Gwen Catley
Encyclopedia
Gwen Catley was an English coloratura soprano
who sang in opera, concert and revues. She often sang on radio and television, and made numerous recordings of songs and arias, mostly in English. She was renowned for the clarity and agility of her voice particularly in florid parts, and her English diction was outstanding.
, Jenny Hyman and, privately, Julian Kimbell. The school's principal, Sir Landon Ronald
, who had been Dame Nellie Melba
's accompanist, said Catley reminded him of Melba. She won the Gold Medal but was prevented from accepting it by her father. She later won it again. In 1937 she sang with Sadler's Wells Opera, as the Queen of the Night in Mozart
's The Magic Flute
and Nannetta in Verdi
's Falstaff
. After a successful and sold-out 1938 debut at the Wigmore Hall
, which Landon Roland sponsored, she joined the BBC Chorus. She had a successful career, singing with the leading British orchestras.
In World War II she sang for a year in Jack Hylton
's revue Hi-de-Hi, where she was famed for her performances of "Caro nome" from Verdi's Rigoletto
. She also sang Gilda with the Carl Rosa Opera Company
during the war. In 1949 she sang Catherine Glover in a BBC studio broadcast of Bizet
's The Fair Maid of Perth
, with Richard Lewis
as Henry Smith and conducted by Sir Thomas Beecham
. She continued singing with the Carl Rosa company till 1957. In 1953 she took part in the first British broadcast of Stravinsky
's The Rake's Progress
. She often worked with the conductors Stanford Robinson
and his brother Eric Robinson
, who together account for many of her recordings.
She retired to Italy with her cellist husband Allen Ford, with whom she had a son. She returned to Britain to teach, her students including Judi Dench
for a production of Cabaret
.
Gwen Catley died in Hove
on 12 November 1996, aged 90.
Many of her recordings are still available. They include a Witch in the first complete recording of Purcell
's Dido and Aeneas
, with Nancy Evans
(Dido), Roy Henderson (Aeneas), conducted by Clarence Raybould
. She appears on The Record of Singing
: Volume 4, The Anglo-American School.
Coloratura soprano
A coloratura soprano is a type of operatic soprano who specializes in music that is distinguished by agile runs and leaps. The term coloratura refers to the elaborate ornamentation of a melody, which is a typical component of the music written for this voice...
who sang in opera, concert and revues. She often sang on radio and television, and made numerous recordings of songs and arias, mostly in English. She was renowned for the clarity and agility of her voice particularly in florid parts, and her English diction was outstanding.
Biography
Gwendoline Florence Catley was born in London in 1906. She studied at the Guildhall School of Music, where her chief singing teacher was the tenor Walter Hyde. Her other teachers included Sir Granville BantockGranville Bantock
Sir Granville Bantock was a British composer of classical music.-Biography:Granville Ransome Bantock was born in London. His father was a Scottish doctor. He was intended by his parents for the Indian Civil Service but was drawn into the musical world. His first teacher was Dr Gordon Saunders at...
, Jenny Hyman and, privately, Julian Kimbell. The school's principal, Sir Landon Ronald
Landon Ronald
Sir Landon Ronald was an English conductor, composer, pianist, singing teacher and administrator...
, who had been Dame Nellie Melba
Nellie Melba
Dame Nellie Melba GBE , born Helen "Nellie" Porter Mitchell, was an Australian operatic soprano. She became one of the most famous singers of the late Victorian Era and the early 20th century...
's accompanist, said Catley reminded him of Melba. She won the Gold Medal but was prevented from accepting it by her father. She later won it again. In 1937 she sang with Sadler's Wells Opera, as the Queen of the Night in Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
's The Magic Flute
The Magic Flute
The Magic Flute is an opera in two acts composed in 1791 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a Singspiel, a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue....
and Nannetta in Verdi
Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century...
's Falstaff
Falstaff (opera)
Falstaff is an operatic commedia lirica in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi, adapted by Arrigo Boito from Shakespeare's plays The Merry Wives of Windsor and scenes from Henry IV. It was Verdi's last opera, written in the composer's ninth decade, and only the second of his 26 operas to be a comedy...
. After a successful and sold-out 1938 debut at the Wigmore Hall
Wigmore Hall
Wigmore Hall is a leading international recital venue that specialises in hosting performances of chamber music and is best known for classical recitals of piano, song and instrumental music. It is located at 36 Wigmore Street, London, UK and was built to provide London with a venue that was both...
, which Landon Roland sponsored, she joined the BBC Chorus. She had a successful career, singing with the leading British orchestras.
In World War II she sang for a year in Jack Hylton
Jack Hylton
Jack Hylton was a British band leader and impresario.He was born John Greenhalgh Hilton in the Great Lever area of Bolton, Lancashire, the son of George Hilton, a cotton yarn twister. His father was an amateur singer at the local Labour Club and Jack learned piano to accompany him on the stage...
's revue Hi-de-Hi, where she was famed for her performances of "Caro nome" from Verdi's Rigoletto
Rigoletto
Rigoletto is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the play Le roi s'amuse by Victor Hugo. It was first performed at La Fenice in Venice on March 11, 1851...
