GRACE MOORE CONCERT GOWN

(March 1998)

CONCERT GOWN. (39K) Silk crepe, decorated with sequins and tiny golden glass tube beads. Circa 1943.

DESCRIPTION

A red, white, and gold concert gown which belonged to Grace Moore, probably worn during her many concert engagements during World War II, when she was active in the USO (United Service Organizations), entertaining American troops abroad.

Accompanying the gown in the exhibit are matching gloves, samples of her stage jewelry, photographs, and marked musical scores. The McClung Museum's extensive collection of Miss Moore's costumes and personal items were donated in 1949 by her brother James L. Moore, President of Loveman's Department Store in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

GRACE MOORE BIRTHDAY CENTENNIAL

GRACE MOORE: December 5, 1898 - January 26, 1947

Grace Moore, one of America's favorite and widely known operatic stars, was a native Tennessean. She was born in Slabtown, Cocke County, Tennessee, on December 5, 1898, and was raised in Jellico, Tennessee. She was known as "The Tennessee Nightingale," and endeared herself far and wide with an operatic voice that made people listen. But, perhaps more important, was her ability to establish a strong communication between herself and her audience.

She became a prima donna, and during her celebrated career her roles included Mimi in La Boheme at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City, Marguerite in Faust, Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, Micaela in Carmen, and many others. Fans all over the world flocked to hear her and also to see her as the star in a number of Hollywood films, such as One Night of Love, a charming black and white film produced by Columbia Pictures in 1934 which made Moore a sensation at the box office. Miss Moore used her talent as a way to reach out to people. This human quality in her personality helped earn her the fame she worked so hard to achieve.

Miss Moore married Valentin Parera in a wedding ceremony held in Cannes, France, on July 15, 1931.

Among the many distinguished honors she received from various countries was the decoration as a chevalier of the Legion of Honor of France in 1939. In 1937, she was commissioned a colonel on the staff of the governor of Tennessee, and was also made a life member of the Tennessee State Society of Washington, D.C.

Between her operatic engagements, she appeared on radio and as a soloist at concerts throughout the United States and Europe. These performances included those given for the United States occupation forces in Vienna and Salzburg in Austria, and Heidelberg and Wiesbaden in Germany.

Tragically, Miss Moore lost her life in a plane crash near Copenhagen, Denmark, on January 26, 1947, following a concert which ended in a standing ovation and countless encores. She was buried in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

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