Rebecca Caine
Encyclopedia
Rebecca Caine is a Canadian opera and musical theatre performer. She was born in Toronto
and studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama
in London. She currently resides in London. She is 50–51 years of age.
debut at the age of 19 in the role of Laurey in Oklahoma!
. She then sang the role of Eliza in My Fair Lady
on a national tour. While making her debut at Glyndebourne
as Amor in L'incoronazione di Poppea
, she was asked to join the Royal Shakespeare Company
where she created the role of Cosette in Les Misérables
.
After a successful West End run, she joined the original cast of Phantom of the Opera
to play Christine
opposite Michael Crawford
as alternate (performing 2 shows a week) when original Christine Sarah Brightman
left the show and was replaced by the original alternate, Claire Moore (singer)
.
When the rights to a Canadian production of Phantom were secured, producer Garth Drabinsky aggressively pursued Caine to reprise the role in Toronto. Andrew Lloyd Webber, who greatly admired Caine's portrayal of Christine in the London production, also strongly suggested she take the role. At the time, Caine was very close to signing a contract to star in another West End show. Ultimately, she chose Phantom and relocated to Toronto and also spent time in New York in early 1989 for principal cast rehearsals with director Hal Prince.
The Canadian production of The Phantom of the Opera premiered on October 20, 1989 at the restored Pantages Theatre, with Susan Cuthbert playing Christine two performances per week as Caine's Alternate. The show broke then box office records for advanced ticket sales, and ran for just over ten years. During her run in Toronto, she joined the Canadian Opera Company
to make her North American operatic debut in the title role of Alban Berg
's Lulu
. This led to offers from numerous international opera companies ranging from Claudio Monteverdi
to Peter Maxwell Davies
, including Pamina, Despina, Susanna, Aminta (Il re pastore
), Vixen, Michaela, Musetta, Ophelie, Leila, Marguerite, Violetta, Julietta
(Bohuslav Martinů
) and Adina for companies such as the Canadian Opera Company, Scottish Opera
, English National Opera
, Glimmerglass Opera
, Spoleto Festival
, Opéra de Nice, Vlaamse Opera
, New Zealand Opera
, National Theatre of Prague
, and Opera North
. In 2006 she performed as Hanna Glawari in Franz Lehár
's The Merry Widow
for Opera Holland Park
in London in 2006.
On October 7, 2006, Caine reunited with her former cast colleagues from the original London production of Les Misérables to sing "One Day More" after a performance in celebration of the show's 21st anniversary making it the longest running musical in the world. The original cast reunited again in 2010 to celebrate the show's 25th anniversary at the O2 in London.
In May 2009, Caine made her Chicago debut in the Chicago Opera Theater
’s production of Benjamin Britten
’s Owen Wingrave
.
In December 2010, Caine returned to the musical theatre stage as Lady Raeburn in Salad Days
produced by Tête à Tête
Caine continues to perform solo cabaret performances in addition to her work with opera and theatre companies.
to Julie Andrews
, with her collaborator and vocal coach Gerald Martin Moore on piano and vocals, playing a selection of their leading men, including Noël Coward
.
They have created two cabaret shows based on their Leading Ladies concept (the second show is entitled Leading Ladies of Hollywood) and have performed for sold old out crowds throughout the United Kingdom in venues such as the Jermyn Street Theatre
in London and the Newbury Festival in Sydmonton. Caine also performs solo concerts throughout the United Kingdom and Canada.
(Title Role; oratorio by Robertson Davies
and Derek Holman
); Playing Away, presented by Opera North
(Role: L.A. Lola; by Howard Brenton
and Benedict Mason
); The Golden Ass, presented by the Canadian Opera Company
(Role: Fotis; by Robertson Davies and Randolph Peters
); Mr Emmet Takes a Walk
, presented by Psappha
(6 female roles; by David Pountney
and Peter Maxwell Davies
); Mathilde, a new musical by Conor Mitchell
directed by Simon Callow
(Edinburgh Fringe Festival); Intolerance, a one-woman opera by Mark Ravenhill
and Conor Mitchell
presented by Tête-à-Tête.
(EMI); Babes in Toyland
; Mr Emmet Takes a Walk (Psappha); Leading Ladies (with Gerald Martin Moore).
; One Touch of Venus
; Trouble in Tahiti
; The Telephone; Concerts of Bernstein, Porter and Kern; Friday Night is Music Night
.