. She also sang Gilda with the Carl Rosa Opera Company
Carl Rosa Opera Company
The Carl Rosa Opera Company was founded in 1873 by Carl August Nicholas Rosa, a German-born musical impresario, to present opera in English in London and the British provinces. The company survived Rosa's death in 1889, and continued to present opera in English on tour until 1960, when it was...
during the war. In 1949 she sang Catherine Glover in a BBC studio broadcast of Bizet
Georges Bizet
Georges Bizet formally Alexandre César Léopold Bizet, was a French composer, mainly of operas. In a career cut short by his early death, he achieved few successes before his final work, Carmen, became one of the most popular and frequently performed works in the entire opera repertory.During a...
's The Fair Maid of Perth
La jolie fille de Perth
La jolie fille de Perth is an opera in four acts by Georges Bizet , from a libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and Jules Adenis, after the novel by Sir Walter Scott...
, with Richard Lewis
Richard Lewis
Richard Lewis may refer to:* Richard Lewis , Welsh defendant a.k.a. Dic Penderyn* Richard Lewis , British religious leader* Richard Lewis , British religious leader...
as Henry Smith and conducted by Sir Thomas Beecham
Thomas Beecham
Sir Thomas Beecham, 2nd Baronet CH was an English conductor and impresario best known for his association with the London Philharmonic and the Royal Philharmonic orchestras. He was also closely associated with the Liverpool Philharmonic and Hallé orchestras...
. She continued singing with the Carl Rosa company till 1957. In 1953 she took part in the first British broadcast of Stravinsky
Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ; 6 April 1971) was a Russian, later naturalized French, and then naturalized American composer, pianist, and conductor....
's The Rake's Progress
The Rake's Progress
The Rake's Progress is an opera in three acts and an epilogue by Igor Stravinsky. The libretto, written by W. H. Auden and Chester Kallman, is based loosely on the eight paintings and engravings A Rake's Progress of William Hogarth, which Stravinsky had seen on May 2, 1947, in a Chicago...
. She often worked with the conductors Stanford Robinson
Stanford Robinson
Stanford Robinson OBE was an English conductor and composer, known for his work with the BBC. He remained a member of the BBC's staff until his retirement in 1966, founding or building up the organisation's choral groups, both amateur and professional.Between 1947 and 1950, Robinson was Assistant...
and his brother Eric Robinson
Eric Robinson (conductor)
Eric Robinson was a conductor and presenter of music for the BBC. He was also instrumental in bringing forth the Mellotron sampling keyboard...
, who together account for many of her recordings.
She retired to Italy with her cellist husband Allen Ford, with whom she had a son. She returned to Britain to teach, her students including Judi Dench
Judi Dench
Dame Judith Olivia "Judi" Dench, CH, DBE, FRSA is an English film, stage and television actress.Dench made her professional debut in 1957 with the Old Vic Company. Over the following few years she played in several of William Shakespeare's plays in such roles as Ophelia in Hamlet, Juliet in Romeo...
for a production of Cabaret
Cabaret (musical)
Cabaret is a musical based on a book written by Christopher Isherwood, music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb. The 1966 Broadway production became a hit and spawned a 1972 film as well as numerous subsequent productions....
.
Gwen Catley died in Hove
Hove
Hove is a town on the south coast of England, immediately to the west of its larger neighbour Brighton, with which it forms the unitary authority Brighton and Hove. It forms a single conurbation together with Brighton and some smaller towns and villages running along the coast...
on 12 November 1996, aged 90.
Many of her recordings are still available. They include a Witch in the first complete recording of Purcell
Henry Purcell
Henry Purcell – 21 November 1695), was an English organist and Baroque composer of secular and sacred music. Although Purcell incorporated Italian and French stylistic elements into his compositions, his legacy was a uniquely English form of Baroque music...
's Dido and Aeneas
Dido and Aeneas
Dido and Aeneas is an opera in a prologue and three acts by the English Baroque composer Henry Purcell to a libretto by Nahum Tate. The first known performance was at Josias Priest's girls' school in London no later than the summer of 1688. The story is based on Book IV of Virgil's Aeneid...
, with Nancy Evans
Nancy Evans
Nancy Evans OBE was an English mezzo-soprano who had a notable career as a concert and opera singer. She is particularly associated with Benjamin Britten who wrote his song cycle, A Charm of Lullabies, and the role of Nancy in his opera Albert Herring for her.-Biography:Evans was born in Liverpool...
(Dido), Roy Henderson (Aeneas), conducted by Clarence Raybould
Clarence Raybould
Clarence Raybould was born in Birmingham on 28 June 1886, to Robert J Raybould , a printer compositor, and Elen A Raybould , and died in Bideford on 27 March 1972. He was an English conductor, pianist and composer who conducted works ranging from musical comedy and operetta, Gilbert and Sullivan...
. She appears on The Record of Singing
The Record of Singing
The Record of Singing is a compilation of classical-music singing from the first half of the 20th century, the era of the 78-rpm record.It was issued on LP by EMI, successor to the British company His Master's Voice — perhaps the leading organization in the early history of audio recording.The...
: Volume 4, The Anglo-American School.