Henry Bracy
Encyclopedia
Henry Bracy was a Welsh
tenor
who is notable as the creator of the role of Prince Hilarion in the Gilbert and Sullivan
comic opera Princess Ida
. Bracy was often a lead tenor within the operettas in which he appeared. He was married to actress Clara T. Bracy
, the sister of Lydia Thompson
. He was one of the most popular comic tenors of the Victorian era
.
After beginning his career in Plymouth, Bracy spent four years performing at London's Gaiety Theatre
in the early 1870s. He and his wife then travelled to Australia, where they performed in French operetta
s for the rest of the decade. They returned to Britain in 1880, continuing in operetta roles. In 1884, Bracy originated the role of Hilarion, after which he further built his reputation in British comic opera
and operetta. In 1888, the Bracys returned to Australia. After a season at the Sydney Opera House
and touring in operettas, the Bracys joined the J. C. Williamson
organization, in which he was employed until 1914 as a performer, stage manager, stage director and casting agent.
in South Wales, the son of an ironworks manager.
He began his theatrical career in 1866 at the Plymouth Theatre and spent three seasons with the company before making his London debut at John Hollingshead
's Gaiety Theatre
in 1870. Bracy appeared at the Gaiety for nearly four years. In 1873, Bracy was employed as a principal tenor with the Opera Comique
in London.
In September 1873, Bracy and his wife, Clara T. Bracy
, nee Thompson (sister of Lydia Thompson
), travelled to Australia to perform in Jacques Offenbach
's operetta Lischen et Fritzchen at the Theatre Royal in Melbourne
, and Bracy appeared in 1874 as Rosencrantz in Hamlet
. They continued in various parts in Australia before being engaged by Irish musical impresario William Saurin Lyster
to lead a season of French operetta, with Bracy also stage managing. For Lyster, they performed in operettas for five years including in Lecocq
's La fille de Madame Angot
and Giroflé Girofla. Offenbach pieces included The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein, La belle Hélène
, Barbe-bleue, La Périchole
, La princesse de Trébizonde and The Brigands, and Hervé
's Chilpéric
was given. These were followed by the first Australian production of Les cloches de Corneville
. Clara was well received by the press. During these years, the couple took a tour of the United States in 1876. In 1880, the couple returned to Britain, where Bracy undertook the role of Hector in the hit London production of Madame Favart
, replacing Walter H. Fisher
. He also appeared in roles during the early 1880s in Les Mousquetaires (1880 at the Globe Theatre
); as Frittelini in Audran's
long-running production of La mascotte
(1881 at the Comedy Theatre), in which his song, "Love is Blind" was a great success; and, at the Avenue Theatre, in Madame Favart (1882), Bucalossi's Les Manteaux Noirs (1882), Olivette (1883), La Belle Lurette (1883) and Bluebeard (1883).
In 1883, as a principal tenor of the London stage, he was approached by the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company
to create the role of Prince Hilarion for Gilbert and Sullivan
's new comic opera Princess Ida
. The production ran at the Savoy Theatre
from January 1884, and Bracy left the company in October 1884, before the end of the run. The Times wrote of his performance on the first night, "Mr. Bracy was a sprightly, although somewhat insipid, Hilarion". The Athenæum approved of his vocal performance.
