Nadine Roberts Waters

Nadine Roberts Waters
Waters, from a 1930 publication
Born(1892-02-16)February 16, 1892
Wyoming, Ohio, U.S.
DiedSeptember 8, 1985(1985-09-08) (aged 93)
Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
Other namesNadyne Waters
OccupationSinger

Nadine Ella Roberts Waters (February 16, 1892 – September 8, 1985),[1] sometimes billed as Nadyne Waters,[2][3] was an American soprano concert singer, trained in Boston and Paris. She had an active career in the 1930s and 1940s, including appearances in Paris, London, and New York City.

Early life and education

Roberts was born in the Wyoming suburb of Cincinnati, Ohio, the daughter of Martin Van Buren "Van" Roberts and Ella Taylor Roberts.[4] She trained with Nathaniel Clark Smith, and attended the New England Conservatory of Music.[5] She studied piano with Clarence B. Shirley in Cincinnati, voice with Vincent Hubbard in Boston,[6] and with Nadia Boulanger and Gabriel Grovlez in Paris.[7][8]

Career

Waters was a soloist at Boston's Symphony Hall in 1928.[9] She won a competition held in Boston by the National Federation of Music Clubs in 1929, but was considered ineligible for the top prize because she was "a race singer".[10][11] She made her Paris debut in 1930,[5][12] with good reviews for her French diction and vocal register.[13] In 1931 she sang at the American Library in Paris, with composer Albert Roussel accompanying performances of his own songs.[14] She gave a concerts at Grotrian Hall and Wigmore Hall in London in 1930,[15] and in New York in 1936,[16][17] 1938,[18] 1939,[19] and at the Town Hall in 1944.[20] She also gave a radio concerts in France and the United States.[21][22] "Miss Waters' voice is of a naturally good quality, fluent and pleasing in texture," commented Musical America in 1936. "Her interpretive abilities, though at present small, hold considerable promise."[16]

In the 1940s, Waters sang in Cincinnati,[23][24] and with the National Negro Opera Company.[25] She gave a recital in Cincinnati in 1971.[26]

Personal life

Waters married printer Frank C. Waters in 1915; they had a daughter, Inez, who died in childhood in 1924,[27] and they divorced in 1938.[28] She died in 1973, at age 93.[29][30] The Wyoming Historical Society in Ohio holds her scrapbook of letters, clippings, programs and photographs from her career.[31] It was digitized by the Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library.[32]

References

  1. ^ Some sources give 1903 as Waters' birth year, but she appears as an eight-year-old in her parents' household in the 1900 United States census (via Ancestry). The 1892 birth date and 1985 death dates match her obituary, the United States Social Security Death Index, her gravestone, and other sources.
  2. ^ Plogstedt, Lillian Tyler (1929-09-17). "Nadyn Waters Wins Praise". The Cincinnati Post. p. 22. Retrieved 2026-02-12 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Boston Woman to Sing". The Afro-American. 1928-10-13. p. 8. Retrieved 2026-02-12 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Celebrating Wyoming classical soprano, Nadine Waters". Wyoming Community in Action. 2025-05-31. Retrieved 2026-02-11.
  5. ^ a b "Nadine Waters' Success at Her Debut in Paris" Musical Courier 100(15)(1930-04-12): 41; via Internet Archive.
  6. ^ "Nadine Waters" The Music News 22(34)(August 22, 1930): .
  7. ^ "Nadine Waters' Teachers" The Music News (1930): 14.
  8. ^ "Nadine Waters, Noted Soprano, Appears in Recital, November 11". The New York Age. 1944-11-11. p. 10. Retrieved 2026-02-12 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Soloist Nadyne Roberts Waters". The Chicago Defender. 1928-04-28. p. 4. Retrieved 2026-02-12 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Singer Denied Prize Which Boston Jury Awarded Her; Race Singer Denied Boston Music Award". The Afro-American. 1929-05-18. p. 9. Retrieved 2026-02-12 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Boston Has Culture, but What Brand? Critics Cheat to Make Contest Lily-White". The Chicago Defender. 1929-06-22. p. 5. Retrieved 2026-02-12 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Mme. Waters Makes European Debut". New Pittsburgh Courier. 1930-04-12. p. 6. Retrieved 2026-02-12 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "French Critics Laud Voice of Nadine Waters; Say Diction, Register are Faultless". The Chicago Defender. 1931-01-31. p. 5. Retrieved 2026-02-12 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "American Library Concert". Musical America. 51 (6): 10. 1931-03-25 – via Internet Archive.
  15. ^ "London". The Music News: 9. November 21, 1930.
  16. ^ a b "Natin Waters Makes New York Debut". Musical America. 56 (5): 15. 1936-03-10 – via Internet Archive.
  17. ^ "Goldman Conducts People's Symphony". Musical America. 56 (6): 38. 1936-03-25 – via Internet Archive.
  18. ^ White, Lucien H. (1938-04-23). "Nadine Waters to Sing for Monarch Symphonic Band in Brooklyn May 1". The New York Age. p. 7. Retrieved 2026-02-12 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ "Nadine Waters Sings". The Musician: 145. August 1939.
  20. ^ "Nadine Waters, Soprano". Musical America. 64 (15): 24. 1944-11-25 – via Internet Archive.
  21. ^ Livingstone, Beulah (1933-04-04). "Paris". Variety. 110 (4): 45 – via Internet Archive.
  22. ^ "Basin Street Chamber Music Society Over WJZ at 9:30". Daily Worker. 1941-01-27. p. 7 – via Internet Archive.
  23. ^ "Nadine Waters Here Tonight". The Cincinnati Enquirer. 1946-01-06. p. 56. Retrieved 2026-02-12 – via Newspapers.com.
  24. ^ "Music Club Sponsors Concert". The Cincinnati Post. 1947-05-02. p. 18. Retrieved 2026-02-12 – via Newspapers.com.
  25. ^ Rubinoff, Nora (February 20, 2023). "A Voice for Change: Remembering Nadine Roberts Waters, Operatic Soprano". IPA Source. Retrieved 2026-02-12.
  26. ^ "Nadine Waters to Sing". The Cincinnati Post. 1971-04-21. p. 19. Retrieved 2026-02-12 – via Newspapers.com.
  27. ^ "Prominent Grocer Dies". The Chicago Defender. 1924-03-22. p. 15. Retrieved 2026-02-12 – via Newspapers.com.
  28. ^ Tjepkema, Thea. "Nadine Roberts Waters - Highly-Acclaimed Concert Soprano who Broke Color Barriers Worldwide". Cincinnati Sites and Stories. Retrieved 2026-02-11.
  29. ^ "Nadine Roberts Waters". The Cincinnati Post. 1985-09-12. p. 14. Retrieved 2026-02-12 – via Newspapers.com.
  30. ^ "Nadine Roberts Waters, Famed Singer". The Cincinnati Enquirer. 1985-09-11. p. 23. Retrieved 2026-02-12 – via Newspapers.com.
  31. ^ "Nadine Roberts Waters scrapbook". Cincinnati Public Library. Retrieved 2026-02-11.
  32. ^ Amrein, Clarity (2023-03-13). ""Exceptional Cincinnatians" Series Returns Featuring Nadine Waters". Retrieved 2026-02-11.
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