Biography

Catherine (Hayes) Bushnell was a world-famous Irish soprano singer. She was born in Limerick, though her birth year is disputed. Hayes grew up poor, but her talent was identified early, and age 20 she left Limerick to study in Dublin. In the 1840s, she sang in Paris, Marseilles, Milan, and Vienna. In 1849, she returned to England, and she performed for Queen Victoria. From 1851-1853, she toured the Americas, and from 1854-1856 she toured Asia and Oceana. In 1856 she returned to England, and the next year she married William Avery Bushnell. Bushnell died just a year later. Hayes continued performing until her own death in 1861. In her entry in the Dictionary of National Biography, her singing is described as "a soprano of the sweetest quality, and of good compass, ascending with ease to D in alt. The upper notes were limpid, and like a well-tuned silver bell up to A. Her lower tones were the most beautiful ever heard in a real soprano, and her trill was remarkably good. She was a touching actress in all her standard parts. She was tall, with a fine figure, and graceful in her movements."