Bracy then continued to build his reputation in comic opera
parts in London, in productions including The Grand Mogul, by Edmond Audran and H. B. Farnie
, at the Comedy Theatre, with Florence St. John
, Frank Wyatt
and Fred Leslie. and The Lady of the Locket, with Hayden Coffin at the Empire Theatre (1885), followed by a succession of productions at the Comedy, including Offenbach's Barbe-bleu, in which he played the title role, the London première of Jakobowski
's Erminie
(1885), with St. John (and later Marie Tempest
) and Wyatt (1885), Caryll
's The Lily of Leoville (1886), and Millöcker
's The Beggar Student (1886). At the Strand Theatre
, he appeared in Cellier's
The Sultan of Mocha (1887). He managed some of these productions, sustaining heavy losses. In 1887, he participated as the Defendant in a performance of Trial by Jury
for the benefit of Amy Roselle
. Performers included Rutland Barrington
, Richard Temple, Arthur Roberts and Geraldine Ulmar
as principals, and W. S. Penley
, George Grossmith
, Kate Bishop
and Marion Terry
in the chorus. His last major role in Britain was the first London production of Gustave Michiels's Babette, with Florence St John at the Strand in 1888. His farewell to the West End
stage was a special matinée at the Savoy Theatre, put at his disposal by Richard D'Oyly Carte
, to mark his departure for Australia. Artists appearing included Williams, John Le Hay
, Courtice Pounds
, Durward Lely
, Marie Tempest, Ben Davies
, Coffin, Roberts and, in Cox and Box
, Grossmith, Arthur Cecil
and Temple.
for a season, conducted by Henri Kowalski, in Kowalski's Moustique, The Beggar Student and Flotow
's Martha
, in which he was praised for his acting and singing. He was also praised for his performance in Moustique: "Mr Henry Bracy sang, as he always does with ease and sweetness, and greatly strengthened the cast.... We could well afford to listen to Mr Bracy's pleasing voice and clear enunciation in one, or two more songs than those at present set down for him." Bracy then directed productions for John Solomon's English and Comic Opera Company for about a year, earning good notices for his roles in the productions. For example, in that company's production of The Beggar Student, a reviewer noted, "Mr. Henry Bracy has returned to all his old popularity and in his impersonation of the leading character, shows great animation and naturalness, and his singing is warmly applauded. In 1890, the Bracys led their own company in productions of The Sultan of Mocha, The Beggar Student, and The Lady of the Locket at the Criterion Theatre.
For J. C. Williamson
's Royal Comic Opera Company, he had performed in Iolanthe
in 1888, and in 1890 Bracy rejoined that company and was directing their Gilbert and Sullivan operas, including The Gondoliers
(1890), Princess Ida (1893), H.M.S. Pinafore
(1895), The Yeomen of the Guard
(1896). He and Clara also performed in some of the productions, including non-Gilbert and Sullivan productions such as Planquette
's The Old Guard, Audran
's La cigale, Cellier's Dorothy
and Pepita. In 1896, Williamson and George Musgrove
disbanded the company briefly, and Bracy again tried his hand at theatre management, touring with his own troupe for nine months in 1897. Again sustaining heavy losses, he declared bankruptcy.
Bracy was re-engaged by Williamson and managed concert tours by Emma Albani
in 1898 and Ada Crossley
in 1903, and he directed the Bel Sorel season of grand opera. In Bracy resumed directing Williamson's Gilbert and Sullivan and other comic opera productions, in which he usually also appeared in the leading tenor role, including Yeomen (1904), The Sorcerer
(1905), Princess Ida (1905), The Mikado
(1905), The Gondoliers (1905), and the first Australian production of Utopia, Limited
(1905). His last role as a tenor was as Colonel Fairfax in Yeomen in 1908. He then devoted his full time to management, casting and directing for Williamson. For example, in 1910, he directed the first Australian production of Puccini
's Madame Butterfly (in English). Of his direction, The Mercury opined, "He was truly an artist, and productions that were under his direction were notable for their finish".
Clara moved to California and in 1908 appeared in D. W. Griffith
's 1908 movie The Red Girl. Clara appeared in 90 films, becoming one of the earliest film actresses. Bracy and his wife had two sons, one of whom, Sidney Bracy, appeared on stage with Williamson and then in Britain and America before becoming a successful film actor. Their other son, Philip, who became a West End
actor, was wounded as a young soldier. Bracy retired in 1914; Williamson had died in 1913, leaving Bracy a bequest, and upon his retirement, the company also gave him a generous pension. He then visited San Francisco, where his wife was residing while performing for Charles Frohman
.
