Honoring Black History Month - Flora Batsen

Flora Batsen
-Photo: CC Courtesy

Staff Reports – According to historical research, Flora Batson (1864–1906) was a popular and well-known concert singer, nicknamed “The Double-Voiced Queen of Song” because of her soprano-baritone range. She was often compared to the great Jenny Lind in the press.

She was born in Washington, D.C., on April 16, 1864. She began singing at nine years old and was a member of the famous Bethel Choir.

In 1885, she began touring with the Bergen Star Company and became internationally known. She was a more modern version of Marie Selika Williams, Madam Flower, and Matilda Sissieretta Joyner Jones. She performed with Jones in 1885 in Providence, Rhode Island. 

According to blackpast.org, a performance in New York City, New York’s Masonic Temple in 1885 launched her professional career. To much critical acclaim, she sang “Six Feet of Earth Make Us All One Size” for ninety consecutive nights and caught the attention of John G. Bergen, the white manager of the all-black Bergen Star Concert Company. She accepted his invitation into the company, and by 1887 she had achieved national fame as its leading soprano.

At the height of her career she toured internationally and sang for many world leaders including Pope Leo XIII, Queen Victoria of England, and Queen Liliuokalani of Hawaii.
Batson married Bergen in December of 1887 and their controversial interracial marriage made international tabloid headlines. Their union was mutually beneficial as he continued to manage her career and she brought fame and critical acclaim to his company well into their marriage. After Bergen’s death in 1896, she toured with African American basso Gerard Millar, whom she eventually married. 

As vaudeville comedy sketches came into popularity, however, Batson’s skills as a concert soloist were in less demand. Later in her career she sang primarily for charities and religious organizations, choosing philanthropy over profit-making performances. Her last concert was at the Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on November 29, 1906. She passed away only two days later, on December 1, 1906.