(4) Edith Clegg (The Mother) and Miriam Licette (Louise) in Louise.
(5) Maurice D'Oisly and Miriam Licette as Julian and Louise, respectively.
(6) Edith Clegg (The Mother), Frederick Ranalow (The Father) and Miriam Licette (Louise) in Louise.
(7) English soprano Miriam Licette (1892-1969) in the title role of Louise. 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).
(8) Contralto Ethel Toms as Feodor in Boris Godounov.
(9) Doris Lemon as Xenia in Boris Godounov.
(10) Robert Radford in the title role of Boris Godounov. English bass (Nottingham, England: 13 May 1874 - London, England: 3 Mar 1933). He made his operatic debut at Covent Garden (1904) as the Commendatore in Don Giovanni. He sang in the first English Ring Cycle in London. He created Abbott Tunstall in Angelus (Naylor). In 1921 he became a founder, along with Thomas Beecham, of the British National Opera Company. Later he became its director.
(11) Webster Millar as Grigori in Boris Godounov. Webster Millar was his stage name. His real name was Charles Cecil. A tenor, Millar appeared with the D'Oyly Carte "New" Opera Company in 1921. From 1911 until his untimely death (blood poisoning) in 1924, he appeared in grand opera at Drury Lane, Covent Garden, and with the Beecham Opera Company.
(12) Powell Edwards as Pimène in Boris Godounov.
(13) Robert Parker as Tonio in Pagliacci. Born: May 13, 1874 -
(14) Frank Mullings as Canio (Pagliacci): English tenor (Walsall: 10 Mar 1891 - Manchester: 19 May 1953). He made his debut in Coventry (1907) as Faust. He performed with the T.B.O.C. from 1916 to 1921. He was also associated with the B.N.O.C. from 1922 to 1926. He created the role of Hadyar in Nail (by De Lara) and Apollo in Alkestis (by Boughton).
[During World War I] "Mobile anti-aircraft guns parked near the theatre during a Pagliacci. Their fire made counter rhythms to the bass drum beats which herald the strolling players' entry. Shrapnel rattled on the stage roof. [Donald] Baylis urged the singers to carry on."
(Source: Reid, Charles. 1962. Thomas Beecham. An Independent Biography. New York: E. P. Dutton & Co.)
(15) Olive Townend as Nedda in Pagliacci.
(16) Edith Clegg as Suzuki in Madame Buttterfly.
(17) Rosina Buckmann as Cio-Cio-San (Madame Butterfly). New Zealand soprano (Blenheim, NZ: c1880 - London: 30 Dec 1948). She made her debut in Welling (1906) in A Moorish Maid (by Hill). She sang with the Melba Grand Opera Company in Australia (1909, 1911). She appeared at Covent Garden, and with the Beecham Company from 1915 to 1920. She excelled as Aida (seen here), Butterfly, and Isolde. She was married to the tenor Maurice d'Oisly.
(18) 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."
(Source: Reid, Charles. 1962. Thomas Beecham. An Independent Biography. New York: E. P. Dutton & Co.)
(19) Herbert Langley as Valentine in Faust.
(20) 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).
"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."
(Source: Reid, Charles. 1962. Thomas Beecham. An Independent Biography. New York: E. P. Dutton & Co.)
(21) Gwen Trevitt as Barbarina in Marriage of Figaro (Set 3).
(22) Désirée Ellinger as Susanna in Marriage of Figaro (Set 1).
(23) Frederick Austin and Powell Edwards as The Count and Antonio in Marriage of Figaro (Set 1).
(24) Miriam Licette and Frederick Austin as The Countess Almaviva and the Count Almaviva in Marriage of Figaro (Set 1).
(25) Frederick Ranalow and Miriam Licette as Figaro and The Countess in Marriage of Figaro (Set 3).
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Sir Thomas Beecham Opera Company: Sir Thomas Beecham (1879-1961), the wealthy heir to the Beecham Pill manufacturer, established his Beecham Opera Company in 1915 with a short season at the Shaftesbury Theater in London. His company initially presented various English works such as Stanford's The Critic and Ethel Smyth's The Boatswain's Mate. It rapidly grew into a grand opera organization. However, Beecham's conflicting arrangements with his conducting duties at Covent Garden forced the company into liquidation by 1920. Beecham's company eventually evolved into the British National Opera Company. These postcards were published by the Rotary Photographic Company. There were at least 15 sets produced including The Marriage of Figaro (3 sets), Tristan and Isolde, Madame Butterfly, Othello, La Boheme, Ivan the Terrible, Aida, I Pagliacci, Cavalleria Rusticana, Louise, Boris Godounov, Faust, and Samson and Delilah. Each set came in a postcard envelope and cost one shilling.
