Barry Clark (singer)
Encyclopedia
Barry Clark is an English
opera singer. Beginning in the 1970s, Clark played tenor
roles in the Savoy Operas for over a decade with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company
. He then sang in various opera companies, including New Sadler's Wells
and Scottish Opera
, and played in musicals on the West End
. Later, Clark concentrated on oratorio
and in recent years has made many appearances with the Carl Rosa Opera Company
, among others.
in Gilbert and Sullivan
operas before commencing his professional singing career with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company
, with whom he appeared from 1971 to 1982. There, he began in the chorus and then played small roles and understudied
all the principal Gilbert and Sullivan tenor roles. His first roles were the First Yeoman in The Yeomen of the Guard
, which he played from 1974 until the company closed in 1982. in 1975, he began to play Francesco in The Gondoliers
and the leading role of the Defendant in Trial by Jury
. As understudy, he occasionally played the principal tenor roles of Alexis in The Sorcerer
, Ralph Rackstraw in H.M.S. Pinafore
, the Duke of Dunstable in Patience
, Earl Tolloller in Iolanthe
, Cyril in Princess Ida
, Richard Dauntless in Ruddigore
, Leonard Meryll and Colonel Fairfax in Yeomen, and Marco in The Gondoliers. Clark sings the role of Francesco on the 1977 D'Oyly Carte recording of The Gondoliers and First Yeoman on their 1979 recording of Yeomen.
During the 1980s he appeared with several leading opera companies, including New Sadler's Wells
, with whom he played Lionel in Martha
; Scottish Opera
, with whom he sang a variety of roles including Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni
and Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly
; and Dublin Grand Opera. He also sang the role of Fenton in Falstaff with Giuseppe Taddei
in Brighton
and toured with such companies as Opera East, London Opera Players and Regency Opera, playing Don José in Carmen
, Monostatos in The Magic Flute
and Basilio in The Marriage of Figaro
. He also performed in pantomime
and musicals.
Returning to operetta, Clark played Lord Failsham on a national tour of Ivor Novello
's Perchance to Dream
with Simon Ward
(1985), and Camille in The Merry Widow
with Sally Ann Howes
(1986). In 1986, Clark created the role of the Auctioneer in The Phantom of the Opera
and later played the tenor role of Piangi. He then joined Bristol Old Vic
to sing Pirelli in Sweeney Todd and then Sir Peter Hall's Company for the musical Born Again, at Chichester
. He also played the title role in The Student Prince
at the Grand opera House, Belfast
and Defendant in Trial by Jury at Queen Elizabeth Hall. In 1988 Clark sang with the London Savoyards as Ralph in H.M.S. Pinafore.
Through most of the 1990s, Clark concentrated on concert work and oratorio
. In 1997, however, he joined the concert group the Three British Tenors, performing arias from opera, operetta
and musical theatre
. In 1998, he wrote, directed and appeared as Richard D'Oyly Carte
in Monarchs of All They Savoy, a play about W. S. Gilbert
, Arthur Sullivan
and Carte, at the Players Theatre, Charing Cross. For the last few seasons he has appeared with the Carl Rosa Opera Company
, singing Tolloller in Iolanthe, Nanki-Poo in The Mikado and Alfred in Die Fledermaus
, before switching to comic roles as the Duke of Plaza-Toro in The Gondoliers (2003), and Colonel Pritzich The Merry Widow. At the Covent Garden Festival he sang the Learned Judge in Trial by Jury
and the title role in Mozart's The Impresario. In 2004, Clark played Bunthorne at the Gawsworth Festival 2004 in Patience. Returning to Carl Rosa in 2005, Clark played Pish-Tush in The Mikado and toured South Africa as Baron Zeta in The Merry Widow. Also with Carl Rosa, in 2007 and 2008 he played Jack Point in The Yeomen of the Guard and the Major General in The Pirates of Penzance
and in 2008 he played Tolloller in Iolanthe for Carl Rosa at the Gielgud Theatre
. Clark also performs with the concert group "The Magic of Gilbert and Sullivan".
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
opera singer. Beginning in the 1970s, Clark played tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
roles in the Savoy Operas for over a decade with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company
D'Oyly Carte Opera Company
The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company was a professional light opera company that staged Gilbert and Sullivan's Savoy operas. The company performed nearly year-round in the UK and sometimes toured in Europe, North America and elsewhere, from the 1870s until it closed in 1982. It was revived in 1988 and...