Bracy died of Cerebrovascular disease
in Darlinghurst, Sydney, Australia, in 1917. He was survived by Clara and his two sons and was buried at Waverley Cemetery
. At the time of Bracy's death, Clara had been living in New York with her married son, Sydney. Philip travelled from Melbourne to attend his father's funeral.
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
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...
who is notable as the creator of the role of Prince Hilarion 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...
comic opera 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...
. Bracy was often a lead tenor within the operettas in which he appeared. He was married to actress Clara T. Bracy
Clara T. Bracy
Clara T. Bracy was an English stage and silent film actress.-Life and career:Bracy was born Clara Thompson in London, England. Her father was Philip Thompson , and her mother was Eliza . Her father owned the Sheridan Knowles, a public house in London...
, the sister of Lydia Thompson
Lydia Thompson
Lydia Thompson, born Eliza Hodges Thompson , was an English dancer, actress and theatrical producer....
. He was one of the most popular comic tenors of the Victorian era
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
.
After beginning his career in Plymouth, Bracy spent four years performing at London's Gaiety Theatre
Gaiety Theatre, London
The Gaiety Theatre, London was a West End theatre in London, located on Aldwych at the eastern end of the Strand. The theatre was established as the Strand Musick Hall , in 1864 on the former site of the Lyceum Theatre. It was rebuilt several times, but closed from the beginning of World War II...
in the early 1870s. He and his wife then travelled to Australia, where they performed in French operetta
Operetta
Operetta is a genre of light opera, light in terms both of music and subject matter. It is also closely related, in English-language works, to forms of musical theatre.-Origins:...
s for the rest of the decade. They returned to Britain in 1880, continuing in operetta roles. In 1884, Bracy originated the role of Hilarion, after which he further built his reputation in British comic opera
Comic opera
Comic opera denotes a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending.Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a new operatic genre, opera buffa, emerged as an alternative to opera seria...
and operetta. In 1888, the Bracys returned to Australia. After a season at the Sydney Opera House
Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in the Australian city of Sydney. It was conceived and largely built by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, finally opening in 1973 after a long gestation starting with his competition-winning design in 1957...
and touring in operettas, the Bracys joined the J. C. Williamson
J. C. Williamson
James Cassius Williamson was an American actor and later Australia's foremost theatrical manager, founding J. C. Williamson Ltd....
organization, in which he was employed until 1914 as a performer, stage manager, stage director and casting agent.
Early life and career
Bracy was born in 1846 as Samuel Thomas Dunn in MaestegMaesteg
Maesteg is a town and community in Bridgend County Borough, Wales. Maesteg lies at the northernmost end of the Llynfi Valley, close to the border with Neath Port Talbot. In 2001, Maesteg had a population of 17,859, but it is now at an estimate of 20,000....
in South Wales, the son of an ironworks manager.
He began his theatrical career in 1866 at the Plymouth Theatre and spent three seasons with the company before making his London debut at John Hollingshead
John Hollingshead
John Hollingshead was an English theatrical impresario, journalist and writer during the latter half of the 19th century. He is best remembered as the first manager of the Gaiety Theatre, London...
's Gaiety Theatre
Gaiety Theatre, London
The Gaiety Theatre, London was a West End theatre in London, located on Aldwych at the eastern end of the Strand. The theatre was established as the Strand Musick Hall , in 1864 on the former site of the Lyceum Theatre. It was rebuilt several times, but closed from the beginning of World War II...
in 1870. Bracy appeared at the Gaiety for nearly four years. In 1873, Bracy was employed as a principal tenor with the Opera Comique
Opera Comique
The Opera Comique was a 19th-century theatre constructed in Westminster, London, between Wych Street and Holywell Street with entrances on the East Strand. It opened in 1870 and was demolished in 1902, to make way for the construction of the Aldwych and Kingsway...
in London.
