Alice True was born in
Chatsworth, Illinois, the youngest of three children, all daughters, born to John and Emma Catherine (Shroyer) True. She began her career in 1908 as a member of the opera chorus in
Oscar Hammerstein I's
Manhattan Opera Company (MOC). Impressed with Gentle's talents, Hammerstein began casting her in secondary roles in MOC productions in 1909, beginning with the role of Mercédès in
Georges Bizet's
Carmen. She sang roles with the MOC and with Hammerstein's
Philadelphia Opera Company through 1910; including Emilia in
Otello, the First maid in
Elektra, Flora in
La traviata, Lola in
Cavalleria rusticana, Maddalena in
Rigoletto, Nicklausse in
The Tales of Hoffmann, and Siébel in
Faust among others. Gentle also performed in two
Broadway musicals,
The Opera Ball (1912) and
All for the Ladies (1912-1913). In 1916, she portrayed Federico in
Ambroise Thomas's
Mignon at
La Scala in Milan. She sang one season at the
Metropolitan Opera, making her debut with the company in 1918 as Preziosilla in
La forza del destino. Later that year, she created the role of Frugola in the world premiere of
Puccini's
Il Tabarro. Her only other role at the Met was Fatima in
Oberon in 1919. In 1923, she toured the United States as Carmen with the
San Carlo Opera Company. She appeared in three films during the early 1930s:
Song of the Flame (1930),
Golden Dawn (1930), and
Flying Down to Rio (1933). In 1940, she made her final stage appearance at the
Los Angeles Civic Light Opera as Mrs. Cripps in
H.M.S. Pinafore. She was survived by her son, actor Bruce MacFarlane ( Bruce MacFarlane Gentle). ==References==