. He then sang in various opera companies, including New Sadler's Wells
Sadler's Wells Theatre
Sadler's Wells Theatre is a performing arts venue located in Rosebery Avenue, Clerkenwell in the London Borough of Islington. The present day theatre is the sixth on the site since 1683. It consists of two performance spaces: a 1,500 seat main auditorium and the Lilian Baylis Studio, with extensive...
and Scottish Opera
Scottish Opera
Scottish Opera is the national opera company of Scotland, and one of the five national performing arts companies funded by the Scottish Government...
, and played in musicals on the West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
. Later, Clark concentrated on oratorio
Oratorio
An oratorio is a large musical composition including an orchestra, a choir, and soloists. Like an opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias...
and in recent years has made many appearances with the Carl Rosa Opera Company
Carl Rosa Opera Company
The Carl Rosa Opera Company was founded in 1873 by Carl August Nicholas Rosa, a German-born musical impresario, to present opera in English in London and the British provinces. The company survived Rosa's death in 1889, and continued to present opera in English on tour until 1960, when it was...
, among others.
Biography
Clark made his first stage appearances as an amateur with the Southampton Operatic SocietySouthampton Operatic Society
Southampton Operatic Society began life in 1924 as the Guild of the Above Bar Congregational Church and is the oldest musical society in the city.Miss Edith Ashdown, the daughter of a Southampton businessman and a member of the Above Bar Congregational Church, gathered her friends to perform a...
in Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the librettist W. S. Gilbert and the composer Arthur Sullivan . The two men collaborated on fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which H.M.S...
operas before commencing his professional singing career with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company
D'Oyly Carte Opera Company
The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company was a professional light opera company that staged Gilbert and Sullivan's Savoy operas. The company performed nearly year-round in the UK and sometimes toured in Europe, North America and elsewhere, from the 1870s until it closed in 1982. It was revived in 1988 and...
, with whom he appeared from 1971 to 1982. There, he began in the chorus and then played small roles and understudied
Understudy
In theater, an understudy is a performer who learns the lines and blocking/choreography of a regular actor or actress in a play. Should the regular actor or actress be unable to appear on stage because of illness or emergencies, the understudy takes over the part...
all the principal Gilbert and Sullivan tenor roles. His first roles were the First Yeoman in The Yeomen of the Guard
The Yeomen of the Guard
The Yeomen of the Guard; or, The Merryman and His Maid, is a Savoy Opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It premiered at the Savoy Theatre on 3 October 1888, and ran for 423 performances...
, which he played from 1974 until the company closed in 1982. in 1975, he began to play Francesco in The Gondoliers
The Gondoliers
The Gondoliers; or, The King of Barataria is a Savoy Opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It premiered at the Savoy Theatre on 7 December 1889 and ran for a very successful 554 performances , closing on 30 June 1891...
and the leading role of the Defendant in Trial by Jury
Trial by Jury
Trial by Jury is a comic opera in one act, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It was first produced on 25 March 1875, at London's Royalty Theatre, where it initially ran for 131 performances and was considered a hit, receiving critical praise and outrunning its...
. As understudy, he occasionally played the principal tenor roles of Alexis in The Sorcerer
The Sorcerer
The Sorcerer is a two-act comic opera, with a libretto by W. S. Gilbert and music by Arthur Sullivan. It was the British duo's third operatic collaboration. The plot of The Sorcerer is based on a Christmas story, An Elixir of Love, that Gilbert wrote for The Graphic magazine in 1876...
, Ralph Rackstraw 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...
, the Duke of Dunstable in Patience
Patience (opera)
Patience; or, Bunthorne's Bride, is a comic opera in two acts with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. First performed at the Opera Comique, London, on 23 April 1881, it moved to the 1,292-seat Savoy Theatre on 10 October 1881, where it was the first theatrical production in the...
, Earl Tolloller in Iolanthe
Iolanthe
Iolanthe; or, The Peer and the Peri is a comic opera with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It is one of the Savoy operas and is the seventh collaboration of the fourteen between Gilbert and Sullivan....
, Cyril in Princess Ida
Princess Ida
Princess Ida; or, Castle Adamant is a comic opera with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It was their eighth operatic collaboration of fourteen. Princess Ida opened at the Savoy Theatre on January 5, 1884, for a run of 246 performances...