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
and studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Guildhall School of Music and Drama is an independent music and dramatic arts school which was founded in 1880 in London, England. Students can pursue courses in Music, Opera, Drama and Technical Theatre Arts.-History:...
in London. She currently resides in London. She is 50–51 years of age.
Career
Caine’s career has been divided between opera and musical theatre. She made her West EndWest 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...
debut at the age of 19 in the role of Laurey in Oklahoma!
Oklahoma!
Oklahoma! is the first musical written by composer Richard Rodgers and librettist Oscar Hammerstein II. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs' 1931 play, Green Grow the Lilacs. Set in Oklahoma Territory outside the town of Claremore in 1906, it tells the story of cowboy Curly McLain and his romance...
. She then sang the role of Eliza in My Fair Lady
My Fair Lady
My Fair Lady is a musical based upon George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion and with book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe...
on a national tour. While making her debut at 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:...
as Amor in L'incoronazione di Poppea
L'incoronazione di Poppea
L'incoronazione di Poppea is an Italian baroque opera comprising a prologue and three acts, first performed in Venice during the 1642–43 carnival season. The music, attributed to Claudio Monteverdi, is a setting of a libretto by Giovanni Francesco Busenello...
, she was asked to join the Royal Shakespeare Company
Royal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs 700 staff and produces around 20 productions a year from its home in Stratford-upon-Avon and plays regularly in London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and on tour across...
where she created the role of Cosette in Les Misérables
Les Misérables (musical)
Les Misérables , colloquially known as Les Mis or Les Miz , is a musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg, based on the novel of the same name by Victor Hugo....
.
After a successful West End run, she joined the original cast of 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,...
to play Christine
Christine Daaé
Christine Daaé is the main female character in Gaston Leroux's novel The Phantom of the Opera , the young singer with whom the main character Erik, the Phantom of the Opera falls in love.- Character history :...
opposite Michael Crawford
Michael Crawford
Michael Crawford OBE is an English actor and singer. He has garnered great critical acclaim and won numerous awards during his career, which covers radio, television, film, and stagework on both London's West End and on Broadway in New York City...
as alternate (performing 2 shows a week) when original Christine Sarah Brightman
Sarah Brightman
Sarah Brightman is an English classical crossover soprano, actress, songwriter and dancer. She is famous for possessing a vocal range of over 3 octaves and singing in the whistle register...
left the show and was replaced by the original alternate, Claire Moore (singer)
Claire Moore (singer)
Claire Moore is an English soprano singer and actress, best known for her leading role as Christine in Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera and as Ellen in "Miss Saigon"....
.
When the rights to a Canadian production of Phantom were secured, producer Garth Drabinsky aggressively pursued Caine to reprise the role in Toronto. Andrew Lloyd Webber, who greatly admired Caine's portrayal of Christine in the London production, also strongly suggested she take the role. At the time, Caine was very close to signing a contract to star in another West End show. Ultimately, she chose Phantom and relocated to Toronto and also spent time in New York in early 1989 for principal cast rehearsals with director Hal Prince.
The Canadian production of The Phantom of the Opera premiered on October 20, 1989 at the restored Pantages Theatre, with Susan Cuthbert playing Christine two performances per week as Caine's Alternate. The show broke then box office records for advanced ticket sales, and ran for just over ten years. During her run in Toronto, she joined the Canadian Opera Company
Canadian Opera Company
The Canadian Opera Company is an opera company in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the largest opera company in Canada and the third largest producer of opera in North America. The COC performs in its own opera house, the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts.-History:For 40 years until...
to make her North American operatic debut in the title role of Alban Berg
Alban Berg
Alban Maria Johannes Berg was an Austrian composer. He was a member of the Second Viennese School with Arnold Schoenberg and Anton Webern, and produced compositions that combined Mahlerian Romanticism with a personal adaptation of Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique.-Early life:Berg was born in...
's Lulu
Lulu (opera)
Lulu is an opera by the composer Alban Berg. The libretto was adapted by Berg himself from Frank Wedekind's plays Erdgeist and Die Büchse der Pandora .-Composition history:...
