She was born Sybil Swift Sanderson on December 7, 1865 in Sacramento, California, United States, eldest of four daughters of Silas W. Sanderson, a jurist who was at one time justice of the supreme court of California, and later chief counselor of the Union Pacific R. R.
Sibyl Sanderson was educated in the public schools of San Francisco, and after her father's death was taken with her three sisters to Paris by her mother. In January 1886 she entered the Paris Conservatory, where she studied under Massenet, Sbriglia and Marchesi. It is said also that she had some lessons from Jean de Reszky.
Under an assumed name Ada Palmer, she made her operatic debut at The Hague in Massenet's Manon. Massenet was so much impressed with her voice that he wrote Esclarmonde for her, and in this opera she made her Paris debut at the Opera Comique in 1889. Following this engagement she sang at the Theatre de la Monnaie in Brussels and was the leading prima donna for two seasons.
A few years later Massenet composed Thaïs for her, and the work was presented at the Paris Grand-Opera in 1894. Meanwhile, in 1893, Sanderson had created the title role of Saint-Saëns' Phryné.
She sang for two seasons at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York under the regime of Maurice Grau - first in 1895, and again in 1901. Her first American failure may be attributed to the fact that she was suffering from a cold during her visit. Her chief roles during her American engagements were Manon, Michaela, and Juliette.
She died of pneumonia in Paris at the age of thirty-eight.
She made debut at The Hague (1888); created the role of Esclarmonde at Opéra-Comique (1889); debuted at Paris Opéra (1894), and Metropolitan Opera (1895). In spite of her tremendous popularity in Paris, and in other foreign cities - Brussels, St. Petersburg, Moscow - she was received coldly in London and never found favor in America. Whatever the reason, Sanderson's career withered at the turn of the century.
Quotes from others about the person
Enthusiastic in his praise, Massenet called her an "ideal Manon and an unforgettable" Thaïs".
It is said that "her voice was pure and sweet, but small, and cold; as an actress she was completely lacking in emotional warmth; but her personal beauty and charm of manner were extraordinary" (Baker's Biographical Dictionary, p. 811).
After a long engagement she was married, on Dec. 1, 1897, to a wealthy Cuban planter, Antonio Terry, following his divorce from his first wife. She suffered a stroke of paralysis soon after her marriage and lived quietly at her husband's house at Chenonceaux, France, until his death in 1899. A daughter was born to them but she died shortly after birth.
From 1899 until her death frequent rumors were circulated about her possible marriage to others. The summer of 1903 had been set as the time for her marriage to Count Paul Tolstoi, a cousin of the Russian novelist. Her friendship with Massenet also caused comment.