, Richard Dauntless in Ruddigore
Ruddigore
Ruddigore; or, The Witch's Curse, originally called Ruddygore, is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It is one of the Savoy Operas and the tenth of fourteen comic operas written together by Gilbert and Sullivan...
, Leonard Meryll and Colonel Fairfax in Yeomen, and Marco in The Gondoliers. Clark sings the role of Francesco on the 1977 D'Oyly Carte recording of The Gondoliers and First Yeoman on their 1979 recording of Yeomen.
During the 1980s he appeared with several leading opera companies, including New Sadler's Wells
Sadler's Wells Theatre
Sadler's Wells Theatre is a performing arts venue located in Rosebery Avenue, Clerkenwell in the London Borough of Islington. The present day theatre is the sixth on the site since 1683. It consists of two performance spaces: a 1,500 seat main auditorium and the Lilian Baylis Studio, with extensive...
, with whom he played Lionel in Martha
Martha (opera)
Martha, oder Der Markt zu Richmond is a 'romantic comic' opera in four acts by Friedrich von Flotow, set to a German libretto by Friedrich Wilhelm Riese and based on a story by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges....
; Scottish Opera
Scottish Opera
Scottish Opera is the national opera company of Scotland, and one of the five national performing arts companies funded by the Scottish Government...
, with whom he sang a variety of roles including Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and with an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It was premiered by the Prague Italian opera at the Teatro di Praga on October 29, 1787...
and Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly
Madama Butterfly
Madama Butterfly is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. Puccini based his opera in part on the short story "Madame Butterfly" by John Luther Long, which was dramatized by David Belasco...
; and Dublin Grand Opera. He also sang the role of Fenton in Falstaff with Giuseppe Taddei
Giuseppe Taddei
Giuseppe Taddei was an Italian baritone, who performed mostly the operas of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Giuseppe Verdi....
in Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
and toured with such companies as Opera East, London Opera Players and Regency Opera, playing Don José in 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...
, Monostatos in The Magic Flute
The Magic Flute
The Magic Flute is an opera in two acts composed in 1791 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a Singspiel, a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue....
and Basilio in The Marriage of Figaro
The Marriage of Figaro
Le nozze di Figaro, ossia la folle giornata , K. 492, is an opera buffa composed in 1786 in four acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte, based on a stage comedy by Pierre Beaumarchais, La folle journée, ou le Mariage de Figaro .Although the play by...
. He also performed in pantomime
Pantomime
Pantomime — not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime—is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is mostly performed during the...
and musicals.
Returning to operetta, Clark played Lord Failsham on a national tour of Ivor Novello
Ivor Novello
David Ivor Davies , better known as Ivor Novello, was a Welsh composer, singer and actor who became one of the most popular British entertainers of the first half of the 20th century. Born into a musical family, his first successes were as a songwriter...
's Perchance to Dream
Perchance to Dream (musical)
Perchance to Dream is a musical romance with book, lyrics and music by Ivor Novello. It was the only musical for which Novello wrote lyrics. The title is a quotation from William Shakespeare's play Hamlet...
with Simon Ward
Simon Ward
Simon Ward is an English stage and film actor.-Early life:Simon Ward was born in Beckenham, Kent, near London, the son of a car dealer. From an early age he wanted to be an actor. He was educated at Alleyn's School, London, the home of the National Youth Theatre, which he joined at age 13 and...
(1985), and Camille in The Merry Widow
The Merry Widow
The Merry Widow is an operetta by the Austro–Hungarian composer Franz Lehár. The librettists, Viktor Léon and Leo Stein, based the story – concerning a rich widow, and her countrymen's attempt to keep her money in the principality by finding her the right husband – on an 1861 comedy play,...
with Sally Ann Howes
Sally Ann Howes
Sally Ann Howes is a British actress and singer, who currently holds dual British-American citizenship. Her career on stage, screen and television has spanned over six decades...
