Billington

Billington, Elizabeth, singer, was born about 1768, in Soho, London. Her father's name was Weichsel, a native of Freiberg, Saxony, and himself a musician. Her mother, too, was a singer of some distinction. Elizabeth was trained by her father, and made her first appearance on the stage at Dublin. Meanwhile she had been secretly married to James Billington, a double-bass in the Drury Lane orchestra. In 1786, after a twelve nights' engagement at Covent Garden, she was engaged from the end of February for the season at £1,000. After this she made a continental tour, singing with marked success at Naples, Florence, Leghorn, Venice, and Milan, where she was received by the Empress Josephine. In 1799 she married again, a Frenchman, Felissent, whose ill usage compelled her to leave him. She returned to London in 1801, in which year she is said to have made as much as between £10,000 and £15,000. In 1811 she retired, living in magnificent style at Fulham until 1818, when Felissent induced her to accompany him to the Continent. In that year she died near Venice, at the hands, it was suspected, of her base husband. In the opinion of many she was the greatest singer England ever produced.