Sybil Evers
Encyclopedia
Sybil Marjorie Evers was a British mezzo-soprano
and actress. She was the wife of Olympic champion runner Harold Abrahams
.
, as Nixie in a single performance of The Ladder, a musical fantasy.
From March 1930 to September 1931, Evers sang small roles at the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company
. Her roles included Kate in The Pirates of Penzance
, the Lady Saphir in Patience
, Leila in Iolanthe
, Peep-Bo in The Mikado
and Vittoria in The Gondoliers
. Occasionally she substituted for Marjorie Eyre
as Tessa in The Gondoliers
and Mad Margaret in Ruddigore
.
From 1934 through 1938, Evers appeared in plays and operettas in a variety of London theatres. She entertained the seven-year-old Princess Elizabeth at the Cambridge Theatre
in Ever So Long Ago, a children's play; the piece was reportedly the first play seen by the princess. At the Open Air Theatre
in 1934, she played the Lady in Milton's Comus
. At the Winter Garden Theatre
, she played the lead in Rutland Boughton
's The Lily Maid in 1937. She also performed at the Criterion
and Arts
Theatres. In December 1938 she made her last appearance, as Hansel in Humperdinck's opera Hansel and Gretel at the Scala Theatre
.
Evers died in 1963. A trust was founded soon afterwards for the Sybil Evers Memorial Prize For Singing, which operated from 1965 to 1996. The annual cash prize was awarded to the best female singer in her last year at the Webber Douglas School of Singing and Dramatic Art
.
In 1936, Evers married Olympic gold medalist runner Harold Abrahams
, the subject of the 1981 film Chariots of Fire
. Abrahams, like Evers, was an aficionado of Gilbert and Sullivan
, as depicted in the film. Evers is misidentified in Chariots of Fire as D'Oyly Carte soprano
Sybil Gordon
(portrayed by Alice Krige
). In the film, "Sybil Gordon" is depicted as singing Yum-Yum in The Mikado
; however, this was not a role that either Gordon or Evers sang with the D'Oyly Carte. Also, contrary to the film's depiction, Evers and Abrahams did not actually meet until 1935.
Abrahams and Evers had one adopted son, and one adopted daughter, Susan, who married Pat Pottle
.
Evers was buried at Saint John the Baptist Churchyard in Great Amwell
, Hertfordshire
. When Harold Abrahams died in 1978, he was buried in the same grave.
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...
and actress. She was the wife of Olympic champion runner Harold Abrahams
Harold Abrahams
Harold Maurice Abrahams, CBE, was a British athlete of Jewish origin. He was Olympic champion in 1924 in the 100 metres sprint, a feat depicted in the 1981 movie Chariots of Fire.-Early life:...
.
Career
Sybil Evers first performed on the London stage in 1927, at Daly's TheatreDaly's Theatre
Daly's Theatre was a theatre in the City of Westminster. It was located at 2 Cranbourn Street, just off Leicester Square. It opened on 27 June 1893, and was demolished in 1937.-Early years:...
, as Nixie in a single performance of The Ladder, a musical fantasy.
From March 1930 to September 1931, Evers sang small roles at 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...
. Her roles included Kate 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...
, the Lady Saphir 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...
, Leila 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....
, Peep-Bo in The Mikado
The Mikado
The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen operatic collaborations...
and Vittoria 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...
. Occasionally she substituted for Marjorie Eyre
Marjorie Eyre
Marjorie Eyre was an English opera singer, best known for her performances in the soprano and mezzo-soprano roles of the Savoy Operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company...
as Tessa 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 Mad Margaret 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...
.
From 1934 through 1938, Evers appeared in plays and operettas in a variety of London theatres. She entertained the seven-year-old Princess Elizabeth at the Cambridge Theatre
Cambridge Theatre
The Cambridge Theatre is a West End theatre, on a corner site in Earlham Street facing Seven Dials, in the London Borough of Camden, built in 1929-30. It was designed by Wimperis, Simpson and Guthrie; interior partly by Serge Chermayeff, with interior bronze friezes by sculptor Anthony Gibbons...
in Ever So Long Ago, a children's play; the piece was reportedly the first play seen by the princess. At the Open Air Theatre
Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park
Regent's Park Open Air Theatre, in the City of Westminster, London, is a permanent venue with an annual sixteen-week summer season. It was founded in 1932 by Sydney Carroll and Robert Atkins.-The theatre:...
in 1934, she played the Lady in Milton's Comus
Comus (John Milton)
Comus is a masque in honour of chastity, written by John Milton. It was first presented on Michaelmas, 1634, before John Egerton, 1st Earl of Bridgewater at Ludlow Castle in celebration of the Earl's new post as Lord President of Wales.Known colloquially as Comus, the mask's actual full title is A...