(1986). In 1986, Clark created the role of the Auctioneer in The Phantom of the Opera
The Phantom of the Opera (1986 musical)
The Phantom of the Opera is a musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the French novel Le Fantôme de l'Opéra by Gaston Leroux.The music was composed by Lloyd Webber, and most lyrics were written by Charles Hart, with additional lyrics by Richard Stilgoe. Alan Jay Lerner was an early collaborator,...
and later played the tenor role of Piangi. He then joined Bristol Old Vic
Bristol Old Vic
The Bristol Old Vic is a theatre company based at the Theatre Royal, King Street, in Bristol, England. The theatre complex includes the 1766 Theatre Royal, which claims to be the oldest continually-operating theatre in England, along with a 1970s studio theatre , offices and backstage facilities...
to sing Pirelli in Sweeney Todd and then Sir Peter Hall's Company for the musical Born Again, at Chichester
Chichester
Chichester is a cathedral city in West Sussex, within the historic County of Sussex, South-East England. It has a long history as a settlement; its Roman past and its subsequent importance in Anglo-Saxon times are only its beginnings...
. He also played the title role in The Student Prince
The Student Prince
The Student Prince is an operetta in four acts with music by Sigmund Romberg and book and lyrics by Dorothy Donnelly. It is based on Wilhelm Meyer-Förster's play Alt Heidelberg. The piece has elements of melodrama but lacks the swashbuckling style common to Romberg's other works...
at the Grand opera House, Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
and Defendant in Trial by Jury at Queen Elizabeth Hall. In 1988 Clark sang with the London Savoyards as Ralph in H.M.S. Pinafore.
Through most of the 1990s, Clark concentrated on concert work and oratorio
Oratorio
An oratorio is a large musical composition including an orchestra, a choir, and soloists. Like an opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias...
. In 1997, however, he joined the concert group the Three British Tenors, performing arias from opera, operetta
Operetta
Operetta is a genre of light opera, light in terms both of music and subject matter. It is also closely related, in English-language works, to forms of musical theatre.-Origins:...
and musical theatre
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
. In 1998, he wrote, directed and appeared as Richard D'Oyly Carte
Richard D'Oyly Carte
Richard D'Oyly Carte was an English talent agent, theatrical impresario, composer and hotelier during the latter half of the Victorian era...
in Monarchs of All They Savoy, a play about W. S. Gilbert
W. S. Gilbert
Sir William Schwenck Gilbert was an English dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for his fourteen comic operas produced in collaboration with the composer Sir Arthur Sullivan, of which the most famous include H.M.S...
, Arthur Sullivan
Arthur Sullivan
Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan MVO was an English composer of Irish and Italian ancestry. He is best known for his series of 14 operatic collaborations with the dramatist W. S. Gilbert, including such enduring works as H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado...
and Carte, at the Players Theatre, Charing Cross. For the last few seasons he has appeared with the Carl Rosa Opera Company
Carl Rosa Opera Company
The Carl Rosa Opera Company was founded in 1873 by Carl August Nicholas Rosa, a German-born musical impresario, to present opera in English in London and the British provinces. The company survived Rosa's death in 1889, and continued to present opera in English on tour until 1960, when it was...
, singing Tolloller in Iolanthe, Nanki-Poo in The Mikado and Alfred in Die Fledermaus
Die Fledermaus
Die Fledermaus is an operetta composed by Johann Strauss II to a German libretto by Karl Haffner and Richard Genée.- Literary sources :...
, before switching to comic roles as the Duke of Plaza-Toro in The Gondoliers (2003), and Colonel Pritzich The Merry Widow. At the Covent Garden Festival he sang the Learned Judge in Trial by Jury
Trial by Jury
Trial by Jury is a comic opera in one act, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It was first produced on 25 March 1875, at London's Royalty Theatre, where it initially ran for 131 performances and was considered a hit, receiving critical praise and outrunning its...
and the title role in Mozart's The Impresario. In 2004, Clark played Bunthorne at the Gawsworth Festival 2004 in Patience. Returning to Carl Rosa in 2005, Clark played Pish-Tush in The Mikado and toured South Africa as Baron Zeta in The Merry Widow. Also with Carl Rosa, in 2007 and 2008 he played Jack Point in The Yeomen of the Guard and the Major General in The Pirates of Penzance
The Pirates of Penzance
The Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. The opera's official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on 31 December 1879, where the show was well received by both audiences...
and in 2008 he played Tolloller in Iolanthe for Carl Rosa at the Gielgud Theatre
Gielgud Theatre
The Gielgud Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster, London, at the corner of Rupert Street. The house currently has 889 seats on three levels.-History:...
. Clark also performs with the concert group "The Magic of Gilbert and Sullivan".
External links
- Photo of Clark and information about the Three British Tenors, Michael Vine Associates site
- http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1303456/bioClark Biography at the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
] - 2006 photo of Clark