Sybil Gordon
Encyclopedia
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 the radio. In the 1981 film Chariots of Fire
, she is misidentified as the fiancée of Olympic runner Harold Abrahams
.
Music Competition, judged by Sir Steuart Wilson
. At this time, she was singing as a mezzo-soprano
. The following year, as a soprano
, she sang regularly in BBC
broadcasts of songs by Walford Davies, Roger Quilter
and others, and opera
tic arias by composers including Puccini
and Massenet
. She also performed in a series of concerts in Manchester
. The critic Samuel Langford
wrote of her, "Her voice has a decided freshness and purity, and her interpretations, though not greatly varied, have confidence, alertness and charm."
Gordon joined the chorus of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company
in 1926, singing on tour in England and Ireland and in a London season at the Prince's Theatre
. Beginning in 1927, she performed soprano roles with the company, including the Plaintiff in Trial by Jury
, Celia in Iolanthe
, Lady Psyche in Princess Ida
, Zorah in Ruddigore
and Fiametta in The Gondoliers
. Her performance with the company as Lady Psyche at the Savoy Theatre
in 1929 was singled out by The Times
for particular praise. She sings Fiametta on the 1927 D'Oyly Carte recording of The Gondoliers. She also sang Celia in the radio broadcast of Iolanthe from the Savoy Theatre in February 1930. Gordon left the company at the end of the 1930 season, rejoining briefly in April 1931 as the Plaintiff in Trial by Jury.
In 1931, Gordon moved to Canada. There, from November 1931 to February 1932, she sang in a cycle of all 13 Gilbert and Sullivan operas in radio broadcasts on the CBC
, on the C-I-L
-sponsored "Opera House of the Air".
, Olympic runner Harold Abrahams
's fiancée is misidentified as Sybil Gordon (portrayed by Alice Krige
). In reality, his fiancée, whom he did not actually meet until a decade after the 1924 Olympics, was mezzo-soprano Sybil Evers
, who sang small roles with D'Oyly Carte from 1930 to 1931. Also 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 D'Oyly Carte.
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...
roles 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...
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 the radio. In 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....
, she is misidentified as the fiancée of Olympic 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
Early in her career, Gordon won first prize at the 1923 BlackpoolBlackpool
Blackpool is a borough, seaside town, and unitary authority area of Lancashire, in North West England. It is situated along England's west coast by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre estuaries, northwest of Preston, north of Liverpool, and northwest of Manchester...
Music Competition, judged by Sir Steuart Wilson
Steuart Wilson
Sir James Steuart Wilson was an English singer, known for tenor roles in oratorios and concerts in the first half of the 20th century....
. At this time, she was singing as a mezzo-soprano
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...
. The following year, as a 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...
, she sang regularly in 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...
broadcasts of songs by Walford Davies, Roger Quilter
Roger Quilter
Roger Quilter was an English composer, known particularly for his songs.-Biography:Born in Hove, Sussex, Quilter was a younger son of Sir William Quilter, 1st Baronet, who was a noted art collector...
and others, and opera
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...
tic arias by composers including Puccini
Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini was an Italian composer whose operas, including La bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, and Turandot, are among the most frequently performed in the standard repertoire...
and Massenet
Jules Massenet
Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet was a French composer best known for his operas. His compositions were very popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and he ranks as one of the greatest melodists of his era. Soon after his death, Massenet's style went out of fashion, and many of his operas...
. She also performed in a series of concerts in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
. The critic Samuel Langford
Samuel Langford
Samuel Langford was an influential English music critic of the early twentieth century.Trained as a pianist, Langford became chief music critic of The Manchester Guardian in 1906, serving in that post until his death...
wrote of her, "Her voice has a decided freshness and purity, and her interpretations, though not greatly varied, have confidence, alertness and charm."
Gordon joined the chorus of 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...
in 1926, singing on tour in England and Ireland and in a London season at the Prince's Theatre
Shaftesbury Theatre
The Shaftesbury Theatre is a West End Theatre, located on Shaftesbury Avenue, in the London Borough of Camden.-History:The theatre was designed for the brothers Walter and Frederick Melville by Bertie Crewe and opened on 26 December 1911 with a production of The Three Musketeers, as the New...
. Beginning in 1927, she performed soprano roles with the company, including the Plaintiff 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...
, Celia 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....
, Lady Psyche 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...
, Zorah 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...
and Fiametta 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...
. Her performance with the company as Lady Psyche at the Savoy Theatre
Savoy Theatre
The Savoy Theatre is a West End theatre located in the Strand in the City of Westminster, London, England. The theatre opened on 10 October 1881 and was built by Richard D'Oyly Carte on the site of the old Savoy Palace as a showcase for the popular series of comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan,...
in 1929 was singled out by The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
for particular praise. She sings Fiametta on the 1927 D'Oyly Carte recording of The Gondoliers. She also sang Celia in the radio broadcast of Iolanthe from the Savoy Theatre in February 1930. Gordon left the company at the end of the 1930 season, rejoining briefly in April 1931 as the Plaintiff in Trial by Jury.
In 1931, Gordon moved to Canada. There, from November 1931 to February 1932, she sang in a cycle of all 13 Gilbert and Sullivan operas in radio broadcasts on the CBC
CBC Radio
CBC Radio generally refers to the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which are outlined below.-English:CBC Radio operates three English language...
, on the C-I-L
Canadian Industries Limited
Canadian Industries Limited, also known as C-I-L is a Canadian chemicals manufacturer. Products include paints, fertilizers and pesticides, and explosives. It was formed in 1910 by the merger of five Canadian explosives companies...
-sponsored "Opera House of the Air".
Chariots of Fire
In the 1981 film Chariots of FireChariots 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....
, Olympic 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:...
's fiancée is misidentified as Sybil Gordon (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 reality, his fiancée, whom he did not actually meet until a decade after the 1924 Olympics, was mezzo-soprano Sybil Evers
Sybil Evers
Sybil Marjorie Evers was a British mezzo-soprano and actress. She was the wife of Olympic champion runner Harold Abrahams.-Career:...
, who sang small roles with D'Oyly Carte from 1930 to 1931. Also 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 D'Oyly Carte.
Reference
- Rollins, Cyril; R. John Witts (1961). The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in Gilbert and Sullivan Operas. London: Michael Joseph.