Pauline Wales
Encyclopedia
Pauline Wales is an English
singer and actress best known for her performances in the mezzo-soprano
roles of the Gilbert and Sullivan
operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company
.
, England to a musical family, and she showed an interest in singing early on. She joined the Stockton Stage Society, where she played the soubrette
lead in musical theatre
productions such as The New Moon
, The Maid of the Mountains
, The Student Prince
and The Vagabond King
. Early in her career, Wales performed in oratorio
and musical theatre
in the north of England. She joined the chorus of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in 1959.
During her early years with the company, Wales performed the small roles of Isabel in The Pirates of Penzance
, Leila in Iolanthe
, and occasionally Cousin Hebe in H.M.S. Pinafore
, and Vittoria in The Gondoliers
. In 1961, when the company revived Princess Ida
, Wales added the larger role of Melissa to her repertoire. She also occasionally performed the role of Phoebe Meryll in The Yeomen of the Guard
. By 1963, she was singing Hebe in Pinafore and Vittoria in The Gondoliers full time and occasionally Lady Saphir in Patience
, Pitti-Sing in The Mikado and Tessa in The Gondoliers
. After Gillian Humphreys left the company in 1965, Wales also took over the roles of Kate in Pirates, Saphir in Patience, and Peep-Bo in The Mikado
, First Bridesmaid in Trial by Jury
, Ruth in Ruddigore
, and Tessa in The Gondoliers
. As understudy, she also had the opportunity to play the title role in Iolanthe. She continued to perform most of these roles over the next decade.
Wales left the D'Oyly Carte organisation in 1974 but returned at the end of the year to play Melissa in Princess Ida as a guest artiste during the Gilbert and Sullivan centenary London season. More recently, Wales has sung with The Magic of D'Oyly Carte, a Gilbert and Sullivan concert group; with the Gilbert and Sullivan for All touring company; as Mad Margaret in Ruddigore for Kent Opera; and in various "Together Again" concerts at the International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival
. She has taught singing in Radcliffe-on-Trent, England, and has also directed the Radcliffe Ladies Choir.
During her time with D'Oyly Carte, Wales was married twice, first to chorister John Maguire in 1961, and then to principal bass-baritone
Thomas Lawlor in 1971, both of whom she divorced.
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...
singer and actress best known for her performances in the mezzo-soprano
Mezzo-soprano
A mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above...
roles of 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...
operas 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...
.
Life and career
Wales was born at Stockton-on-TeesStockton-on-Tees
Stockton-on-Tees is a market town in north east England. It is the major settlement in the unitary authority and borough of Stockton-on-Tees. For ceremonial purposes, the borough is split between County Durham and North Yorkshire as it also incorporates a number of smaller towns including...
, England to a musical family, and she showed an interest in singing early on. She joined the Stockton Stage Society, where she played the soubrette
Soubrette
A soubrette is a female stock character in opera and theatre. The term arrived in English from Provençal via French, and means "conceited" or "coy".-Theater:...
lead in musical theatre
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
productions such as The New Moon
The New Moon
The New Moon is the name of an operetta with music by Sigmund Romberg and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, Frank Mandel, and Laurence Schwab. The show was the third and last in a string of Broadway hits for Romberg written in the style of Viennese operetta...
, The Maid of the Mountains
The Maid of the Mountains
The Maid of the Mountains, called in its original score a musical play, is an operetta or musical comedy in three acts. The music was by Harold Fraser-Simson, with additional music by James W...
, The Student Prince
The Student Prince
The Student Prince is an operetta in four acts with music by Sigmund Romberg and book and lyrics by Dorothy Donnelly. It is based on Wilhelm Meyer-Förster's play Alt Heidelberg. The piece has elements of melodrama but lacks the swashbuckling style common to Romberg's other works...
and The Vagabond King
The Vagabond King
The Vagabond King is a 1925 operetta by Rudolf Friml in four acts, with a book and lyrics by Brian Hooker and William H. Post, based upon Justin Huntly McCarthy's 1901 romantic play If I Were King...
. Early in her career, Wales performed in 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...
and musical theatre
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
in the north of England. She joined the chorus of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in 1959.
During her early years with the company, Wales performed the small roles of Isabel 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...
, Leila 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....
, and occasionally Cousin Hebe 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...
, and Vittoria 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...
. In 1961, when the company revived 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...
, Wales added the larger role of Melissa to her repertoire. She also occasionally performed the role of Phoebe Meryll 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...
. By 1963, she was singing Hebe in Pinafore and Vittoria in The Gondoliers full time and occasionally Lady Saphir 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...
, Pitti-Sing in The Mikado and Tessa 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...
. After Gillian Humphreys left the company in 1965, Wales also took over the roles of Kate in Pirates, Saphir in Patience, and Peep-Bo 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...
, First Bridesmaid 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...
, Ruth 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...
, and Tessa 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...
. As understudy, she also had the opportunity to play the title role in Iolanthe. She continued to perform most of these roles over the next decade.
Wales left the D'Oyly Carte organisation in 1974 but returned at the end of the year to play Melissa in Princess Ida as a guest artiste during the Gilbert and Sullivan centenary London season. More recently, Wales has sung with The Magic of D'Oyly Carte, a Gilbert and Sullivan concert group; with the Gilbert and Sullivan for All touring company; as Mad Margaret in Ruddigore for Kent Opera; and in various "Together Again" concerts at the International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival
International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival
The International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival is held every summer at the Opera House in Buxton, Derbyshire, England. The three-week Festival of Gilbert and Sullivan performances and fringe events attracts thousands of visitors, including performers, supporters, and G&S enthusiasts from all...
. She has taught singing in Radcliffe-on-Trent, England, and has also directed the Radcliffe Ladies Choir.
During her time with D'Oyly Carte, Wales was married twice, first to chorister John Maguire in 1961, and then to principal bass-baritone
Bass-baritone
A bass-baritone is a high-lying bass or low-lying "classical" baritone voice type which shares certain qualities with the true baritone voice. The term arose in the late 19th century to describe the particular type of voice required to sing three Wagnerian roles: the Dutchman in Der fliegende...
Thomas Lawlor in 1971, both of whom she divorced.