The Bispham Memorial Medal Award was an award for opera

Opera

Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...

s written in English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 which was presented annually by the American Opera Society of Chicago from 1921-1932. The award was named for baritone David Bispham

David Bispham

David Scull Bispham was the first American–born operatic baritone to win an international reputation.- Early life and family:...

, who was a great proponent of performing opera in English in the United States. It was traditionally awarded to American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 composers, frequently for an opera on an American subject. It was funded, in part, by composer Eleanor Everest Freer

Eleanor Everest Freer

Eleanor Everest Freer was an American composer and philanthropist.-Life:Eleanor Everest was born in Philadelphia, the daughter of Cornelius Everest and Ellen Amelia Everest, and studied singing in Paris with Mathilde Marchesi and composition with Benjamin Godard...

, who was also one of its recipients (for The Legend of the Piper). Other recipients include: