Background
Esther Young was born on 14 February 1717 in the Covent Garden area of London. Both her father, Charles Young, and his brother, Anthony Young, were well known organists and minor composers.
Esther Young was born on 14 February 1717 in the Covent Garden area of London. Both her father, Charles Young, and his brother, Anthony Young, were well known organists and minor composers.
She was part of a well-known English family of musicians that included several professional singers and organists during the 17th and 18th centuries. She made her professional singing debut in a series of concerts in 1736. The following year she made her first opera appearance in the role of Mauxalinda in the original production of Lampe’s The Dragon of Wantley at the Haymarket Theatre.
Her sister Isabella sang the heroine Margery in the production and both girls stayed with the show when it moved to the Covent Garden Theatre.
The opera was a tremendous success and ran for several seasons. Isabella married Lampe midway through the show"s run.
Esther continued to appear in productions for the next four decades, mostly at Covent Garden. She appeared in several Lampe operas and played Lucy in John Gay"s The Beggar’s Opera for many years.
In 1744 she sang Juno and Ino in the world première of Handel’s Semele and in 1750 sang the role of Hercules in the world premiere of Handel"s The Choice of Hercules.
Indeed, Esther sang at that theatre every year from 1743 until her retirement in 1776. However, towards the end of her career she sang mostly in the chorus and not in featured roles. On 8 April 1762, Esther married the music seller and publisher Charles Jones.
According to historian Charles Burney, by December 1785, a few years after her husband"s death, Esther was impoverished and seriously illinois
Her sister Isabella Lampe took care of her during this time with "unremitting Tenderness" until her death on 6 June 1795.