Ann Cargill
Encyclopedia
Ann Cargill (1760 – March 4, 1784) was a British
opera
diva
and celebrated beauty whose life and death were a sensation in London
at the close of the 18th century.
merchant and was a child star
, making her debut in November of 1771 at the age of eleven in Covent Garden Theatre singing the role of Titania in George Colman
's The Fairy Prince (music by Thomas Arne). She then played Sally in Colman's Man and Wife the same year. Her initial notices praised her beauty and good quality of voice. She remained attached to Covent Garden for the next few years.
In 1775, she sang oratorio
at Covent Garden and began the role of Clara in Richard Brinsley Sheridan
's The Duenna. However, although she was in great demand as Clara, she ran away from the theatre with the playwright and gunpowder maker Miles Peter Andrews
. She was only fifteen years old, and the scandal of their affair prompted Ann's father to get a court order restraining her to his house, but Ann had run away in response. The next autumn, she was contracted to sing the role of Polly in The Beggar's Opera
, the prima donna role, and thus, in the fall of 1776 her father intercepted her as she entered the theatre. However, the crowd restrained her father's men and demanded that she enter.
In 1779 and 1780, she was receiving ten pounds sterling a week as a singer, but she eloped with a Mr. Cargill to Edinburgh
. Mr. Cargill was a Scotsman who had dabbled in the theatre and who was using the name of "Mr. Doyle" to evade his creditors. In 1781, she returned to London and sang at the Haymarket Theatre in the summers and the Drury Lane Theatre
in the winters as Mrs. Cargill. In 1781, she was enormously popular in the role of Macheath in a cross-gendered production of The Beggar's Opera at Drury Lane, where all the male roles were played by women and all the female roles by men. She then ran off to Bath with her husband for the summer, returning for the breeches role
of Patie in Allan Ramsay
's The Gentle Shepherd and the female role of Marinetta in Richard Tickell
and Thomas Linley's Carnival of Venice.
George Colman the Younger
sued Mr. and Mrs. Cargill for breach of contract
for having switched theatres. When a court heard the case in 1781, it found that both of the defendants had been under twenty-one when they had signed their contracts, and therefore that the contracts were not enforceable. Ann Cargill, now at the height of her fame, went on tour. She played the summer of 1782 in Liverpool
.
and stationed in Calcutta, so she left England for India
. In 1783, she performed operatic parts in Calcutta, to tremendous applause, and her benefit night brought in "the astonishing sum of 12,000 rupees" (Baldwin and Wilson, 93). At the end of 1783, she took ship back to England on a ship with the same name as Henry Carey
's 1739 opera, the Nancy.
Her ship wrecked and sank off the Isles of Scilly
in February of 1784. Her body was found, dressed in a chemise, with an infant clutched in her arms. She was buried on Rosevear
then reburied at Old Town Church on St Mary's in the Isles of Scilly
, and newspaper accounts of her death and her "floating in her shift" with an infant at her bosom made her a tragic figure for the English press. In September 2008, British divers claimed to have found the wreck of the Nancy, further out from the Isles of Scilly than was previously thought.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
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...
diva
Diva
A diva is a celebrated female singer. The term is used to describe a woman of outstanding talent in the world of opera, and, by extension, in theatre, cinema and popular music. The meaning of diva is closely related to that of "prima donna"....
and celebrated beauty whose life and death were a sensation in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
at the close of the 18th century.
Life
She was born to a London coalCoal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
merchant and was a child star
Child star
Child star can refer to:* a child actor* a child singer*"Child Star," a song by The Unicorns from their 2003 album Who Will Cut Our Hair When We're Gone?...
, making her debut in November of 1771 at the age of eleven in Covent Garden Theatre singing the role of Titania in George Colman
George Colman the Elder
George Colman was an English dramatist and essayist, usually called "the Elder", and sometimes "George the First", to distinguish him from his son, George Colman the Younger....
's The Fairy Prince (music by Thomas Arne). She then played Sally in Colman's Man and Wife the same year. Her initial notices praised her beauty and good quality of voice. She remained attached to Covent Garden for the next few years.
In 1775, she sang oratorio
Oratorio
An oratorio is a large musical composition including an orchestra, a choir, and soloists. Like an opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias...
at Covent Garden and began the role of Clara in Richard Brinsley Sheridan
Richard Brinsley Sheridan
Richard Brinsley Butler Sheridan was an Irish-born playwright and poet and long-term owner of the London Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. For thirty-two years he was also a Whig Member of the British House of Commons for Stafford , Westminster and Ilchester...
's The Duenna. However, although she was in great demand as Clara, she ran away from the theatre with the playwright and gunpowder maker Miles Peter Andrews
Miles Peter Andrews
Miles Peter Andrews was an 18th century English playwright, gunpowder manufacturer and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1796 to 1814.-Biography:...