. At the Winter Garden Theatre
New London Theatre
The New London Theatre is a West End theatre located on the corner of Drury Lane and Parker Street in Covent Garden, in the London Borough of Camden...
, she played the lead in Rutland Boughton
Rutland Boughton
Rutland Boughton was an English composer who became well known in the early 20th century as a composer of opera and choral music....
's The Lily Maid in 1937. She also performed at the Criterion
Criterion Theatre
The Criterion Theatre is a West End theatre situated on Piccadilly Circus in the City of Westminster, and is a Grade II* listed building. It has an official capacity of 588.-Building the theatre:...
and Arts
Arts Theatre
The Arts Theatre is a theatre in Great Newport Street, in Westminster, Central London. It now operates as the West End's smallest commercial receiving house.-History:...
Theatres. In December 1938 she made her last appearance, as Hansel in Humperdinck's opera Hansel and Gretel at the Scala Theatre
Scala Theatre
The Scala Theatre was a theatre in London, sited on Charlotte Street, off Tottenham Court Road, in the London Borough of Camden. The first theatre on the site opened in 1772, and the theatre was demolished in 1969, after being destroyed by fire...
.
Evers died in 1963. A trust was founded soon afterwards for the Sybil Evers Memorial Prize For Singing, which operated from 1965 to 1996. The annual cash prize was awarded to the best female singer in her last year at the Webber Douglas School of Singing and Dramatic Art
Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art
The Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art, formerly the Webber Douglas School of Singing and Dramatic Art, was a drama school, and originally a singing school, in London. It was one of the leading drama schools in Britain, and offered comprehensive training for those intending to pursue a...
.
Personal life
Evers' first marriage was to publisher Noel Brack in 1926. That marriage ended in divorce.In 1936, Evers married Olympic gold medalist runner Harold Abrahams
Harold Abrahams
Harold Maurice Abrahams, CBE, was a British athlete of Jewish origin. He was Olympic champion in 1924 in the 100 metres sprint, a feat depicted in the 1981 movie Chariots of Fire.-Early life:...
, the subject of the 1981 film Chariots of Fire
Chariots of Fire
Chariots of Fire is a 1981 British film. It tells the fact-based story of two athletes in the 1924 Olympics: Eric Liddell, a devout Scottish Christian who runs for the glory of God, and Harold Abrahams, an English Jew who runs to overcome prejudice....
. Abrahams, like Evers, was an aficionado of 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...
, as depicted in the film. Evers is misidentified in Chariots of Fire as D'Oyly Carte soprano
Soprano
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...
Sybil Gordon
Sybil Gordon
Sybil Gordon was a British singer. She is best remembered for her performances in Gilbert and Sullivan roles with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company from 1926 to 1931. Gordon started out as a concert singer. After her career with the D'Oyly Carte company, she moved to Canada, where she broadcast on...
(portrayed by Alice Krige
Alice Krige
Alice Maud Krige is a South African actress. Her first feature film role was as the Gilbert and Sullivan singer Sybil Gordon in the 1981 Academy Award-winning film Chariots of Fire...
). In the film, "Sybil Gordon" is depicted as singing Yum-Yum in The Mikado
The Mikado
The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen operatic collaborations...
; however, this was not a role that either Gordon or Evers sang with the D'Oyly Carte. Also, contrary to the film's depiction, Evers and Abrahams did not actually meet until 1935.
Abrahams and Evers had one adopted son, and one adopted daughter, Susan, who married Pat Pottle
Pat Pottle
Patrick Pottle was a founder member of the Committee of 100, an anti-nuclear direct action group which broke away from CND....
.
Evers was buried at Saint John the Baptist Churchyard in Great Amwell
Amwell, Hertfordshire
Amwell , is a village in the county of Hertfordshire, England, located 1½ miles from Ware, and about 20 miles north of London. Great Amwell is also the name of the civil parish within East Hertfordshire district....
, Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
. When Harold Abrahams died in 1978, he was buried in the same grave.
External links
- Chariots of Fire at the IMDB database