Charles Goulding
Encyclopedia
Charles Goulding was an English
opera
tic tenor
best known for his performances with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company
in the Gilbert and Sullivan
repertory.
and became an orphan as an infant. He was brought up by relatives in Bristol
, England, where he sang as a choirboy
at St. Mary Redcliffe beginning at the age of eight. He then sang at Colston Hall
with Dame Clara Butt
, Charles Santley
, and Saunders at one of the Triennial Leeds
Festivals. After this, he performed with the Royal Orpheus Glee Club and the Bristol Amateur Operatic Society. Goulding served with distinction in the army during the World War I
and was wounded several times.
In 1919, Goulding joined the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company on tour, first performing in the chorus, but soon playing principal tenor roles in the Savoy opera
s. His first roles, in the summer of that year, were Nanki-Poo in The Mikado
, Colonel Fairfax in The Yeomen of the Guard
, and Marco in The Gondoliers
. He became the main tenor in one of the organisation's touring companies (known as the "New" company) and played Nanki-Poo, Fairfax, Marco and Earl Tolloller in Iolanthe
for the season, later singing the romantic baritone role of Strephon in Iolanthe instead. In 1921, he added to his repertoire the role of Frederic in The Pirates of Penzance
.
Goulding rejoined the main touring company (known as the "Repertory" company) in 1923, playing Alexis in The Sorcerer
, Frederic, Tolloller, Prince Hilarion in Princess Ida
Fairfax, Marco, and splitting the roles of Mr. Box in Cox and Box
and Richard Dauntless in Ruddigore
with another tenor. The next season, he played the role of the Duke of Dunstable in Patience
for the first time, and in the 1925-26 season, he added the role of Ralph Rackstraw in H.M.S. Pinafore
to his list of characters sharing some of these roles from time to time. In 1926 he first played the Defendant in Trial by Jury
.
returned to the company to sing Ralph, Frederic, Nanki-Poo, Fairfax, Marco and Hilarion for several months. At that time, Goulding took over the role of Cyril in Princess Ida and shared Tolloller with Oldham, while continuing with the other characters. He then resumed with all of the characters over the next few seasons until 1934. The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company traveled to New York City
in the autumn of 1934, but Martin Beck
, the manager of the eponymous theatre, insisted that the more famous Oldham play the tenor roles.
Goulding was able to rejoin the Company in February 1935, replacing Oldham for the rest of the North American tour, playing nearly all the tenor roles. Returning to England, Goulding split the tenor roles in 1935-36, generally with John Dean
. The company scheduled another U.S. tour for the following season with Oldham, and, disappointed, Goulding left the company.
Afterwards, Goulding sang in a number of Gilbert and Sullivan concerts, and he taught singing, as well as directing Gilbert and Sullivan for amateur companies. Goulding often attended functions of the Gilbert and Sullivan Society and was an avid golfer. He was also a member of the St. Augustine Lodge of Freemasons.
Goulding died at the age of 52, only three years after leaving the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company.
as Nanki-Poo in The Mikado (broadcast in 1926) and Mr. Box in Cox & Box (broadcast in 1929), as well as Ralph in H.M.S. Pinafore (1930) and Cyril in Princess Ida (1932; Oldham sang Hilarion), as well as live broadcasts of excerpts of The Mikado (as Nanki Poo) in 1932 and 1933, The Gondoliers (as Marco) in 1932 and Yeomen (as Fairfax) in 1932 and 1935, with the D'Oyly Carte. Goulding also played Nanki-Poo in a four-minute silent promotional film made of the D'Oyly Carte Mikado in 1926.
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...
tic tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
best known for his performances 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...
in the Gilbert and Sullivan
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...
repertory.
Early years
Goulding was born in IrelandIreland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
and became an orphan as an infant. He was brought up by relatives in Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, England, where he sang as a choirboy
Choirboy
A choirboy is a boy member of a choir, also known as a treble.As a derisive slang term, it refers to a do-gooder or someone who is morally upright, in the same sense that "Boy Scout" refers to someone who is considered honorable or conscientious.- History :The use of choirboys in Christian...
at St. Mary Redcliffe beginning at the age of eight. He then sang at Colston Hall
Colston Hall
The Colston Hall is a concert hall and grade II listed building situated on Colston Street, Bristol, England. A popular venue catering for a variety of different entertainers, it seats approximately 2,075 and provides licensed bars, a café and restaurant....
with Dame Clara Butt
Clara Butt
Dame Clara Ellen Butt DBE , sometimes called Clara Butt-Rumford after her marriage, was an English contralto with a remarkably imposing voice and a surprisingly agile singing technique. Her main career was as a recitalist and concert singer.-Early life and career:Clara Butt was born in Southwick,...
, Charles Santley
Charles Santley
Sir Charles Santley was an English-born opera and oratorio star with a bravuraFrom the Italian verb bravare, to show off. A florid, ostentatious style or a passage of music requiring technical skill technique who became the most eminent English baritone and male concert singer of the Victorian era...
, and Saunders at one of the Triennial Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
Festivals. After this, he performed with the Royal Orpheus Glee Club and the Bristol Amateur Operatic Society. Goulding served with distinction in the army during the World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and was wounded several times.
