Gilbert and Sullivan for All was a touring concert and opera company, formed in 1963 by D'Oyly Carte Opera Company performers Thomas Round and Donald Adams and former director Norman Meadmore, and which exclusively performed the works of Gilbert and Sullivan, usually in concert, but sometimes giving full productions. They also recorded most of the Savoy operas both on video and audio. They continued to tour into the 1980s, occasionally reuniting for performances thereafter.
Gilbert and Sullivan for All gave concert performances of highlights from the Savoy operas of Gilbert and Sullivan, and sometimes full productions of the operas, throughout Britain and made several world tours to North America, Australasia, and the Far East. [1]
In 1963 Thomas Round and Donald Adams were still with D'Oyly Carte D'Oyly Carte Opera Company; together with Norman Meadmore (a former director of D'Oyly Carte), they formed Gilbert and Sullivan for All. [2] [3] In the early years the company, usually composed of five or six singers and a pianist, would perform on nights when D'Oyly Carte was playing The Gondoliers , since Adams was not engaged by D'Oyly Carte to play in that opera. The pianist was often the former D'Oyly Carte assistant musical director, William Cox-Ife. [4] In 1964 Round, and in 1969 Adams, left the D'Oyly Carte Company and joined Gilbert and Sullivan for All full-time. The group's repertory included highlights from Cox and Box , Trial by Jury , H.M.S. Pinafore , The Pirates of Penzance , Iolanthe , The Mikado , Ruddigore , The Yeomen of the Guard , and The Gondoliers . [5] Round, and sometimes Adams, acted as director for the company. Meadmore acted as producer. [6]
In 1972, the group recorded staged and costumed abridged productions of the nine operas in their repertory, both on video and for audio recordings. The soprano roles were split between former D'Oyly Carte artists Valerie Masterson and Gillian Humphreys, and all included Round and Adams. Introductions and linking narration were included and later re-recorded by Round. [1] Helen Landis played the contralto roles in seven of the recordings and videos. [7] In the Gilbert and Sullivan Discography, Marc Shepherd writes, "The productions, despite being heavily abridged, are beautifully costumed and staged. Business and blocking are in the traditional manner, but do not slavishly reproduce D'Oyly Carte stagings. ... These films provide rare glimpses of many former D'Oyly Carte stars." [1] Peter Murray, another former assistant D'Oyly Carte musical director, who had become the group's regular touring pianist around 1970, conducted the orchestra, except for Cox and Box, which they performed with piano accompaniment. [5] [8] Other former members of D'Oyly Carte who appeared with Gilbert and Sullivan for All include Gillian Knight, Ann Hood, Mary Sansom, [9] John Cartier, [10] Thomas Lawlor, [11] Pauline Wales, [12] and Geoffrey Shovelton. [13]
During their Gilbert and Sullivan for All years, Round and Adams also appeared on tour as Arthur Sullivan and W. S. Gilbert, respectively, in Tarantara! Tarantara!, Ian Taylor's musical about the Gilbert and Sullivan partnership. Gilbert and Sullivan for All remained active through the early 1980s, until Adams's growing career as an operatic singer and Round's increasing age forced it to close. They occasionally reunited for concert performances thereafter. [2]
Gilbert and Sullivan was a Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900), who jointly created fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado are among the best known.
John Lamb Reed, OBE was an English actor, dancer and singer, known for his nimble performances in the principal comic roles of the Savoy Operas, particularly with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company. Reed has been called "the last great exponent" of the Gilbert and Sullivan comedy roles.
Kenneth Sandford was an English singer and actor, best known for his performances in baritone roles of the Savoy Operas of Gilbert and Sullivan.
Charles Donald Adams was an English opera singer and actor, best known for his performances in bass-baritone roles of the Savoy operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company and his own company, Gilbert and Sullivan for All.
Thomas Round was an English opera singer and actor, best known for his performances in the leading tenor roles of the Savoy Operas and grand opera.
George Cook was an English opera singer and actor, best known for his performances in the bass and bass-baritone roles of the Savoy Operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company.
John Ayldon was an English opera singer and comic actor, best known for his performances in bass-baritone roles of the Savoy Operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company.
Harry Norris was a New Zealand-born conductor best remembered as musical director of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company from 1920 to 1929.
Charles Eric Goulding was a British operatic tenor and actor best known for his performances with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in the Gilbert and Sullivan repertory.
Geoffrey Richard Shovelton was an English singer and illustrator best known for his performances in leading tenor roles with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in the 1970s.
Pauline Wales was an English singer and actress best known for her performances in the mezzo-soprano roles of the Gilbert and Sullivan operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company.
Jean Hindmarsh is a retired English singer and actress. She is best known as a principal soprano with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in the 1950s and 1960s.
Julia Goss, is a Scottish singer and actress best known for her performances in the principal soprano roles of the Gilbert and Sullivan operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company. She joined that company in 1967, remaining with them until 1979.
Anna Bethell was an English actress, singer and stage director. She is best known for her performances in the Gilbert and Sullivan operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company. After playing other small mezzo-soprano parts, she played the role of Mrs. Partlett in The Sorcerer for many years. She also occasionally played some of the larger contralto roles. She later became stage director of the company from 1947 to 1949 and also directed the J. C. Williamson Gilbert and Sullivan Company.
Thomas F. Lawlor was an Irish opera singer. In the 1960s, he became known for his performances in mostly baritone roles of the Gilbert and Sullivan operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company. In the 1970s and 1980s, he performed over 60 operatic roles, usually as a bass-baritone, with various British opera companies. He was also a director in the opera department of the Royal Academy of Music and at Trinity College of Music. In later years, he moved to the US, where he continued to perform, direct and teach.
Christene M. Palmer is a retired Australian singer and actress, known for her performances in the contralto roles of Gilbert and Sullivan's Savoy operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company during the 1960s. Her performance as Katisha in The Mikado is preserved in the D'Oyly Carte 1967 film version of that opera.
Michael Rayner was an English opera singer, best known for his performances in baritone roles of the Savoy Operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company.
Jennifer Gay Bishop, known by her stage name Jennifer Toye, was a British operatic soprano best known for performances with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in the 1950s and 1960s, including as Josephine in H.M.S. Pinafore, Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance and Yum-Yum in The Mikado. She later performed in musical theatre and opera with other companies.
Mary Sansom was an English operatic soprano best known for her performances in principal soprano roles with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in the 1950s and 1960s, including as Yum-Yum in The Mikado, Josephine in H.M.S. Pinafore, Phyllis in Iolanthe, the title role in Patience and Gianetta in The Gondoliers. In later years, she performed with Gilbert and Sullivan for All, directed stage productions and established a costume hire business. She also appeared in supporting roles on British television.
Pamela Field is a Welsh operatic soprano best known for her performances in principal soprano roles with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in the 1970s and 1980s, including as Josephine in H.M.S. Pinafore, Phyllis in Iolanthe, Gianetta in The Gondoliers, Elsie Maynard in The Yeomen of the Guard and the titular character in Patience.