. She was only fifteen years old, and the scandal of their affair prompted Ann's father to get a court order restraining her to his house, but Ann had run away in response. The next autumn, she was contracted to sing the role of Polly in The Beggar's Opera
The Beggar's Opera
The Beggar's Opera is a ballad opera in three acts written in 1728 by John Gay with music arranged by Johann Christoph Pepusch. It is one of the watershed plays in Augustan drama and is the only example of the once thriving genre of satirical ballad opera to remain popular today...
, the prima donna role, and thus, in the fall of 1776 her father intercepted her as she entered the theatre. However, the crowd restrained her father's men and demanded that she enter.
In 1779 and 1780, she was receiving ten pounds sterling a week as a singer, but she eloped with a Mr. Cargill to Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
. Mr. Cargill was a Scotsman who had dabbled in the theatre and who was using the name of "Mr. Doyle" to evade his creditors. In 1781, she returned to London and sang at the Haymarket Theatre in the summers and the Drury Lane Theatre
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane is a West End theatre in Covent Garden, in the City of Westminster, a borough of London. The building faces Catherine Street and backs onto Drury Lane. The building standing today is the most recent in a line of four theatres at the same location dating back to 1663,...
in the winters as Mrs. Cargill. In 1781, she was enormously popular in the role of Macheath in a cross-gendered production of The Beggar's Opera at Drury Lane, where all the male roles were played by women and all the female roles by men. She then ran off to Bath with her husband for the summer, returning for the breeches role
Breeches role
A breeches role is a role in which an actress appears in male clothing .In opera it also refers to any male character that is sung and acted by a female singer...
of Patie in Allan Ramsay
Allan Ramsay (poet)
Allan Ramsay was a Scottish poet , playwright, publisher, librarian and wig-maker.-Life and career:...
's The Gentle Shepherd and the female role of Marinetta in Richard Tickell
Richard Tickell
-Life:He was the second son of the three sons and two daughters of John Tickell and his wife Esther Pierson - this made him a grandson of the poet Thomas Tickell....
and Thomas Linley's Carnival of Venice.
George Colman the Younger
George Colman the Younger
George Colman , known as "the Younger", English dramatist and miscellaneous writer, was the son of George Colman "the Elder".-Life:...
sued Mr. and Mrs. Cargill for breach of contract
Breach of contract
Breach of contract is a legal cause of action in which a binding agreement or bargained-for exchange is not honored by one or more of the parties to the contract by non-performance or interference with the other party's performance....
for having switched theatres. When a court heard the case in 1781, it found that both of the defendants had been under twenty-one when they had signed their contracts, and therefore that the contracts were not enforceable. Ann Cargill, now at the height of her fame, went on tour. She played the summer of 1782 in Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
.
Death
By 1783, she had a new love. Her lover was in the British East India CompanyBritish East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
and stationed in Calcutta, so she left England for India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. In 1783, she performed operatic parts in Calcutta, to tremendous applause, and her benefit night brought in "the astonishing sum of 12,000 rupees" (Baldwin and Wilson, 93). At the end of 1783, she took ship back to England on a ship with the same name as Henry Carey
Henry Carey (writer)
Henry Carey was an English poet, dramatist and song-writer. He is remembered as an anti-Walpolean satirist and also as a patriot. Several of his melodies continue to be sung today, and he was widely praised in the generation after his death...
's 1739 opera, the Nancy.
Her ship wrecked and sank off the Isles of Scilly
Isles of Scilly
The Isles of Scilly form an archipelago off the southwestern tip of the Cornish peninsula of Great Britain. The islands have had a unitary authority council since 1890, and are separate from the Cornwall unitary authority, but some services are combined with Cornwall and the islands are still part...
in February of 1784. Her body was found, dressed in a chemise, with an infant clutched in her arms. She was buried on Rosevear
Rosevear
Rosevear is a small uninhabited island in the Isles of Scilly, and part of the group of Western Rocks.The island became infamous because of the number of shipwrecks in the area. The ghost of opera singer Ann Cargill, who died when The Nancy was shipwrecked on Rosevear in 1784, is said to haunt the...
then reburied at Old Town Church on St Mary's in the Isles of Scilly
Isles of Scilly
The Isles of Scilly form an archipelago off the southwestern tip of the Cornish peninsula of Great Britain. The islands have had a unitary authority council since 1890, and are separate from the Cornwall unitary authority, but some services are combined with Cornwall and the islands are still part...
, and newspaper accounts of her death and her "floating in her shift" with an infant at her bosom made her a tragic figure for the English press. In September 2008, British divers claimed to have found the wreck of the Nancy, further out from the Isles of Scilly than was previously thought.