A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Keeley, Mary

KEELEY, Mrs. (Mary Anne Goward), was born at Ipswich Nov. 22, 1805. Being endowed with a pure soprano voice of remarkable compass, she was apprenticed for seven years to the well-known teacher of music, Mrs. Smart (a sister-in-law of Sir George Smart), under whom she made her first appearance on the stage at Dublin in 1824. On July 2, 1825, she appeared in London at the Lyceum, then under the management of Mr. Arnold. The performance consisted of 'The Beggar's Opera' (with Thorne, Miss Stephens, and Miss Kelly), Shield's 'Rosina,' and 'The Spoiled Child,' in which last two pieces Miss Goward played. The event is thus chronicled in the 'Times' (July 4):—'Miss Goward, the débutante, appeared as Rosina in the opera of that title. She is young, of a slender figure, and with intelligent features. Her voice is pretty, and after she had overcome the first embarrassments of her entrance, she went through the part very successfully. She sang the songs in a simple manner, which deserved the applause she received. It is dangerous to prophesy at first appearances, but we may, nevertheless, venture to say that this young lady promises to make a very fine actress.… Miss Goward played Little Pickle in the "Spoiled Child" very well indeed.' In the same season she sang Annetta in 'Der Freischütz' with Braham and Miss Paton. In 1826, on the production of Weber's 'Oberon' at Covent Garden, she undertook the small but important part of the Mermaid, the music of which had been previously tried by Miss Love and Miss Hammersley, both of whom declined to sing it owing to the difficulty of hearing the delicate orchestral accompaniments at the back of the vast stage where the Mermaid has to appear. Miss Goward, however, overcame this obstacle, as Mr. Planché states ('Recollections and Reflections,' vol. i.); 'she was even then artist enough to be entrusted with anything,' and her singing of the Mermaid's music earned for her the personal thanks of the composer. For the next few years Miss Goward continued to sing in English opera, but after her marriage with the well-known comedian, Mr. Keeley (which took place on June 26, 1829), she devoted her talents entirely to comedy, in which she is one of the greatest artists of the English stage. In the present work it would be out of place to trace her dramatic career: it must suffice to state that since breaking a small blood-vessel, from the effects of which she suffered for two or three years, she has not taken an engagement at any theatre. Mrs. Keeley has never formally left the stage, but still takes great interest in theatrical affairs, and is justly loved and respected as the doyenne of the profession.

[ W. B. S. ]