Marie Litta 1856 – 1883

            Marie Eugenia von Elsner was born in Bloomington, IL, on June 1, 1856, at her family’s home located at 710 E. Front street. She was the daughter of Professor Hugo von Elsner, a trained musician from Germany, and Amanda Dimmitt, whose father was one of the first settlers in Bloomington. She was the oldest of five children.

            At a young age, Marie had an outstanding talent for music, getting her genius and mental endowments from her father and powerful voice from her mother, who was known to have an unusually sweet but untrained voice. Marie’s father was determined to carefully train her into becoming the leading singer of the world. Marie sang at private gatherings and made her first public appearance when she was 5 years-old, singing “Tis the Last Rose of Summer” in front of a group of volunteer soldiers in Springfield IL in 1861. She stood alone and sang in “clear, sweet, and plaintive tones that brought a sudden stillness over her audience.”

In Cleveland, Ohio, where there was a large population of Germans, several gentlemen were so impressed by Marie that they offered to finance her training. Marie soon found herself a patron and worked hard to improve her voice. Because of this, in 1879, the people of Cleveland actually claimed Marie as their own, stating: “Cleveland is ignoring the fact that Marie (M’lle Litta) ever saw or heard of Bloomington, and claims all her glory, as a Cleveland girl, with stupendous cheek.” In response, Marie wrote a letter to the editor of the newspaper “The Elf,” saying: “I like Cleveland, and am very grateful to the Cleveland people for their kindness to me, and shall always take pleasure in visiting Cleveland; but Bloomington is my home and I am proud of it and the many kindnesses I have received from the Bloomington people have filled my heart with gratitude; and I say frankly that there is no place on earth like my old home.”

After her training in Cleveland, Marie went on to audition in London and study with the best teachers in Paris, all while still a teenager. She received mixed reviews in London, making it clear that she needed one more year of training. Marie made her debut in Paris at the Italiene in 1878, and won the hearts of the Parisians under her new stage name, “Marie Litta.” At that time, the Parisians had strong feelings about the Franco-Prussian War, so Marie took precaution to conceal her German background and adopted the noble Italian family name, Litta. In fact, the next morning, Count Litta from Italy called upon her and thanked her for honoring his family name.

            In 1877, Marie was the center of attention at a reception at the Ashley House (located on the corner of Jefferson and Center streets) in Bloomington, IL. Prominent townsmen were present, such as David Davis, Judge Lawrence Weldon, Hudson Burr, Absolom Funk, Cyrinius Wakefield, Joe Fifer, James Ewing, and Adlai Stevenson I. At the reception, those men pledged enough money to build Marie’s mother a cottage, which would be located at 812 East Washington Street. Marie continued to give musical concerts throughout Bloomington and the west and started to make a name for herself, singing not only at her regular performances, but at a good number of benefit concerts as well.

            Marie continued to sing in other European cities like Vienna, Austria, and achieved many triumphs. The European press called her the “Queen of Song” or the “American Jenny Lind,” who was a renowned Swedish opera singer. Marie also sang in larger cities in the United States and Canada, eventually forming her own company in 1880, the Litta Concert Company. The company toured through New York, San Franciso, Galveston, and Halifax and played everywhere to rave reviews. At the height of her career, the young singer was earning $75,000 a year, which would equal about $1.6 million today. She was also unselfish and made sure to send trunks full of presents back to her loved ones in Bloomington. Bloomington developed a large pride in the young singer, and at one time, when Marie was scheduled to perform at McVickers Theatre, a special 200-car train was prepared to carry her Bloomington fans to Chicago.

John M. Scott, another well-known resident to Bloomington, wrote a book on Marie Litta, and described her as while “still young she developed mentally and physically into beautiful womanhood. She was of medium height, with form rather slight but graceful, her complexion delicately fair; her hair was quite heavy, having a very light tinge of brown, not blonde perhaps, but rather light; her eyes were blue, neither large nor small, through which when under emotion her soul found strange expression. Although her mouth was large, it was not an unbecoming feature. It may be said all her features were cast in the finest mould and her social worth was of the best and purest. From tender childhood to maturity she was gentle, loving, and kind.”

Marie’s manager accepted more and more bookings until the point where Marie’s small, delicate body could not handle it. She grew ill in the spring of 1883, but she nevertheless followed through with her performance commitments, for stars during that time were expected to play anywhere, particularly if one wanted the funds to support one’s entourage and family. This responsibility took its toll on Marie, for she collapsed after a concert that summer in Escanaba, Michigan. Crowds gathered at the station when she was put aboard the train heading back home to Bloomington. She was dying.

            On July 7, 1883, Marie passed away from her illness in her mother’s home, at the young age of 27. Marie’s funeral was the largest funeral McLean County had ever known, with over 12,000 citizens attempting to enter the First Methodist Episcopal Church where it was held. All the stores were even closed on that day. Marie was so beloved that her gowns were cut into small pieces and distributed as mementos to her fans, friends, and family. She was buried in Evergreen Memorial Cemetery

The eight men who carried Marie’s coffin to the grave, James S. Ewing, Adlai E. Stevenson I, Joseph W. Fifer, Lawrence Weldon, Francis Julius Fitzwilliam, Adelbert S. Eddy, Henry P. Seibel, and General B. Wendling, decided to form themselves into a committee to raise funds to erect a monument in honor of Bloomington’s star. Through a series of concerts and collection of donations, they raised a total of $1,450, which would equal about $31,000 today.

The monument was made of the best granite and now stands at the west side of the cemetery. It is adorned with a book representing her chosen profession, with one leaf bearing simple music such as the ones Marie first sang, and the other leaf with more difficult, classical music like what she sang later in her career. On the south side is a treble clef surrounded by a beautiful laurel leaf which represents victory in music, and the whole monument is surmounted by a beautiful draped urn, representing eternal life. In the shadow of the column on the north side are engraved the words: “Her run rose through clouds in the morning and was eclipsed at noon. By a life laborious and heroic, her girlhood witnessed the triumph of her genius. Welcome to the banks of the great artists of her time. She was loved most for her pure and gentle life, and so loving hands weave roses with the laurel in her chaplet of fame.”