. This led to offers from numerous international opera companies ranging from Claudio Monteverdi
Claudio Monteverdi
Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi – 29 November 1643) was an Italian composer, gambist, and singer.Monteverdi's work, often regarded as revolutionary, marked the transition from the Renaissance style of music to that of the Baroque period. He developed two individual styles of composition – the...
to Peter Maxwell Davies
Peter Maxwell Davies
Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, CBE is an English composer and conductor and is currently Master of the Queen's Music.-Biography:...
, including Pamina, Despina, Susanna, Aminta (Il re pastore
Il re pastore
Il re pastore is an opera, K. 208, written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Metastasio, edited by Gianbattista Varesco. It is an opera seria...
), Vixen, Michaela, Musetta, Ophelie, Leila, Marguerite, Violetta, Julietta
Julietta
Julietta is an opera by Bohuslav Martinů, who also wrote the libretto, which is based on the play Juliette, ou La clé des songes by the French author Georges Neveux. The opera received its first performance at the National Theatre, Prague on 16 March 1938, with Ota Horaková in the title role and...
(Bohuslav Martinů
Bohuslav Martinu
Bohuslav Martinů was a prolific Czech composer of modern classical music. He was of Czech and Rumanian ancestry. Martinů wrote six symphonies, 15 operas, 14 ballet scores and a large body of orchestral, chamber, vocal and instrumental works. Martinů became a violinist in the Czech Philharmonic...
) and Adina for companies such as the Canadian Opera Company, 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...
, English National Opera
English National Opera
English National Opera is an opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St. Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with the Royal Opera, Covent Garden...
, Glimmerglass Opera
Glimmerglass Opera
Glimmerglass Festival is an opera company which was founded in 1975 by Peter Macris and presents an annual season of operas at the Alice Busch Opera Theater on Otsego Lake eight miles north of Cooperstown, New York, United States.The summer-only season usually consists of four operas performed in...
, Spoleto Festival
Festival dei Due Mondi
The Festival dei Due Mondi ' is an annual summer music and opera festival held each June to early July in Spoleto, Italy, since its founding by composer Gian Carlo Menotti in 1958...
, Opéra de Nice, Vlaamse Opera
Vlaamse Opera
The Vlaamse Opera ' is an opera company in Belgium directed by Aviel Cahn which operates in two different opera houses in two Flemish cities, the Vlaamse Opera Antwerpen at Van Ertbornstraat 8 and the Vlaamse Opera Ghent at Schouwburgstraat 3...
, New Zealand Opera
The NBR New Zealand Opera
The NBR New Zealand Opera is New Zealand's largest professional opera company. The company was formed in 2000 when the Wellington City Opera and Auckland Opera companies decided to merge into one organization for financial reasons. The company produces two fully staged operas each year during an...
, National Theatre of Prague
National Theatre (Prague)
The National Theatre in Prague is known as the Alma Mater of Czech opera, and as the national monument of Czech history and art.The National Theatre belongs to the most important Czech cultural institutions, with a rich artistic tradition which was created and maintained by the most distinguished...
, and Opera North
Opera North
Opera North is an English opera company based in Leeds. The company's home theatre is the Leeds Grand Theatre, but it also presents regular seasons in several other cities, at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham, the Lowry Centre, Salford Quays and the Theatre Royal, Newcastle...
. In 2006 she performed as Hanna Glawari in Franz Lehár
Franz Lehár
Franz Lehár was an Austrian-Hungarian composer. He is mainly known for his operettas of which the most successful and best known is The Merry Widow .-Biography:...
's 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,...
for Opera Holland Park
Opera Holland Park
Opera Holland Park is a summer opera company which produces an annual season of opera performances staged under a temporary canopy in Holland Park, a public park in a wealthy district of west central London of the same name. The venue is fully covered but is open at the sides.The canopy was...
in London in 2006.
On October 7, 2006, Caine reunited with her former cast colleagues from the original London production of Les Misérables to sing "One Day More" after a performance in celebration of the show's 21st anniversary making it the longest running musical in the world. The original cast reunited again in 2010 to celebrate the show's 25th anniversary at the O2 in London.
In May 2009, Caine made her Chicago debut in the Chicago Opera Theater
Chicago Opera Theater
The Chicago Opera Theater is an opera company that was founded as the Chicago Opera Studio in 1974 by Alan Stone to give vocal students performance experience, although it has grown into a professional opera company...
’s production of 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...
’s Owen Wingrave
Owen Wingrave
Owen Wingrave is an opera for television in two acts with music by Benjamin Britten, his Opus 85, and a libretto by Myfanwy Piper, after a short story by Henry James....
