Norman Lumsden
Encyclopedia
Norman Lumsden was a British
opera singer
and actor
. He first came to prominence during the 1940s and 1950s in several operas by composer Benjamin Britten
, often performing at Covent Garden
and the Aldeburgh
and Glyndebourne
festivals. He later began a television acting career during the 1970s appearing mostly in small roles in TV dramas. He branched out into film
s during the 1980s, notably appearing in Clint Eastwood
's 1990 film White Hunter, Black Heart. He is particularly remembered for his portrayal of J. R. Hartley
in the 1983 Yellow Pages
advert Fly Fishing by J.R. Hartley, which Channel 4
has listed as the 13th greatest television advertisement of all time.
, including those for Leslie Charteris
's The Saint
series. After suffering a bout of emphysema
he took up singing on the advice of his doctor in order to strengthen his lungs. He was taught by the basses Robert Radford
and Norman Allin
.
with singing popular classics on the wireless and performing in oratorio
around Britain
. His first radio broadcast was for the BBC
in the 1930s, during which he sang Negro spirituals and Czech
songs by Dvorak. It was at this time that he changed his surname to Lumsden, his grandmother's maiden name. In 1945 he gave an acclaimed debut recital at London
's Wigmore Hall
, performing arias from Handel
and Verdi
, and taking small roles at Sadler's Wells
.
Lumsden's singing talents were recognised by Benjamin Britten
, who described him as, "that rare British product, a true bass". Lumsden was an original member of the ensemble of the English Opera Group
, founded by Britten and Peter Pears
in 1947. A bass
, Lumsden had a distinguished career as an opera singer, performing several times at the Royal Opera House
in London
's Covent Garden
, and also at the Aldeburgh
and Glyndebourne
festivals. He created roles in the premier performances of several of Britten's works, including Quince
the carpenter in A Midsummer Night's Dream
(1960), a role Britten wrote particularly with Lumsden's voice in mind. Superintendent Budd in Albert Herring
(1947, and Black Bob in the children's opera The Little Sweep
(1949). He also appeared in Britten's Billy Budd
, and played Collatinus in The Rape of Lucretia, and Peachum
in Britten's adaptation of The Beggar's Opera
. Lumsden also took part in Britten's first 13 Aldeburgh Festival
s between 1948 – 1960.
and during the 1950s they appeared in cabarets together, performing extracts from musical
s at seaside resorts and London hotels. In 1967 returned to the English Opera Group
to create the role of Luka in William Walton
's opera The Bear
at the 1967 Aldeburgh Festival
.
's Play for Today
, Edna, the Inebriate Woman
(1971), The Sweeney
(1978), The Hunchback of Notre Dame
(1982), Minder
(1984), Agatha Christie's Poirot
(1989), One Foot in the Grave
(1990), Jeeves and Wooster
(1990), and The Detectives
(1993). He appeared with Clint Eastwood
in the 1990 film White Hunter, Black Heart.
He found fame late in life, through the Yellow Pages
1983 TV advert in which Lumsden played J. R. Hartley
, a fictional character in search of an out of print book called Fly Fishing by 'J. R. Hartley'. The advertisement is one of the most popular ever made in Britain, and remained a part of popular culture long after it ceased to be shown. Although he was most famous for playing 'Fly Fishing' author J. R. Hartley, Lumsden didn't actually take up fishing until he was 85 years old. The advert has left such a lasting impression, that it was reworked and remade for a new generation in 2011, 28 years later, this time featuring an elderly DJ looking for his only hit in old record shops, not finding any luck until his daughter gives him the Yellow Pages (now on an iPhone 4G), with him finding the record.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
opera singer
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...
and actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
. He first came to prominence during the 1940s and 1950s in several operas by composer Benjamin Britten
Benjamin Britten
Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He showed talent from an early age, and first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy Was Born in 1934. With the premiere of his opera Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to...
, often performing at Covent Garden
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
and the Aldeburgh
Aldeburgh Festival
The Aldeburgh Festival is an English arts festival devoted mainly to classical music. It takes place each June in the Aldeburgh area of Suffolk, centred on the main concert hall at Snape Maltings...
and Glyndebourne
Glyndebourne Festival Opera
Glyndebourne Festival Opera is an English opera festival held at Glyndebourne, an English country house near Lewes, in East Sussex, England.-History:...
festivals. He later began a television acting career during the 1970s appearing mostly in small roles in TV dramas. He branched out into film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
s during the 1980s, notably appearing in Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood
Clinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...
