Madame Sala | |
|---|---|
 Sala, by Thomas Woolnoth | |
| Born | Henrietta Catharina Florentina Simon c. 1789 |
| Died | 1860 (aged 70–71) Brighton, East Sussex, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Other names | Henrietta Sala, Henrietta Simon Sala |
| Occupation(s) | actress, singer |
| Years active | 1827–1859 |
Henrietta Simon Sala, known as Madame Sala, (c. 1789-10 April 1860) was a British concert singer and salon holder. She was a free woman of colour from the Dutch Colony of Demerara. She was sent to England to attend school before she was ten years old and as her father lost his fortune, she stayed there for the rest of her life. She became a music teacher and performed on the London stage, appearing at venues including Covent Garden, the St James's Theatre, and the Haymarket Theatre.
As a widow with children to support, Sala cultivated relationships with royalty and the aristocracy to secure music students and support for benefit concerts. She performed with some of the leading artists of her era, but reviews of her performances were mixed. Though she struggled with poverty, her circle of friends from the acting community and admirers from her well-known salon helped her to provide for the care of her children. Even after she contracted smallpox and semi-retired from the stage in the 1840s, she used her friendship with Charles Dickens to launch the career of her youngest son.