a little follow-up on Florence Foster-Jenkins copied from the web:
"Florence Foster Jenkins On Oktober 25th 1944 one of the most bizarre personalities of the musical world gave a concert in New York's Carnegie Hall: Florence Foster Jenkins. She had rented the hall herself and it was soon sold. Florence was a legend in her own time but to call her a singer would be misleading. An enthusiast that had to bring her love for music to public expression, but whose joy of song went beyond her ability. Very excentric in her performances, she was also well-known for her clothing which she designed herself (often with feathers and wings). Very self-confident Florence was determined to perform annually for the public in New York, most of the time in smaller clubs that she had founded herself. Characeristic is the anecdote that she presented the guilty party of an automobile accident with a box of cigars since she could sing a higher F than ever before after the incident. One month and one day after her performance at Carnegie Hall Florence Foster Jenkins died at the age of 72."

Wolfgang