's 1990 film White Hunter, Black Heart. He is particularly remembered for his portrayal of J. R. Hartley
J. R. Hartley
J. R. Hartley is both the name of a fictional character and an author's pseudonym inspired by it.- Fictional author :The fictional character appeared in television advertisements for British commercial telephone directory company Yellow Pages, first shown in 1983...
in the 1983 Yellow Pages
Yell Group
Yell Group plc is a multinational directories company headquartered in Reading, United Kingdom. As well as the United Kingdom, it has operations in the United States, Spain and some countries in Latin America...
advert Fly Fishing by J.R. Hartley, which Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
has listed as the 13th greatest television advertisement of all time.
Early life and education
Born Norman Thompson in London in 1906, Lumsden was the son of a butler. He originally worked as a commercial artist, designing book jackets for the publishers Hodder & StoughtonHodder & Stoughton
Hodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint of Hachette.-History:The firm has its origins in the 1840s, with Matthew Hodder's employment, aged fourteen, with Messrs Jackson and Walford, the official publisher for the Congregational Union...
, including those for Leslie Charteris
Leslie Charteris
Leslie Charteris , born Leslie Charles Bowyer-Yin, was a half-Chinese, half English author of primarily mystery fiction, as well as a screenwriter. He was best known for his many books chronicling the adventures of Simon Templar, alias "The Saint."-Early life:Charteris was born to a Chinese father...
's The Saint
Simon Templar
Simon Templar is a British fictional character known as The Saint featured in a long-running series of books by Leslie Charteris published between 1928 and 1963. After that date, other authors collaborated with Charteris on books until 1983; two additional works produced without Charteris’s...
series. After suffering a bout of emphysema
Emphysema
Emphysema is a long-term, progressive disease of the lungs that primarily causes shortness of breath. In people with emphysema, the tissues necessary to support the physical shape and function of the lungs are destroyed. It is included in a group of diseases called chronic obstructive pulmonary...
he took up singing on the advice of his doctor in order to strengthen his lungs. He was taught by the basses Robert Radford
Robert Radford
Robert Radford was a British bass singer who made his career entirely in the United Kingdom, participating in concerts and becoming one of the foremost performers of oratorios and other sacred music...
and Norman Allin
Norman Allin
Norman Allin was a British bass singer of the early and mid twentieth century, and later a teacher of voice...
.
Early career
Lumsden's singing career began before World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
with singing popular classics on the wireless and performing in 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...
around Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. His first radio broadcast was for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
in the 1930s, during which he sang Negro spirituals and Czech
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
songs by Dvorak. It was at this time that he changed his surname to Lumsden, his grandmother's maiden name. In 1945 he gave an acclaimed debut recital at London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
's Wigmore Hall
Wigmore Hall
Wigmore Hall is a leading international recital venue that specialises in hosting performances of chamber music and is best known for classical recitals of piano, song and instrumental music. It is located at 36 Wigmore Street, London, UK and was built to provide London with a venue that was both...
, performing arias from Handel
George Frideric Handel
George Frideric Handel was a German-British Baroque composer, famous for his operas, oratorios, anthems and organ concertos. Handel was born in 1685, in a family indifferent to music...
and Verdi
Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century...
, and taking small roles at 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...
.
Lumsden's singing talents were recognised by Benjamin Britten
Benjamin Britten
Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He showed talent from an early age, and first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy Was Born in 1934. With the premiere of his opera Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to...
, who described him as, "that rare British product, a true bass". Lumsden was an original member of the ensemble of the English Opera Group
English Opera Group
The English Opera Group was a small company of British musicians formed in 1947 by the composer Benjamin Britten for the purpose of presenting his and other, primarily British, composers' operatic works. The group later expanded in order to present larger-scale works, and was renamed the English...