In September 1873, Bracy and his wife, Clara T. Bracy
Clara T. Bracy
Clara T. Bracy was an English stage and silent film actress.-Life and career:Bracy was born Clara Thompson in London, England. Her father was Philip Thompson , and her mother was Eliza . Her father owned the Sheridan Knowles, a public house in London...
, nee Thompson (sister of Lydia Thompson
Lydia Thompson
Lydia Thompson, born Eliza Hodges Thompson , was an English dancer, actress and theatrical producer....
), travelled to Australia to perform in Jacques Offenbach
Jacques Offenbach
Jacques Offenbach was a Prussian-born French composer, cellist and impresario. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s–1870s and his uncompleted opera The Tales of Hoffmann. He was a powerful influence on later composers of the operetta genre, particularly Johann Strauss, Jr....
's operetta Lischen et Fritzchen at the Theatre Royal in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, and Bracy appeared in 1874 as Rosencrantz in Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
. They continued in various parts in Australia before being engaged by Irish musical impresario William Saurin Lyster
William Saurin Lyster
William Saurin Lyster , was an impresario, active in Australia.Lyster was born in Dublin, the third son of Chaworth Lyster, a captain in the army, and his wife Anne, née Keightly. His uncle was William Saurin, attorney-general for Ireland, and was partly of French extraction...
to lead a season of French operetta, with Bracy also stage managing. For Lyster, they performed in operettas for five years including in Lecocq
Alexandre Charles Lecocq
Alexandre Charles Lecocq was a French musical composer. He was admitted into the Conservatoire in 1849, being already an accomplished pianist. He studied under François Bazin, François Benoist, and Fromental Halévy, winning the first prize for harmony in 1850, and the second prize for fugue in 1852...
's La fille de Madame Angot
La fille de Madame Angot
La fille de Madame Angot is an opéra comique in three acts by Charles Lecocq. The French text was by Clairville, Paul Siraudin and Victor Koning.-Performance history:...
and Giroflé Girofla. Offenbach pieces included The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein, La belle Hélène
La belle Hélène
La belle Hélène , opéra bouffe in three acts, is an operetta by Jacques Offenbach to an original French libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy...
, Barbe-bleue, La Périchole
La Périchole
La Périchole is an opéra bouffe in three acts by Jacques Offenbach. Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy wrote the French-language libretto based on the 1829 one act play Le carrosse du Saint-Sacrement by Prosper Mérimée, which was revived on 13 March 1850 at the Théâtre-Français...
, La princesse de Trébizonde and The Brigands, and Hervé
Hervé (composer)
Hervé , real name Louis Auguste Florimond Ronger, was a French singer, composer, librettist, conductor and scene painter, whom Ernest Newman, following Reynaldo Hahn, credited with inventing the genre of operetta in Paris.-Life:Hervé was born in Houdain near Arras...
's Chilpéric
Chilpéric (operetta)
Chilpéric is an opéra bouffe with libretto and music by Hervé, first produced in Paris on 24 October 1868 at the Théâtre des Folies-Dramatique in Paris...
was given. These were followed by the first Australian production of Les cloches de Corneville
Les cloches de Corneville
Les cloches de Corneville is an operetta in three acts, composed by Robert Planquette to a French libretto by Louis Clairville and Charles Gabet based on a play by Gabet.In 1876, the director of the Théâtre des Folies-Dramatiques, Louis Cantin, hired Planquette to compose the operetta,...
. Clara was well received by the press. During these years, the couple took a tour of the United States in 1876. In 1880, the couple returned to Britain, where Bracy undertook the role of Hector in the hit London production of Madame Favart
Madame Favart
Madame Favart is an opéra comique, or operetta, in three acts by Jacques Offenbach. The French libretto was written by Alfred Duru and Henri Charles Chivot.-Performance history:...
, replacing Walter H. Fisher
Walter H. Fisher
Walter Henry Fisher was an English singer and actor of the Victorian era best known as a member of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company and the creator of the role of the Defendant in Gilbert and Sullivan's 1875 opera Trial by Jury...