.
In December 2010, Caine returned to the musical theatre stage as Lady Raeburn in Salad Days
Salad Days
Salad Days is a musical with music by Julian Slade and lyrics by Dorothy Reynolds and Julian Slade. It premiered at the Bristol Old Vic in 1954, and transferred to the Vaudeville Theatre in London on August 5 of that year, running for 2,283 performances to become the longest-running show in...
produced by Tête à Tête
Caine continues to perform solo cabaret performances in addition to her work with opera and theatre companies.
Leading Ladies
In May 2007, Caine released Leading Ladies, a collection of songs paying tribute to past "Leading Ladies of the British Musical Theatre Stage", from Gertrude LawrenceGertrude Lawrence
Gertrude Lawrence was an English actress, singer and musical comedy performer known for her stage appearances in the West End theatre district of London and on Broadway.-Early life:...
to Julie Andrews
Julie Andrews
Dame Julia Elizabeth Andrews, DBE is an English film and stage actress, singer, and author. She is the recipient of Golden Globe, Emmy, Grammy, BAFTA, People's Choice Award, Theatre World Award, Screen Actors Guild and Academy Award honors...
, with her collaborator and vocal coach Gerald Martin Moore on piano and vocals, playing a selection of their leading men, including Noël Coward
Noël Coward
Sir Noël Peirce Coward was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise".Born in Teddington, a suburb of London, Coward attended a dance academy...
.
They have created two cabaret shows based on their Leading Ladies concept (the second show is entitled Leading Ladies of Hollywood) and have performed for sold old out crowds throughout the United Kingdom in venues such as the Jermyn Street Theatre
Jermyn Street Theatre
Jermyn Street Theatre is a performance venue situated in Jermyn Street, London.Formerly a restaurant, under the leadership of Howard Jameson, it was transformed into a 70-seat studio theatre right in the heart of London's West End...
in London and the Newbury Festival in Sydmonton. Caine also performs solo concerts throughout the United Kingdom and Canada.
World Premieres
A notable interpreter of 20th century and contemporary opera, Caine’s world premieres have included: Jezebel, presented by the Toronto SymphonyToronto Symphony Orchestra
The Toronto Symphony Orchestra is a Canadian orchestra based in Toronto, Ontario.-History:The TSO was founded in 1922 as the New Symphony Orchestra, and gave its first concert at Massey Hall in April 1923. The orchestra changed its name to the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in 1927. The TSO...
(Title Role; oratorio by Robertson Davies
Robertson Davies
William Robertson Davies, CC, OOnt, FRSC, FRSL was a Canadian novelist, playwright, critic, journalist, and professor. He was one of Canada's best-known and most popular authors, and one of its most distinguished "men of letters", a term Davies is variously said to have gladly accepted for himself...
and Derek Holman
Derek Holman
Derek Holman, CM is a choral conductor, organist, and composer.Holman attended the Royal Academy of Music from 1948 to 1952 and studied with Sir William McKie, Eric Thiman, and York Bowen...
); Playing Away, presented by Opera North
Opera North
Opera North is an English opera company based in Leeds. The company's home theatre is the Leeds Grand Theatre, but it also presents regular seasons in several other cities, at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham, the Lowry Centre, Salford Quays and the Theatre Royal, Newcastle...
(Role: L.A. Lola; by Howard Brenton
Howard Brenton
-Early years:Brenton was born in Portsmouth, Hampshire, son of Methodist minister Donald Henry Brenton and his wife Rose Lilian . He was educated at Chichester High School For Boys and read English Literature at St Catharine's College, Cambridge. In 1964 he was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal...
and Benedict Mason
Benedict Mason
Benedict Mason, born on 23 February 1954, is a British composer.Mason was educated at King's College Cambridge and took a degree in film-making at the Royal College of Art . He did not turn to composition until his early 30s, but his first acknowledged work, Hinterstoisser Traverse , attracted...
); The Golden Ass, presented by the Canadian Opera Company
Canadian Opera Company
The Canadian Opera Company is an opera company in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the largest opera company in Canada and the third largest producer of opera in North America. The COC performs in its own opera house, the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts.-History:For 40 years until...
