Jean Tennyson

She made her Broadway debut in the chorus of Albert Von Tilzer's 1923 musical Adrienne; ultimately taking over the title role four months into the shows run and performing that part on tour in 1924.

After starring in the Broadway musical revue The Earl Carroll Vanities in 1928 and 1929, her career shifted towards opera and work as a concert soprano.

Tennyson's first marriage was to the Swiss chemist and founder of American Celanese Corporation Camille Dreyfus, whose company sponsored the 1940s CBS Radio program The Celanese Hour, better known as Great Moments in Music; a weekly program hosted by Tennyson from 1942 to 1946 which featured her interviewing and performing with notable musicians of the period.

She also used her significant fortune to support arts organizations internationally, including the New York Philharmonic and the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, and aid in the artistic training and careers of young musicians.

[16] In 1928, she was cast as a lead singer in the Broadway musical revue The Earl Carroll Vanities; a production she remained with through the end of 1929.

[1][5] She toured with Fortune Gallo's San Carlo Opera Company in the early 1930s in the roles of Nedda in Pagliacci, Leonora in Il trovatore, Gilda in Rigoletto, and Marguerite in Charles Gounod's Faust.

[19] In 1933, she starred in Franz Lehár's operetta The Land of Smiles with tenor Charles Hackett in a production mounted by The Shubert Organization for performances in their chain of theaters.

[33] In 1939, she performed a concert of arias for Prince Olav V of Norway and Princess Märtha of Sweden at a special dinner held for them at The Palmer House in Chicago.

[34] In 1941, she was the guest soprano soloist in a series of six concerts presented by the National Symphony Orchestra in honor of Ignacy Jan Paderewski under conductor Charles O'Connell.

[35] In 1943, she performed a concert of excerpts from operettas with tenor Jan Peerce and the New York Philharmonic under conductor Robert Stolz; including music form The Merry Widow, The Chocolate Soldier, and The Gypsy Baron among other works.

[36] During World War II, Tennyson volunteered her time at the Stage Door Canteen; performing for active American and Allied servicemen.

Wise at his home at 35 E. 62 St., New York City (he was a leading reform rabbi and founder of the United Jewish Appeal)[42][43] They remained married until the death of Camille Dreyfus on September 27, 1956.