Dora Wiley

Dora Wiley (1852 or 1853 – 2 November 1924) was an American soprano who performed in operas and concerts in the United States, England, and Australia during the last three decades of the 19th century.

Born in Bucksport, Maine, Wiley spent her early singing career working as a church and choral singer in Chelsea, Massachusetts and touring with a Boston-based vocal quartet.

[2] She first appeared on the New York stage in 1881 as the title heroine in the Haverly opera company's production of Gilbert and Sullivan's Patience at the Metropolitan Casino.

[4] She returned to the New York stage the following year in several successful operettas produced by the J. W. Norcross Opera Company; including Bettina in Edmond Audran's The Mascot and Violetta in Johann Strauss II's The Merry War.

Her husband, the equally gifted comic actor Richard Golden, from Bangor, Maine, was initially part of her company, but later engaged Wiley to sing in his own successful play, Old Jed Prouty in 1889.