. He also appeared in roles during the early 1880s in Les Mousquetaires (1880 at the Globe Theatre
Globe Theatre (Newcastle Street)
The Globe was a Victorian theatre built in 1868 and demolished in 1902. It was the third of five London theatres to bear the name. It was also known at various times as the Royal Globe Theatre or Globe Theatre Royal. Its repertoire consisted mainly of comedies and musical shows...
); as Frittelini in Audran's
Edmond Audran
Achille Edmond Audran was a French composer best known for several internationally successful operettas, including Les noces d'Olivette , La mascotte , Gillette de Narbonne , La cigale et la fourmi , Miss Helyett , and La poupée .After Audran's initial success in Paris, his works also became a...
long-running production of La mascotte
La mascotte
La mascotte is an opéra comique by Edmond Audran. The French libretto was by Alfred Duru and Henri Charles Chivot. The story concerns a farm girl who is believed to bring good luck to whoever possesses her, so long as she remains a virgin...
(1881 at the Comedy Theatre), in which his song, "Love is Blind" was a great success; and, at the Avenue Theatre, in Madame Favart (1882), Bucalossi's Les Manteaux Noirs (1882), Olivette (1883), La Belle Lurette (1883) and Bluebeard (1883).
In 1883, as a principal tenor of the London stage, he was approached by 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...
to create the role of Prince Hilarion for 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...
's new comic opera 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...
. The production ran at the Savoy Theatre
Savoy Theatre
The Savoy Theatre is a West End theatre located in the Strand in the City of Westminster, London, England. The theatre opened on 10 October 1881 and was built by Richard D'Oyly Carte on the site of the old Savoy Palace as a showcase for the popular series of comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan,...
from January 1884, and Bracy left the company in October 1884, before the end of the run. The Times wrote of his performance on the first night, "Mr. Bracy was a sprightly, although somewhat insipid, Hilarion". The Athenæum approved of his vocal performance.
Bracy then continued to build his reputation in comic opera
Comic opera
Comic opera denotes a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending.Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a new operatic genre, opera buffa, emerged as an alternative to opera seria...
parts in London, in productions including The Grand Mogul, by Edmond Audran and H. B. Farnie
Henry Brougham Farnie
Henry Brougham Farnie , often called H. B. Farnie, was a British librettist and adapter of French operettas and an author...
, at the Comedy Theatre, with Florence St. John
Florence St. John
Florence St. John , was an English singer and actress of the late Victorian and Edwardian eras famous for her roles in operetta, musical burlesque, music hall, opera and, later, comic plays.-Life and career:...
, Frank Wyatt
Frank Wyatt
Frank Wyatt was an English actor, singer, theatre manager and playwright.In a two-decade career on stage, Wyatt is best remembered for his roles with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company from 1889 to 1891, and in particular for creating the role of the Duke of Plaza-Toro in Gilbert and Sullivan's hit...
and Fred Leslie. and The Lady of the Locket, with Hayden Coffin at the Empire Theatre (1885), followed by a succession of productions at the Comedy, including Offenbach's Barbe-bleu, in which he played the title role, the London première of Jakobowski
Edward Jakobowski
Edward Jakobowski was an English composer best known for writing the comic opera Erminie. Jakobowski was a significant figure on the London musical stage during the last two decades of the 19th Century. He did not challenge Sullivan, nor quite equal Fred Clay or Alfred Cellier but his gift of...
's Erminie
Erminie
Erminie is a comic opera in two acts composed by Edward Jakobowski with a libretto by Claxson Bellamy and Harry Paulton, based loosely on Charles Selby's 1834 Robert Macaire...
(1885), with St. John (and later Marie Tempest
Marie Tempest
Dame Marie Tempest DBE was an English singer and actress known as the "queen of her profession".Tempest became the most famous soprano in late Victorian light opera and Edwardian musical comedies. Later, she became a leading comic actress and toured widely in North America and elsewhere...
