Template:POTD/2025-06-23
Appearance
Geraldine Ulmar (June 23, 1862 – August 13, 1932) was an American singer and actress, best known for her performances in soprano roles of the Savoy operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company. In 1879, she made her debut as Josephine in Gilbert and Sullivan's H.M.S. Pinafore in Boston and soon joined the Boston Ideal Opera Company, where she remained as leading soprano for six years. Ulmar next was hired to play Yum-Yum in the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company's first American production of The Mikado, at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York, from 1885 to 1886. After this she played more Gilbert and Sullivan roles in New York, Germany and England. In London, she originated the leading roles of Elsie Maynard in The Yeomen of the Guard (1888), and Gianetta in The Gondoliers (1889) before leaving D'Oyly Carte in 1890. She remained in London to play leading roles in other works, such as O Mimosa San in The Geisha. She retired from the stage in 1904 and taught singing. She was married for a time to composer Ivan Caryll. The photo shows Ulmar as Yum-Yum in New York in 1886.Poster credit: Benjamin Joseph Falk; restored by Adam Cuerden