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(1)
Florence Evelyn as Marthe and Robert Radford as Mephistofeles in
Gounod's Faust.
[Bombings of World War I]
"The first raid on London's theatre district occurred on
an October night in 1915. In Faust at the Shaftesbury, Robert Radford was
singing Mephistopheles not in red, according to English tradition, but, after
Maurel's fashion, in black. During the first act Zeppelin L. 15 hung over the
roof of the Waldorf Hotel, coned in searchlights, a pretty spectacle against the
stars. She dropped nineteen bombs .... The Shaftesbury went unscathed."1
(2) Herbert Langley as
Valentine in Faust.
(3) Miriam Licette as
Marguerite in Faust. English soprano. She was a pupil of
Marchesi and de Reszke. Licette made her debut (1911) in Rome (Madama
Butterfly). She sang with Beecham's troupe (1916-20) and with the British
National Opera Company (1922-28) that evolved from it. She also sang many
important roles with the Royal Opera at Covent Garden (1919-29).
(4)
(5)
"For Figaro,
which came on at Drury Lane in the summer of 1917, he chose his cast as much for
appearance and acting ability as for singing talent. Over a period of five
months, he sent them on free days to a noted 'legitimate' producer, Nigel
Playfair, for diction lessons. Frederick Ranalow (Figaro), Miriam Licette (the
Countess), Désirée Ellinger (Susanna), Frederick Austin (Almaviva) and Bessie
Tyas (Cherubino) were gifted and, by this time, fairly seasoned artists."1
(6) Gwen Trevitt as
Barbarina in Marriage of Figaro (Set 3).
(7) Désirée Ellinger as
Susanna in Marriage of Figaro (Set 1).
| 1
Reid, Charles. 1962. Thomas Beecham. An Independent Biography. New
York: E. P. Dutton & Co. |
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