No one is really quite sure what voice Depression - era Manhattan socialite Florence Foster Jenkins get a line in her head , but what get along out of her mouth was objectively awful . Long before YouTube , recordings of Jenkins attempting to babble Hellenic opera were passed around . Now , her infamy is set to spread out further with the August 12 outlet ofFlorence Foster Jenkins , a biographic picture show starring Meryl Streep and Hugh Grant .
According to Jenkins historian Donald Cullop , the misguided singer ’s passion for music begin in childhood . Born in 1868 to wealthy parents , Jenkins excel in pianoforte but could never quite overcome her warbling pitch and tendency to pressure notes . When her female parent passed away , she used her inheritance to fund artistic endeavors around New York City and open a cabaret where she could pursue her rage : butcher classic opera house .
“ Her goal was to do , to be in front of an interview , and to receive adulation , ” Cullop says . “ She did n’t hear the fault . ”
By Bain News Service [ Public domain ] , via Wikimedia Commons
Jenkins was capable to record several 78 - rev albums , which were speedily circulated as the viral sound bite of the day . One attempt was evenrenamedMurder on the High Cs .
After meeting the charming ( and philandering ) St. Clair Bayfield during a performance , Jenkins go on to set private concerts for friends and fan , most of whom could n’t quite believe she had no self - awareness . In 1944 , she booked a date at Carnegie Hall ; her notoriety had reached such heights that the show sold out in two hours and left more than 2000 people outside and ineffectual to gain entryway . Celebrities like Cole Porter were in attending , and tickets were reportedly being scalped outside .
The reviews were not tolerant , and witness reportedly laughed so intemperately they sometimes drown out her execution , but Jenkins remained unfazed . “ People may say I could n’t blab , ” she say near the end of her life , “ but no one can say I did n’t blab out . ”
Here ’s a looking at the Paramount film , have Streep as Jenkins and Grant as Bayfield :
