I had an intriguing experience last week. I was on the telephone setting up a meeting for the following day. When I asked to whom I was speaking, I thought I heard "Eureka"; in fact, she did say "Eureka, like the place in California."
At the meeting the next day I noticed that this young woman had a name tag: it gave her name as Ulrica. When I asked about that, she told me "the l is silent".
After the meeting, I pulled her aside and asked her if she knew anything about how she got that name. She mentioned that it was her mother's middle name, but other than that she did not know anything about it. I asked her if she had an interst in black history. I meant the question rhetorically, and didn't really wait for an answer. I asked her if she knew about Marian Anderson and her historic performance at the Lincoln Memorial. And then I went on to tell about Anderson being the first black person to sing at the Metropolitan Opera - and that the name of the character she portrayed in that barrier-breaking performance was Ulrica.
My guess is that she had a grandparent who probably knew from first hand experience of Marian Anderson's career and commemorated that in a daughter's name. I hope that's the case, and that the granddaughter can now say she knows a lot more of the story than she ever did.
At the meeting the next day I noticed that this young woman had a name tag: it gave her name as Ulrica. When I asked about that, she told me "the l is silent".
After the meeting, I pulled her aside and asked her if she knew anything about how she got that name. She mentioned that it was her mother's middle name, but other than that she did not know anything about it. I asked her if she had an interst in black history. I meant the question rhetorically, and didn't really wait for an answer. I asked her if she knew about Marian Anderson and her historic performance at the Lincoln Memorial. And then I went on to tell about Anderson being the first black person to sing at the Metropolitan Opera - and that the name of the character she portrayed in that barrier-breaking performance was Ulrica.
My guess is that she had a grandparent who probably knew from first hand experience of Marian Anderson's career and commemorated that in a daughter's name. I hope that's the case, and that the granddaughter can now say she knows a lot more of the story than she ever did.
4 comments:
You don't mention the race of the young woman, and perhaps it is not relevant. But Ulrica is a not terribly uncommon name in Sweden...
Thanks for responding, Amy. Race might be relevant here: the young woman in question is African American. Now I'll have to ask her if she has any Swedes in her family history! And I'll have go back and check if the name Ulrica was taken from the original stage play (Scribe's Gustave III) from which the opera was drawn.
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