) and Wyatt (1885), Caryll
Ivan Caryll
Félix Marie Henri Tilkin , better known by his pen name Ivan Caryll, was a Belgian composer of operettas and Edwardian musical comedies in the English language...
's The Lily of Leoville (1886), and Millöcker
Karl Millöcker
Carl Joseph Millöcker , was an Austrian composer of operettas and a conductor.He was born in Vienna, where he studied the flute at the Vienna Conservatory. While holding various conducting posts in the city, he began to compose operettas...
's The Beggar Student (1886). At the Strand Theatre
Royal Strand Theatre
The Royal Strand Theatre was located in Strand in the City of Westminster. The theatre was built on the site of a panorama in 1832, and in 1882 was rebuilt by the prolific theatre architect Charles J. Phipps...
, he appeared in Cellier's
Alfred Cellier
Alfred Cellier was an English composer, orchestrator and conductor.In addition to conducting and music directing the original productions of several of the most famous Gilbert and Sullivan works and writing the overtures to some of them, Cellier conducted at many theatres in London, New York and...
The Sultan of Mocha (1887). He managed some of these productions, sustaining heavy losses. In 1887, he participated as the Defendant in a performance of 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...
for the benefit of Amy Roselle
Amy Roselle
Amy Roselle was an English actress who performed in Britain, the U.S. and Australia. She specialised in Shakespearean roles but also played parts in contemporary dramas. She married Arthur Dacre, and the two toured together with their own theatre company, eventually traveling to Australia...
. Performers included Rutland Barrington
Rutland Barrington
Rutland Barrington was an English singer, actor, comedian, and Edwardian musical comedy star. Best remembered for originating the lyric baritone roles in the Gilbert and Sullivan operas from 1877 to 1896, his performing career spanned more than four decades...
, Richard Temple, Arthur Roberts and Geraldine Ulmar
Geraldine Ulmar
Geraldine Ulmar was an American singer and actress, best known for her performances in soprano roles of the Gilbert and Sullivan operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company.-Life and career:...
as principals, and W. S. Penley
W. S. Penley
William Sydney Penley was an English actor, singer and comedian best remembered as producer and star of the phenomenally successful 1892 Brandon Thomas farce, Charley's Aunt and as the Reverend Robert Spalding in many productions of The Private Secretary.-Life and career:Penley was born at...
, George Grossmith
George Grossmith
George Grossmith was an English comedian, writer, composer, actor, and singer. His performing career spanned more than four decades...
, Kate Bishop
Kate Bishop (actress)
Kate Bishop was an English actress from Bristol, a member of a theatrical family. Her brother and daughter were also successful actors. Her greatest success was in Our Boys, which ran for more than four years in London...
and Marion Terry
Marion Terry
Marion Bessie Terry was an English actress. In a career spanning half a century, she played leading roles in more than 125 plays. Always in the shadow of her more famous sister Ellen, Terry nevertheless achieved considerable success in the plays of W. S...
in the chorus. His last major role in Britain was the first London production of Gustave Michiels's Babette, with Florence St John at the Strand in 1888. His farewell to the West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
stage was a special matinée at the Savoy Theatre, put at his disposal by Richard D'Oyly Carte
Richard D'Oyly Carte
Richard D'Oyly Carte was an English talent agent, theatrical impresario, composer and hotelier during the latter half of the Victorian era...
, to mark his departure for Australia. Artists appearing included Williams, John Le Hay
John Le Hay
John Le Hay was the stage name of John Healy was an Irish-born singer and actor best remembered for his portrayal of the comic baritone roles in the Savoy Operas.-Early career:...
, Courtice Pounds
Courtice Pounds
Charles Courtice Pounds , better known by the stage name Courtice Pounds, was an English singer and actor known for his performances in the tenor roles of the Savoy Operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company and his later roles in Shakespeare plays and Edwardian musical comedies.As a young member...
