Kathryn Meisle

Kathryn Meisle (October 14, 1899—January 17, 1970) was an American operatic contralto. Kathryn Meisle was born in Philadelphia. Her grandfather, Matthew Müssle, originally from Baden-Baden, Germany, settled in Philadelphia in 1848. After naturalization in 1856 he changed his surname to Meisle. As a child, her father urged her to take piano lessons, sometimes taking multiple lessons a week. When she was fifteen, she was heard by a choir director who offered her a position. Thereafter she commenced vocal study. One of her vocal teachers was Enrica Clay Dillon. In 1917 she married Calvin M. Franklin (born 1887), an agent who became her manager. She made her professional debut as a soloist with the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra conducted by Emil Oberhoffer in 191