, founded by Britten and Peter Pears
Peter Pears
Sir Peter Neville Luard Pears CBE was an English tenor who was knighted in 1978. His career was closely associated with the composer Edward Benjamin Britten....
in 1947. A bass
Bass (voice type)
A bass is a type of male singing voice and possesses the lowest vocal range of all voice types. According to The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, a bass is typically classified as having a range extending from around the second E below middle C to the E above middle C...
, Lumsden had a distinguished career as an opera singer, performing several times at the Royal Opera House
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
's Covent Garden
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as...
, and also at the Aldeburgh
Aldeburgh Festival
The Aldeburgh Festival is an English arts festival devoted mainly to classical music. It takes place each June in the Aldeburgh area of Suffolk, centred on the main concert hall at Snape Maltings...
and Glyndebourne
Glyndebourne Festival Opera
Glyndebourne Festival Opera is an English opera festival held at Glyndebourne, an English country house near Lewes, in East Sussex, England.-History:...
festivals. He created roles in the premier performances of several of Britten's works, including Quince
Peter Quince
In William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, Peter Quince is a carpenter who works in ancient Athens. He is one of the six craftsmen that put on a play for Theseus and Hippolyta at their wedding...
the carpenter in A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream (opera)
A Midsummer Night's Dream is an opera with music by Benjamin Britten and set to a libretto adapted by the composer and Peter Pears from William Shakespeare's play, A Midsummer Night's Dream...
(1960), a role Britten wrote particularly with Lumsden's voice in mind. Superintendent Budd in Albert Herring
Albert Herring
Albert Herring, Op. 39, is a chamber opera in three acts by Benjamin Britten.Composed in the winter of 1946 and the spring of 1947, this comic opera was a successor to his serious opera The Rape of Lucretia...
(1947, and Black Bob in the children's opera The Little Sweep
The Little Sweep
The Little Sweep is an opera for children in three scenes by the English composer Benjamin Britten, with a libretto by Eric Crozier.- Let's Make an Opera! :...
(1949). He also appeared in Britten's Billy Budd
Billy Budd (opera)
Billy Budd is an opera by Benjamin Britten, from a libretto by E. M. Forster and Eric Crozier, was first performed at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London on 1 December 1951. It is based on the short novel Billy Budd by Herman Melville....
, and played Collatinus in The Rape of Lucretia, and Peachum
The Beggar's Opera
The Beggar's Opera is a ballad opera in three acts written in 1728 by John Gay with music arranged by Johann Christoph Pepusch. It is one of the watershed plays in Augustan drama and is the only example of the once thriving genre of satirical ballad opera to remain popular today...
in Britten's adaptation of The Beggar's Opera
The Beggar's Opera
The Beggar's Opera is a ballad opera in three acts written in 1728 by John Gay with music arranged by Johann Christoph Pepusch. It is one of the watershed plays in Augustan drama and is the only example of the once thriving genre of satirical ballad opera to remain popular today...
. Lumsden also took part in Britten's first 13 Aldeburgh Festival
Aldeburgh Festival
The Aldeburgh Festival is an English arts festival devoted mainly to classical music. It takes place each June in the Aldeburgh area of Suffolk, centred on the main concert hall at Snape Maltings...
s between 1948 – 1960.
Family
In 1952 Lumsden married Irene Palmer with whom he had one son. His wife was a sopranoSoprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
and during the 1950s they appeared in cabarets together, performing extracts from musical
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...
s at seaside resorts and London hotels. In 1967 returned to the English Opera Group
English Opera Group
The English Opera Group was a small company of British musicians formed in 1947 by the composer Benjamin Britten for the purpose of presenting his and other, primarily British, composers' operatic works. The group later expanded in order to present larger-scale works, and was renamed the English...
to create the role of Luka in William Walton
William Walton
Sir William Turner Walton OM was an English composer. During a sixty-year career, he wrote music in several classical genres and styles, from film scores to opera...
's opera The Bear
The Bear (opera)
The Bear is the second of the two operas by William Walton, described in publication as an "Extravaganza in One Act". The libretto was by Paul Dehn, based on the play by Anton Chekhov of the same title .Walton composed the opera on commission from the Koussevitzsky Foundation, and dedicated the...
at the 1967 Aldeburgh Festival
Aldeburgh Festival
The Aldeburgh Festival is an English arts festival devoted mainly to classical music. It takes place each June in the Aldeburgh area of Suffolk, centred on the main concert hall at Snape Maltings...