, Durward Lely
Durward Lely
Durward Lely was a Scottish opera singer primarily known as the creator of five tenor roles in Gilbert and Sullivan's comic operas, including Nanki-Poo in The Mikado....
, Marie Tempest, Ben Davies
Ben Davies (tenor)
Ben Davies was a Welsh tenor singer, who appeared in opera with the Carl Rosa Opera Company, in operetta and light opera, and on the concert and oratorio platform...
, Coffin, Roberts and, 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...
, Grossmith, Arthur Cecil
Arthur Cecil
Arthur Cecil Blunt, better known as Arthur Cecil was an English actor, comedian, playwright and theatre manager. He is probably best remembered for playing the role of Box in the long-running production of Cox and Box, by Arthur Sullivan and F. C...
and Temple.
Later years
In 1888 the Bracys returned to Australia, performing in concerts and then at the Sydney Opera HouseSydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in the Australian city of Sydney. It was conceived and largely built by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, finally opening in 1973 after a long gestation starting with his competition-winning design in 1957...
for a season, conducted by Henri Kowalski, in Kowalski's Moustique, The Beggar Student and Flotow
Friedrich von Flotow
Friedrich Adolf Ferdinand, Freiherr von Flotow was a German composer. He is chiefly remembered for his opera Martha, which was popular in the 19th century....
's Martha
Martha (opera)
Martha, oder Der Markt zu Richmond is a 'romantic comic' opera in four acts by Friedrich von Flotow, set to a German libretto by Friedrich Wilhelm Riese and based on a story by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges....
, in which he was praised for his acting and singing. He was also praised for his performance in Moustique: "Mr Henry Bracy sang, as he always does with ease and sweetness, and greatly strengthened the cast.... We could well afford to listen to Mr Bracy's pleasing voice and clear enunciation in one, or two more songs than those at present set down for him." Bracy then directed productions for John Solomon's English and Comic Opera Company for about a year, earning good notices for his roles in the productions. For example, in that company's production of The Beggar Student, a reviewer noted, "Mr. Henry Bracy has returned to all his old popularity and in his impersonation of the leading character, shows great animation and naturalness, and his singing is warmly applauded. In 1890, the Bracys led their own company in productions of The Sultan of Mocha, The Beggar Student, and The Lady of the Locket at the Criterion Theatre.
For J. C. Williamson
J. C. Williamson
James Cassius Williamson was an American actor and later Australia's foremost theatrical manager, founding J. C. Williamson Ltd....
's Royal Comic Opera Company, he had performed 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....
in 1888, and in 1890 Bracy rejoined that company and was directing their Gilbert and Sullivan operas, including 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...
(1890), Princess Ida (1893), 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...
(1895), 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...
(1896). He and Clara also performed in some of the productions, including non-Gilbert and Sullivan productions such as Planquette
Robert Planquette
Jean Robert Planquette was a French composer of songs and operettas.Several of Planquette's operettas were extraordinarily successful in Britain, including Les cloches de Corneville , the length of whose initial London run broke all records for any piece of musical theatre up to that time, and Rip...
's The Old Guard, Audran
Edmond Audran
Achille Edmond Audran was a French composer best known for several internationally successful operettas, including Les noces d'Olivette , La mascotte , Gillette de Narbonne , La cigale et la fourmi , Miss Helyett , and La poupée .After Audran's initial success in Paris, his works also became a...
's La cigale, Cellier's Dorothy
Dorothy (opera)
Dorothy is a comic opera in three acts with music by Alfred Cellier and a libretto by B. C. Stephenson. The story involves a rake who falls in love with his disguised fiancée.It was first produced at the Gaiety Theatre in London on in 1886...
and Pepita. In 1896, Williamson and George Musgrove
George Musgrove
George Musgrove was an English-born Australian theatre producer.-Early life:Musgrove was born at Surbiton, England, the son of Thomas John Watson Musgrove, an accountant, and his wife, Fanny Hodson, an actress and sister of Georgiana Rosa Hodson who married William Saurin Lyster...
disbanded the company briefly, and Bracy again tried his hand at theatre management, touring with his own troupe for nine months in 1897. Again sustaining heavy losses, he declared bankruptcy.
