Coe Glade

Coe Glade, born Florence Coe Johnston on August 12, 1900, in Chicago, Illinois, was an American opera singer who performed on Broadway between 1927 and 1947. A mezzo-soprano and contralto, she became most closely identified with the title role of Carmen, which she performed more than 2,000 times over the course of her career. She died on September 23, 1985, at her home in New York City at the age of 85, and is buried at Myrtle Hill Memorial Park in Tampa, Florida.

Glade was the daughter of Ira William Johnston and Mabel Caroline Albrecht Johnson. Her parents divorced in 1907, and she was raised in Tampa, Florida. Her stepfather, Frederick Glade, died in 1917. She lived with her mother until Mabel Glade's death in 1959.

She began her professional singing career in St. Louis, where she was discovered by Fortune Gallo. In 1929 she joined the Chicago Civil Opera Company, and she also performed with the Cincinnati Zoo Opera. Her Broadway credits included the Radio City Music Hall Inaugural Program in 1932, as well as productions of Rigoletto, Aida, Il Trovatore, and Carmen. Beyond her Broadway appearances, she sang at the Hiram Walker Canadian Club at the Chicago World's Fair in 1934. Her operatic repertoire extended to the roles of Amneris in Aida, Azucena in Il Trovatore, and Delila in Samson and Delilah. In her later years, Glade taught voice students.