.
Later career
Lumsden embarked on a second career as a dramatic actor during the 1970s. After appearing in a commercial for cracker biscuits in 1970, Lumsden began to appear in small roles in TV dramas, including the BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's Play for Today
Play for Today
Play for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage plays and novels, were transmitted...
, Edna, the Inebriate Woman
Edna, the Inebriate Woman
Edna, the Inebriate Woman is a British television drama written by Jeremy Sandford which was transmitted by the BBC as part of the Play for Today series on 21 October 1971. Directed by Ted Kotcheff, Irene Shubik produced it....
(1971), The Sweeney
The Sweeney
The Sweeney is a 1970s British television police drama focusing on two members of the Flying Squad, a branch of the Metropolitan Police specialising in tackling armed robbery and violent crime in London...
(1978), The Hunchback of Notre Dame
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1982 film)
The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a 1982 British-American TV movie, based on the Victor Hugo novel. It was directed by Michael Tuchner and Alan Hume, and produced by Norman Rosemont and Malcolm J. Christopher. It starred Anthony Hopkins, Derek Jacobi, Lesley-Anne Down and Sir John Gielgud...
(1982), Minder
Minder (TV series)
Minder is a British comedy-drama about the London criminal underworld. Initially produced by Verity Lambert, it was made by Euston Films, a subsidiary of Thames Television and shown on ITV...
(1984), Agatha Christie's Poirot
Agatha Christie's Poirot
Agatha Christie's Poirot is a British television drama that has aired on ITV since 1989. It stars David Suchet as Agatha Christie's fictional detective Hercule Poirot. It was originally made by LWT and is now made by ITV Studios...
(1989), One Foot in the Grave
One Foot in the Grave
One Foot in the Grave is a BBC television sitcom series written by David Renwick. The show ran for six series, including seven Christmas specials, two Comic Relief specials, over an eleven year period, from early 1990 to late 2000...
(1990), Jeeves and Wooster
Jeeves and Wooster
-External links:*—An episode guide to the series, including information about which episodes were adapted from which Wodehouse stories.*—Episode guides, screenshots and quotes from the four series....
(1990), and The Detectives
The Detectives
The Detectives is a British comedy television series, starring Jasper Carrott, Robert Powell, and George Sewell. It was a spoof of police dramas, which were numerous in the 1990s, and it was aired on BBC One...
(1993). He appeared with Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood
Clinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...
in the 1990 film White Hunter, Black Heart.
He found fame late in life, through the Yellow Pages
Yell Group
Yell Group plc is a multinational directories company headquartered in Reading, United Kingdom. As well as the United Kingdom, it has operations in the United States, Spain and some countries in Latin America...
1983 TV advert in which Lumsden played J. R. Hartley
J. R. Hartley
J. R. Hartley is both the name of a fictional character and an author's pseudonym inspired by it.- Fictional author :The fictional character appeared in television advertisements for British commercial telephone directory company Yellow Pages, first shown in 1983...
, a fictional character in search of an out of print book called Fly Fishing by 'J. R. Hartley'. The advertisement is one of the most popular ever made in Britain, and remained a part of popular culture long after it ceased to be shown. Although he was most famous for playing 'Fly Fishing' author J. R. Hartley, Lumsden didn't actually take up fishing until he was 85 years old. The advert has left such a lasting impression, that it was reworked and remade for a new generation in 2011, 28 years later, this time featuring an elderly DJ looking for his only hit in old record shops, not finding any luck until his daughter gives him the Yellow Pages (now on an iPhone 4G), with him finding the record.
Death
In 2001 Lumsden contracted shingles and died from subsequent infection at the age of 95. He was survived by his wife, Irene Palmer, a soprano, whom he married in 1952. They had one son, Andrew.External links
- http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0525972/Norman Lumsden on 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...
] - Norman Lumsden's obituary, November 30, 2001 in The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
- Norman Lumsden's obituary, 30 November 2001 in The SunThe Sun (newspaper)The Sun is a daily national tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom and owned by News Corporation. Sister editions are published in Glasgow and Dublin...