Bracy was re-engaged by Williamson and managed concert tours by Emma Albani
Emma Albani
Dame Emma Albani DBE was a leading soprano of the 19th century and early 20th century, and the first Canadian singer to become an international star. Her repertoire focused on the operas of Mozart, Rossini, Donizetti, Bellini and Wagner...
in 1898 and Ada Crossley
Ada Crossley
Ada Jemima Crossley was an Australian singer.Crossley was a daughter of E. Wallis Crossley, a farmer. She was born at Tarraville, Gippsland, Victoria...
in 1903, and he directed the Bel Sorel season of grand opera. In Bracy resumed directing Williamson's Gilbert and Sullivan and other comic opera productions, in which he usually also appeared in the leading tenor role, including Yeomen (1904), 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...
(1905), Princess Ida (1905), 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...
(1905), The Gondoliers (1905), and the first Australian production of Utopia, Limited
Utopia, Limited
Utopia, Limited; or, The Flowers of Progress, is a Savoy Opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It was the second-to-last of Gilbert and Sullivan's fourteen collaborations, premiering on 7 October 1893 for a run of 245 performances...
(1905). His last role as a tenor was as Colonel Fairfax in Yeomen in 1908. He then devoted his full time to management, casting and directing for Williamson. For example, in 1910, he directed the first Australian production of Puccini
Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini was an Italian composer whose operas, including La bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, and Turandot, are among the most frequently performed in the standard repertoire...
's Madame Butterfly (in English). Of his direction, The Mercury opined, "He was truly an artist, and productions that were under his direction were notable for their finish".
Clara moved to California and in 1908 appeared in D. W. Griffith
D. W. Griffith
David Llewelyn Wark Griffith was a premier pioneering American film director. He is best known as the director of the controversial and groundbreaking 1915 film The Birth of a Nation and the subsequent film Intolerance .Griffith's film The Birth of a Nation made pioneering use of advanced camera...
's 1908 movie The Red Girl. Clara appeared in 90 films, becoming one of the earliest film actresses. Bracy and his wife had two sons, one of whom, Sidney Bracy, appeared on stage with Williamson and then in Britain and America before becoming a successful film actor. Their other son, Philip, who became a West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
actor, was wounded as a young soldier. Bracy retired in 1914; Williamson had died in 1913, leaving Bracy a bequest, and upon his retirement, the company also gave him a generous pension. He then visited San Francisco, where his wife was residing while performing for Charles Frohman
Charles Frohman
Charles Frohman was an American theatrical producer. Frohman was producing plays by 1889 and acquired his first Broadway theatre by 1892. He discovered and promoted many stars of the American theatre....
.
Bracy died of Cerebrovascular disease
Cerebrovascular disease
Cerebrovascular disease is a group of brain dysfunctions related to disease of the blood vessels supplying the brain. Hypertension is the most important cause; it damages the blood vessel lining, endothelium, exposing the underlying collagen where platelets aggregate to initiate a repairing process...
in Darlinghurst, Sydney, Australia, in 1917. He was survived by Clara and his two sons and was buried at Waverley Cemetery
Waverley Cemetery
The Waverley Cemetery opened in 1877 and is a cemetery located on top of the cliffs at Bronte in the eastern suburbs of Sydney. It is noted for its largely intact Victorian and Edwardian monuments. The cemetery contains the graves of many significant Australians including the poet Henry Lawson and...
. At the time of Bracy's death, Clara had been living in New York with her married son, Sydney. Philip travelled from Melbourne to attend his father's funeral.