Ward, Dame Genevieve
Ward, Dame Genevieve (1838–1922),American-born actress who, when voice problems forced her to abandon her career as an opera singer, became letter-perfect in fourteen stage roles, five of them Shakespeare, within six months. In her debut as Lady Macbeth at the Theatre Royal, Manchester, in 1873 she displayed the—operatic—qualities of powerful voice, expressive features, and graceful gestures which were to thrill audiences the world over. High points included Lady Macbeth in French (Paris, 1877) and the Queen in Cymbeline with Irving (1896), who restored Queen Margaret (Richard III, 1896) for her, a role which she repeated with Benson, for whom she also played Volumnia, and Martin Harvey. In 1921 she was made DBE, the first actress to receive the honour.
Richard Foulkes
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