Alice Gentle
Encyclopedia
Alice Gentle was an American opera
tic mezzo-soprano
. 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.
In 1916 Gentle portrayed the role of 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: The 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
.
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...
tic mezzo-soprano
Mezzo-soprano
A mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above...
. She began her career in 1908 as a member of the opera chorus in Oscar Hammerstein I
Oscar Hammerstein I
Oscar Hammerstein I was a businessman, theater impresario and composer in New York City. His passion for opera led him to open several opera houses, and he rekindled opera's popularity in America...
's Manhattan Opera Company
Manhattan Opera Company
The Manhattan Opera Company was an opera company based in New York City. Active from 1906 until 1910, it was founded by Oscar Hammerstein I.The company began operations in 1906 at the Manhattan Opera House on 34th Street in New York City...
(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
Georges Bizet
Georges Bizet formally Alexandre César Léopold Bizet, was a French composer, mainly of operas. In a career cut short by his early death, he achieved few successes before his final work, Carmen, became one of the most popular and frequently performed works in the entire opera repertory.During a...
's Carmen
Carmen
Carmen is a French opéra comique by Georges Bizet. The libretto is by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée, first published in 1845, itself possibly influenced by the narrative poem The Gypsies by Alexander Pushkin...
. She sang roles with the MOC and with Hammerstein's Philadelphia Opera Company
Philadelphia Opera Company
The Philadelphia Opera Company was the name of two different American opera companies active during the twentieth century in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The first company was founded by impresario Oscar Hammerstein I in 1908. That company disbanded only two years later as a result of financial...
through 1910; including Emilia in Otello
Otello
Otello is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on Shakespeare's play Othello. It was Verdi's penultimate opera, and was first performed at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, on February 5, 1887....
, the First maid in Elektra
Elektra (opera)
Elektra is a one-act opera by Richard Strauss, to a German-language libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal, which he adapted from his 1903 drama Elektra. The opera was the first of many collaborations between Strauss and Hofmannsthal...
, Flora in La traviata
La traviata
La traviata is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on La dame aux Camélias , a play adapted from the novel by Alexandre Dumas, fils. The title La traviata means literally The Fallen Woman, or perhaps more figuratively, The Woman...
, Lola in Cavalleria rusticana
Cavalleria rusticana
Cavalleria rusticana is an opera in one act by Pietro Mascagni to an Italian libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti and Guido Menasci, adapted from a play written by Giovanni Verga based on his short story. Considered one of the classic verismo operas, it premiered on May 17, 1890 at the Teatro...
, Maddalena in Rigoletto
Rigoletto
Rigoletto is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the play Le roi s'amuse by Victor Hugo. It was first performed at La Fenice in Venice on March 11, 1851...
, Nicklausse in The Tales of Hoffmann, and Siébel in Faust
Faust (opera)
Faust is a drame lyrique in five acts by Charles Gounod to a French libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré from Carré's play Faust et Marguerite, in turn loosely based on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust, Part 1...
among others.
In 1916 Gentle portrayed the role of Federico in Ambroise Thomas
Ambroise Thomas
Charles Louis Ambroise Thomas was a French composer, best known for his operas Mignon and Hamlet and as Director of the Conservatoire de Paris from 1871 till his death.-Biography:"There is good music, there is bad music, and then there is Ambroise Thomas."- Emmanuel Chabrier-Early life...
's Mignon
Mignon
Mignon is an opéra comique in three acts by Ambroise Thomas. The original French libretto was by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré, based on Goethe's novel Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre. The Italian version was translated by Giuseppe Zaffira. The opera is mentioned in James Joyce's The Dead,...
at La Scala
La Scala
La Scala , is a world renowned opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the New Royal-Ducal Theatre at La Scala...
in Milan. She sang one season at the Metropolitan Opera
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
, making her debut with the company in 1918 as Preziosilla in La forza del destino
La forza del destino
La forza del destino is an Italian opera by Giuseppe Verdi. The libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on a Spanish drama, Don Álvaro o la fuerza del sino , by Ángel de Saavedra, Duke of Rivas, with a scene adapted from Friedrich Schiller's Wallensteins Lager. It was first performed...
. Later that year she created the role of Frugola in the world premiere of Puccini's Il Tabarro
Il tabarro
Il tabarro is an opera in one act by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Giuseppe Adami, based on Didier Gold's play La houppelande. It is the first of the trio of operas known as Il trittico...
. Her only other role at the Met was Fatima in Oberon
Oberon (opera)
Oberon, or The Elf King's Oath is a 3-act romantic opera in English with spoken dialogue and music by Carl Maria von Weber. The libretto by James Robinson Planche was based on a German poem, Oberon, by Christoph Martin Wieland, which itself was based on the epic romance Huon de Bordeaux, a French...
in 1919. In 1923 she toured the United States as Carmen with the San Carlo Opera Company
San Carlo Opera Company
The San Carlo Opera Company was the name of two different opera companies active in the United States during the first half of the twentieth century.-History:...
. She appeared in three films during the early 1930s: The Song of the Flame (1930), Golden Dawn
Golden Dawn (film)
Golden Dawn is a musical operetta released by Warner Brothers and photographed entirely in Technicolor. The film is based on the semi-hit stage musical of the same name by Oscar Hammerstein II and Otto Harbach.-Songs:...
(1930), and Flying Down to Rio
Flying Down to Rio
Flying Down to Rio is a 1933 RKO musical film noted for being the first screen pairing of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Astaire and Rogers were not the stars of the film, however, Dolores del Río and Gene Raymond were top-billed. Among the featured players Franklin Pangborn and Eric Blore are...
(1933). In 1940 she made her final stage appearance at the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera
Los Angeles Civic Light Opera
The Los Angeles Civic Light Opera was an American theatre/opera company in Los Angeles, California. Founded under the motto "Light Opera in the Grand Opera manner" in 1938 by impresario Edwin Lester, the organization presented fifty seasons of theatre before closing due to financial reasons in...
as Mrs. Cripps in H.M.S. Pinafore
H.M.S. Pinafore
H.M.S. Pinafore; or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It opened at the Opera Comique in London, England, on 25 May 1878 and ran for 571 performances, which was the second-longest run of any musical...
.