Isabelle Urquhart
Encyclopedia
Isabelle Urquhart was an American stage actress and contralto
, noted for her work in comic opera
and musical comedy
.
and claimed to have been educated in a convent
.
On February 19, 1881, she made her first stage appearance, as a chorus girl in the Richard D'Oyly Carte
and E. E. Rice Opera Companies' production of Billee Taylor
at New York's Standard Theatre
. She had a small role in an opera called Elves and Mermaids, which lasted only three performances because the manager absconded with the box-office money. She was also in the chorus in another D'Oyly Carte production, Claude Duval
, the following season.
Afterwards, Urquhart signed on with Augustin Daly
's company from 1882 to 1883, acting in The Passing Regiment, Needles and Pins, and The Squire. In The Squire, the then seventeen-year-old played a ninety-seven-year-old woman, not without some reservations. She was persuaded to return to light opera because it paid better, though she stated in an interview that "I prefer legitimate drama to comic opera". Nonetheless, she had much success, with major roles in the genre, including the hit operetta
Erminie, which ran from 1886 to 1888 at the Casino Theatre, Gilbert and Sullivan
's The Yeomen of the Guard
(1888), as Dame Carruthers, and W. S. Gilbert
's translation of Offenbach's
The Brigands (1889), as the Princess of Granada. As a leading lady in Erminie, according to a theatre program, she started a fashion trend by foregoing her petticoat
s "to accentuate her gorgeous figure".
Urquhart also appeared in vaudeville
. In 1897, she performed a sketch of her own devising at the Union Square Theatre
, in which she "did little more ... than display her form in a handsome gown to the utmost advantage". She later performed in several Broadway
plays: The Diplomat (1902), Arms and the Man
(1906), and How He Lied to Her Husband (1906).
Urquhart was married for six years to Guy Standing, from 1893 until they divorced.
She was stricken with peritonitis
on January 21, 1907. Two operations failed to save her, and she died on February 7, 1907, in Rochester, New York
.
Contralto
Contralto is the deepest female classical singing voice, with the lowest tessitura, falling between tenor and mezzo-soprano. It typically ranges between the F below middle C to the second G above middle C , although at the extremes some voices can reach the E below middle C or the second B above...
, noted for her work in comic opera
Comic opera
Comic opera denotes a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending.Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a new operatic genre, opera buffa, emerged as an alternative to opera seria...
and musical comedy
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...
.
Biography
Urquhart was born in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and claimed to have been educated in a convent
Convent
A convent is either a community of priests, religious brothers, religious sisters, or nuns, or the building used by the community, particularly in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Anglican Communion...
.
On February 19, 1881, she made her first stage appearance, as a chorus girl in the Richard D'Oyly Carte
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...
and E. E. Rice Opera Companies' production of Billee Taylor
Billee Taylor
Billee Taylor, or The Reward of Virtue is "a nautical comedy opera" by Edward Solomon, with a libretto by Henry Pottinger Stephens.The piece was first produced at the Imperial Theatre in London on 30 October 1880, starring Arthur Williams as Sir Mincing Lane and Frederick Rivers as Billee. It...
at New York's Standard Theatre
Manhattan Theatre
The Manhattan Theatre, directly across from Greeley Square at Sixth Avenue and 33rd Street, was located at 102 West 33rd Street, in New York, NY. It was a 1100-seat theatre which opened in 1875 as the Eagle Variety Theatre, and later re-named the Standard Theatre in 1878...
. She had a small role in an opera called Elves and Mermaids, which lasted only three performances because the manager absconded with the box-office money. She was also in the chorus in another D'Oyly Carte production, Claude Duval
Claude Duval (opera)
Claude Duval – or Love and Larceny is a comic opera with music by Edward Solomon to a libretto by Henry Pottinger Stephens. The plot is loosely based on supposed events in the life of the eighteenth century highwayman, Claude Duval....
, the following season.
Afterwards, Urquhart signed on with Augustin Daly
Augustin Daly
John Augustin Daly was an American theatrical manager and playwright active in both the US and UK.-Biography:Daly was born in Plymouth, North Carolina and educated at Norfolk, Va...
's company from 1882 to 1883, acting in The Passing Regiment, Needles and Pins, and The Squire. In The Squire, the then seventeen-year-old played a ninety-seven-year-old woman, not without some reservations. She was persuaded to return to light opera because it paid better, though she stated in an interview that "I prefer legitimate drama to comic opera". Nonetheless, she had much success, with major roles in the genre, including the hit 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:...
Erminie, which ran from 1886 to 1888 at the Casino Theatre, 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...
's 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...
(1888), as Dame Carruthers, and 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...
's translation of Offenbach's
Jacques Offenbach
Jacques Offenbach was a Prussian-born French composer, cellist and impresario. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s–1870s and his uncompleted opera The Tales of Hoffmann. He was a powerful influence on later composers of the operetta genre, particularly Johann Strauss, Jr....
The Brigands (1889), as the Princess of Granada. As a leading lady in Erminie, according to a theatre program, she started a fashion trend by foregoing her petticoat
Petticoat
A petticoat or underskirt is an article of clothing for women; specifically an undergarment to be worn under a skirt or a dress. The petticoat is a separate garment hanging from the waist ....
s "to accentuate her gorgeous figure".
Urquhart also appeared in vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
. In 1897, she performed a sketch of her own devising at the Union Square Theatre
Union Square Theatre
Union Square Theater is an Off-Broadway theatre, owned by Reading International, who also owns Reading Entertainment.- Productions :*Visiting Mr. Green by Jeff Baron*The Laramie Project by Moises Kaufman and the Members of the Tectonic Theater Project...
, in which she "did little more ... than display her form in a handsome gown to the utmost advantage". She later performed in several Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
plays: The Diplomat (1902), Arms and the Man
Arms and the Man
Arms and the Man is a comedy by George Bernard Shaw, whose title comes from the opening words of Virgil's Aeneid in Latin:"Arma virumque cano" ....
(1906), and How He Lied to Her Husband (1906).
Urquhart was married for six years to Guy Standing, from 1893 until they divorced.
She was stricken with peritonitis
Peritonitis
Peritonitis is an inflammation of the peritoneum, the serous membrane that lines part of the abdominal cavity and viscera. Peritonitis may be localised or generalised, and may result from infection or from a non-infectious process.-Abdominal pain and tenderness:The main manifestations of...
on January 21, 1907. Two operations failed to save her, and she died on February 7, 1907, in Rochester, New York
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
.
External links
- Photographs, New York Public Library
- Photograph circa 1902, Ekstrom Library, University of LouisvilleUniversity of LouisvilleThe University of Louisville is a public university in Louisville, Kentucky. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of the first universities chartered west of the Allegheny Mountains. The university is mandated by the Kentucky General...
- Photograph, Furness Image Collection, University of Pennsylvania