Clara Poole King
American opera singer (1853–1938)
Clara Jane Poole, also known by her married name Clara Poole King and by the stage name Clara Pollini, (October 13, 1853 – December 6, 1938) was an American contralto and voice teacher. She should not be confused with the British contralto Clara Poole who was active before Clara Jane Poole was born in both England and the United States.
Born and raised in South Boston, Clara was the daughter of musicians Charles Poole and Lucy Poole. She studied singing in her native city with Erminia Rudersdorf. She began her career there in 1871 and was principally based in Boston until going to Europe in the mid 1880s to study singing first in Paris with Giovanni Sbriglia and then in Italy with Giovanni Moretti. She sang in operas in Italy before returning to the United States in 1887 to join Gustav Hinrichs's National English Opera Company with whom she toured. In 1890 she settled in New York City. She periodically performed in operas after this, and was better known as an oratorio soloist with leading American orchestras and festivals.
From 1894 until 1900 Poole mainly lived and worked in London as a concert singer, but also appeared periodically in operas with the Carl Rosa Opera Company and in France at the Paris Opera. She returned to the United States where she was active as a concert singer through 1907.
The public source identifies “Clara Poole King” as american opera singer (1853–1938). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Clara, Poole and King.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Clara Poole King”, the useful work is to connect “american opera singer (1853–1938)” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
The entry’s evidential value lies in the named roles, institutions and publications that can be tested against primary documentation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 28, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q138782687. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1853, 1938, 1871 and 1887.
Later biographies can compress uncertainty and repeat inherited reputations, so apparently settled claims may still require comparison. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.
- Establishing names and roles
- Building a first chronology
- Locating cited institutions
Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Clara Poole King”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Clara Poole King primary sources, Clara Poole King archive and Clara research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Clara Poole King”?
- How has the subject’s reputation changed across later accounts?
- Which claims depend on a single source or contested interpretation?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Clara Poole King” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.