Frances James (3 February 1903 – 22 August 1988) was a Canadian soprano who specialized in concert repertoire.
Her singing was admired by several important composers, including Benjamin Britten, Paul Hindemith, and Darius Milhaud.
[1] Born in Saint John, New Brunswick, James studied singing with Walter Clapperton and Alfred Whitehead at the Schulich School of Music at McGill University.
She also studied lieder with Emmy Heim at the Toronto Conservatory of Music in 1934, and later singing with Enrico Rosati and Maria Kurenko in New York and Roland Hayes in Boston.
Her notable pupils included mezzo-soprano Dorothy Howard, soprano Jane Leslie MacKenzie, and tenor Richard Margison.