In 1919, Goulding joined the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company on tour, first performing in the chorus, but soon playing principal tenor roles in the Savoy opera
Savoy opera
The Savoy Operas denote a style of comic opera that developed in Victorian England in the late 19th century, with W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan as the original and most successful practitioners. The name is derived from the Savoy Theatre, which impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte built to house...
s. His first roles, in the summer of that year, were Nanki-Poo 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...
, Colonel Fairfax in The Yeomen of the Guard
The Yeomen of the Guard
The Yeomen of the Guard; or, The Merryman and His Maid, is a Savoy Opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It premiered at the Savoy Theatre on 3 October 1888, and ran for 423 performances...
, and Marco 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...
. He became the main tenor in one of the organisation's touring companies (known as the "New" company) and played Nanki-Poo, Fairfax, Marco and Earl Tolloller 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....
for the season, later singing the romantic baritone role of Strephon in Iolanthe instead. In 1921, he added to his repertoire the role of Frederic in The Pirates of Penzance
The Pirates of Penzance
The Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. The opera's official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on 31 December 1879, where the show was well received by both audiences...
.
Goulding rejoined the main touring company (known as the "Repertory" company) in 1923, playing Alexis in The Sorcerer
The Sorcerer
The Sorcerer is a two-act comic opera, with a libretto by W. S. Gilbert and music by Arthur Sullivan. It was the British duo's third operatic collaboration. The plot of The Sorcerer is based on a Christmas story, An Elixir of Love, that Gilbert wrote for The Graphic magazine in 1876...
, Frederic, Tolloller, Prince Hilarion 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...
Fairfax, Marco, and splitting the roles of Mr. Box in Cox and Box
Cox and Box
Cox and Box; or, The Long-Lost Brothers, is a one-act comic opera with a libretto by F. C. Burnand and music by Arthur Sullivan, based on the 1847 farce Box and Cox by John Maddison Morton. It was Sullivan's first successful comic opera. The story concerns a landlord who lets a room to two...
and Richard Dauntless 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...
with another tenor. The next season, he played the role of the Duke of Dunstable in Patience
Patience (opera)
Patience; or, Bunthorne's Bride, is a comic opera in two acts with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. First performed at the Opera Comique, London, on 23 April 1881, it moved to the 1,292-seat Savoy Theatre on 10 October 1881, where it was the first theatrical production in the...
for the first time, and in the 1925-26 season, he added the role of Ralph Rackstraw in H.M.S. Pinafore
H.M.S. Pinafore
H.M.S. Pinafore; or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It opened at the Opera Comique in London, England, on 25 May 1878 and ran for 571 performances, which was the second-longest run of any musical...
to his list of characters sharing some of these roles from time to time. In 1926 he first played the Defendant 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...
.
Later years
Goulding continued to play most of these tenor roles until the autumn of 1929, when Derek OldhamDerek Oldham
Derek Oldham was an English singer and actor, best known for his performances in the tenor roles of the Savoy Operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company....
returned to the company to sing Ralph, Frederic, Nanki-Poo, Fairfax, Marco and Hilarion for several months. At that time, Goulding took over the role of Cyril in Princess Ida and shared Tolloller with Oldham, while continuing with the other characters. He then resumed with all of the characters over the next few seasons until 1934. The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company traveled to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in the autumn of 1934, but Martin Beck
Martin Beck
Martin Beck is a fictional Swedish police detective who is the main character in a series of ten novels by Sjöwall and Wahlöö, collectively titled The Story of a Crime...
, the manager of the eponymous theatre, insisted that the more famous Oldham play the tenor roles.
Goulding was able to rejoin the Company in February 1935, replacing Oldham for the rest of the North American tour, playing nearly all the tenor roles. Returning to England, Goulding split the tenor roles in 1935-36, generally with John Dean
John Dean (singer)
John Dean was an English singer and actor, best known for his performances in the tenor roles of the Savoy Operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company.-Life and career:...
. The company scheduled another U.S. tour for the following season with Oldham, and, disappointed, Goulding left the company.
Afterwards, Goulding sang in a number of Gilbert and Sullivan concerts, and he taught singing, as well as directing Gilbert and Sullivan for amateur companies. Goulding often attended functions of the Gilbert and Sullivan Society and was an avid golfer. He was also a member of the St. Augustine Lodge of Freemasons.
Goulding died at the age of 52, only three years after leaving the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company.
Recordings
Goulding recorded the roles of Ralph Rackstraw on the 1920's H.M.V. recording of H.M.S. Pinafore, which was re-issued on a long-play record in 1955. He also sang for BBC radioBBC Radio
BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927. For a history of BBC radio prior to 1927 see British Broadcasting Company...
as Nanki-Poo in The Mikado (broadcast in 1926) and Mr. Box in Cox & Box (broadcast in 1929), as well as Ralph in H.M.S. Pinafore (1930) and Cyril in Princess Ida (1932; Oldham sang Hilarion), as well as live broadcasts of excerpts of The Mikado (as Nanki Poo) in 1932 and 1933, The Gondoliers (as Marco) in 1932 and Yeomen (as Fairfax) in 1932 and 1935, with the D'Oyly Carte. Goulding also played Nanki-Poo in a four-minute silent promotional film made of the D'Oyly Carte Mikado in 1926.