left in no doubt that his subject, the diva Catherine Hayes, enjoyed a glittering career..."

The Sunday Tribune - Dublin: "Catherine Hayes packed a great deal into her four decades at a time when travel was difficult and dangerous... We are greatly indebted to Basil Walsh for this magnificent, entertaining and beautifully illustrated book. It makes excellent reading"

The Dublin Historical Record: "Basil Walsh has performed a great service to Irish operatic history with this excellently researched volume... It also has a most valuable chronology of her [Catherine Hayes'] performances and travels throughout the world which further services the student of this fascinating woman who deserves to be better known to her compatriots."

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Catherine Hayes performed before Queen Victoria and 500 guests in Buckingham Palace, London in 1849.

The Biography contains, 35 illustrations, a chronology of the Prima Donna's operatic and concert performances, her travels around the Globe to 15 countries, including, France, Italy, Britain, Ireland, America (45 cities), Canada, Peru, Chile, Hawaii, Australia, India, Singapore, Java, etc., during the middle of the 19th century. Her relationships with leading singers, composers and personalities of the times. Her romantic encounters in Europe, America and Australia and her successes which included phenomenal earnings and the great tragedy she experienced in her final years.

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To place an order for the book...

"Catherine Hayes: The Hibernian Prima Donna"

by Basil Walsh
                   (ISBN No. 0 7165 2662 X)

Click on: (enter - Catherine Hayes; author, Basil Walsh)



OR:

NORTH AMERICA: ISBS, Portland, Oregon and Elsewhere, at, marketing@isbs.com - 1 800 944 6190

Irish Books & Media, Minneapolis, MN at: irishbooks@aol.com - 612 871 3505

EUROPE: (Irish Academic Press, Dublin) www.iap.ie
or any major bookseller.

ENGLAND/UK: contact: any Waterstone's bookshops in any city in the U.K.

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Individuals who have visited this site September 1999:

Film/TV Options available on the Catherine Hayes biography:

Contact Basil Walsh - basilwalsh@msn.com (Webmaster)

Visit the Limerick Civic Trust Web site:

www.catherinehayes.ie

                                                             Basil Walsh of Palm Beach, Florida, is an author and writer on 19th century opera.

BASIL WALSH - has contributed to various magazines, encyclopedias and journals in Europe and America including Opera Quarterly (Oxford University Press), OPERA magazine (UK), The Princess Grace of Monaco Irish Database, History Ireland, Visitor Magazine, Dublin, The Donizetti Society of London Newsletter and the Victorian Web. In 2002 he was also invited to contribute to the Royal Irish Academy's forthcoming multi-volume Dictionary of Irish Biography. He has also contributed to the forthcoming, Encyclopedia of Music in Ireland and to the multi-volume, Encyclopedia, Ireland and the Americas, recently published by ABC-CLIO of Santa Barbara, California.

                                                                                                   _____________________

His latest work is a biography of the Irish born composer Michael W. Balfe was published in October 2007. See below for details.

               Biography: "Michael W. Balfe: A Unique Victorian Composer" by Basil Walsh has recently been published by Irish Academic Press in association with the Arts Council of Ireland,
for Balfe's bicentennial year 2008.

Click on: www.balfebiography.com or www.britishandirishworld.com

NEW - Irish classical music pioneers musicians who made a difference - CLICK on -

http://basilwalsh.wordpress.com/