(Role: Fotis; by Robertson Davies and Randolph Peters
Randolph Peters
Randolph Peters is a Canadian composer who is particularly known for his output of roughly 100 film scores made mostly for Canadian films. A graduate of the University of Winnipeg and the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, Peters has also written a large amount of music for Canadian...
); Mr Emmet Takes a Walk
Mr Emmet Takes a Walk
Mr Emmet Takes a Walk is a chamber opera by the English composer Sir Peter Maxwell Davies with a libretto by David Pountney. The work is self-described as a "dramatic sonata"....
, presented by Psappha
Psappha New Music Ensemble
Psappha New Music Ensemble is an ensemble of contemporary classical musicians based in the North West of England, specialised in the performance of works by living composers. Founded in 1991, Psappha takes its name from the composition of the same name by Greek modernist composer Iannis Xenakis...
(6 female roles; by David Pountney
David Pountney
David Pountney is a British theatre and opera director and librettist internationally known for his productions of rarely performed operas and new productions of classic works...
and Peter Maxwell Davies
Peter Maxwell Davies
Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, CBE is an English composer and conductor and is currently Master of the Queen's Music.-Biography:...
); Mathilde, a new musical by Conor Mitchell
Conor Mitchell
Conor Mitchell is an Irish composer and writer. His play, The Dummy Tree, was commissioned by the Royal National Theatre for their 2009 New Connections series.He is currently working on a new solo musical for Nigel Richards....
directed by Simon Callow
Simon Callow
Simon Phillip Hugh Callow, CBE is an English actor, writer and theatre director. He is also currently a judge on Popstar to Operastar.-Early years:...
(Edinburgh Fringe Festival); Intolerance, a one-woman opera by Mark Ravenhill
Mark Ravenhill
Mark Ravenhill is an English playwright, actor and journalist.His most famous plays include Shopping and Fucking , Some Explicit Polaroids and Mother Clap's Molly House . He made his acting debut in his monologue Product, at the 2005 Edinburgh Festival Fringe...
and Conor Mitchell
Conor Mitchell
Conor Mitchell is an Irish composer and writer. His play, The Dummy Tree, was commissioned by the Royal National Theatre for their 2009 New Connections series.He is currently working on a new solo musical for Nigel Richards....
presented by Tête-à-Tête.
Recordings
Rebecca Caine can be heard on numerous recordings including: Les Misérables (Original London Cast); The Phantom of The Opera (Canadian Cast); Anything GoesAnything Goes
Anything Goes is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The original book was a collaborative effort by Guy Bolton and P.G. Wodehouse, heavily revised by the team of Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. The story concerns madcap antics aboard an ocean liner bound from New York to London...
(EMI); Babes in Toyland
Babes in Toyland (operetta)
Babes in Toyland is an operetta composed by Victor Herbert with a libretto by Glen MacDonough , which wove together various characters from Mother Goose nursery rhymes into a Christmas-themed musical extravaganza. The creators wanted to cash in on the extraordinary success of The Wizard of Oz,...
; Mr Emmet Takes a Walk (Psappha); Leading Ladies (with Gerald Martin Moore).
Broadcasts
Rebecca’s BBC broadcasts include: CandideCandide (operetta)
Candide is an operetta with music composed by Leonard Bernstein, based on the novella of the same name by Voltaire. The operetta was first performed in 1956 with a libretto by Lillian Hellman; but since 1974 it has been generally performed with a book by Hugh Wheeler which is more faithful to...
; One Touch of Venus
One Touch of Venus
One Touch of Venus is a musical with music written by Kurt Weill, lyrics by Ogden Nash, and book by S. J. Perelman and Nash, based on the novella The Tinted Venus by Thomas Anstey Guthrie, and very loosely spoofing the Pygmalion myth. The show satirizes contemporary American suburban values,...
; Trouble in Tahiti
Trouble in Tahiti
Trouble in Tahiti is a one-act opera in seven scenes composed by Leonard Bernstein with an English libretto by the composer. The opera received its first performance on 12 June 1952 at Berstein's Festival of the Creative Arts on the campus of Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts to an...
; The Telephone; Concerts of Bernstein, Porter and Kern; Friday Night is Music Night
Friday Night is Music Night
Friday Night is Music Night is a long running live BBC radio concert programme featuring the BBC Concert Orchestra, broadcast most Fridays on BBC Radio 2 at 8.00pm. It is the world's longest-running live music radio programme....
.