Roy Hart
Encyclopedia
Roy Hart was an actor from South Africa
at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London
. He was a pupil of Alfred Wolfsohn
's for many years and then furthered the work on voice after Wolfsohn's death. Hart's vocal range and virtuosity led composers such as (Hans Werner Henze
and Peter Maxwell Davies
to write musical works specifically for his voice. Hart founded the Roy Hart Theatre in 1968 and developed the Roy Hart Theatre approach, which is still taught and practised in the south of France
at Malérargues and around the world today.
education, but felt that he never made friends easily. He studied English, the history of music, philosophy and psychology at the University of the Witwatersrand
, Johannesburg. In 1946, he performed Peer Gynt
in a University production to much acclaim. Due to the conflict between his innate desire to go on stage and his families’ Rabbinical origin, he decided to leave South Africa.
, London, as a scholarship student, using the name Royden Hart. At RADA. he was a successful student, yet felt "that the characters I performed so convincingly were merely figments of my imagination . . . something was lacking". On 5 June 1947, he met Alfred Wolfsohn
, and wrote of him in his diary that he was “a man who I feel has the ability to bring out the very best in me. … He is indubitably the finest thing that has happened in my life”. His work with Wolfsohn created problems at RADA. In 1949, he graduated from RADA and the director wrote of him: "A good voice but is inclined to over-voice… He deserved his free fee place.”
In the 1950s, As Wolfsohn became ill, Hart took on some of the teaching of other students. Hart gave vocal demonstrations to experts in music or theatre, such as Yehudi Menuhin
, Laurence Olivier
, and Peter Ustinov, and was in contact with the Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung
. These initial contacts generated interest in his work, but not much came of them.
In 1960 he began to work at Shenley
Psychiatric Hospital, and maintained contacts with the psychotherapuetic world for the rest of his career. In 1962, Wolfsohn died, and Hart created a group of students to continue Wolfsohn's legacy.
In 1964, a Documentary film was made of the group (available on DVD Theatre of Being) http://www.roy-hart.com/being.htm .
's Eight Songs for a Mad King
, Stockhausen's Spiral
, and Euripedes's The Bacchae
performed with his own company. He was a guest speaker at psycho-therapeutic and theatre congresses throughout the world; Jerzy Grotowski
and Peter Brook
held discussions with him in his studio in London. In 1972, he began to perform as an actor with his own company which at that time had grown to more than forty members. The Theatre company took up residence in the south of France in 1974. Roy Hart died in a car accident while on tour in May 1975.
Hart made a number of recordings during his lifetime, demonstrating the range of his voice, amongst them "...if" http://www.roy-hart.com/if..htm, "Eight octave voice" http://www.roy-hart.com/8_octive_voice.htm and "and man had a voice" http://www.roy-hart.com/andman.htm
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts 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...
. He was a pupil of Alfred Wolfsohn
Alfred Wolfsohn
Alfred Wolfsohn was a German singing teacher. He taught Charlotte Salomon, and figures in her paintings as Amadeus Daberlohn....
's for many years and then furthered the work on voice after Wolfsohn's death. Hart's vocal range and virtuosity led composers such as (Hans Werner Henze
Hans Werner Henze
Hans Werner Henze is a German composer of prodigious output best known for "his consistent cultivation of music for the theatre throughout his life"...
and Peter Maxwell Davies
Peter Maxwell Davies
Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, CBE is an English composer and conductor and is currently Master of the Queen's Music.-Biography:...
to write musical works specifically for his voice. Hart founded the Roy Hart Theatre in 1968 and developed the Roy Hart Theatre approach, which is still taught and practised in the south of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
at Malérargues and around the world today.
Early life
Hart was born as Reuben Hartstein on 31 October 1926 to Polish-Lithuanian parents in Johannesburg, South Africa. He had an Orthodox JewishOrthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...
education, but felt that he never made friends easily. He studied English, the history of music, philosophy and psychology at the University of the Witwatersrand
University of the Witwatersrand
The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg is a South African university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University...
, Johannesburg. In 1946, he performed Peer Gynt
Peer Gynt
Peer Gynt is a five-act play in verse by the Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen, loosely based on the fairy tale Per Gynt. It is the most widely performed Norwegian play. According to Klaus Van Den Berg, the "cinematic script blends poetry with social satire and realistic scenes with surreal ones"...
in a University production to much acclaim. Due to the conflict between his innate desire to go on stage and his families’ Rabbinical origin, he decided to leave South Africa.
Move to London and meeting with Alfred Wolfsohn
In May 1947, Hart Joined the Royal Academy of Dramatic ArtRoyal Academy of Dramatic Art
The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art is a drama school located in London, United Kingdom. It is generally regarded as one of the most renowned drama schools in the world, and is one of the oldest drama schools in the United Kingdom, having been founded in 1904.RADA is an affiliate school of the...
, London, as a scholarship student, using the name Royden Hart. At RADA. he was a successful student, yet felt "that the characters I performed so convincingly were merely figments of my imagination . . . something was lacking". On 5 June 1947, he met Alfred Wolfsohn
Alfred Wolfsohn
Alfred Wolfsohn was a German singing teacher. He taught Charlotte Salomon, and figures in her paintings as Amadeus Daberlohn....
, and wrote of him in his diary that he was “a man who I feel has the ability to bring out the very best in me. … He is indubitably the finest thing that has happened in my life”. His work with Wolfsohn created problems at RADA. In 1949, he graduated from RADA and the director wrote of him: "A good voice but is inclined to over-voice… He deserved his free fee place.”
In the 1950s, As Wolfsohn became ill, Hart took on some of the teaching of other students. Hart gave vocal demonstrations to experts in music or theatre, such as Yehudi Menuhin
Yehudi Menuhin
Yehudi Menuhin, Baron Menuhin, OM, KBE was a Russian Jewish American violinist and conductor who spent most of his performing career in the United Kingdom. He was born to Russian Jewish parents in the United States, but became a citizen of Switzerland in 1970, and of the United Kingdom in 1985...
, Laurence Olivier
Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
, and Peter Ustinov, and was in contact with the Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung
Carl Jung
Carl Gustav Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist and the founder of Analytical Psychology. Jung is considered the first modern psychiatrist to view the human psyche as "by nature religious" and make it the focus of exploration. Jung is one of the best known researchers in the field of dream analysis and...
. These initial contacts generated interest in his work, but not much came of them.
In 1960 he began to work at Shenley
Shenley, Hertfordshire
Shenley is a village and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England, between Barnet and St Albans. The village is located 18.7 miles from Central London.-History:...
Psychiatric Hospital, and maintained contacts with the psychotherapuetic world for the rest of his career. In 1962, Wolfsohn died, and Hart created a group of students to continue Wolfsohn's legacy.
In 1964, a Documentary film was made of the group (available on DVD Theatre of Being) http://www.roy-hart.com/being.htm .
Roy Hart Theatre
Hart found the Roy Hart Theatre in 1967. In 1969 he began a period of intense international artistic and psycho-therapeutic activity, including solo performances in Henze's Versuch über Schweine, Peter Maxwell DaviesPeter Maxwell Davies
Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, CBE is an English composer and conductor and is currently Master of the Queen's Music.-Biography:...
's Eight Songs for a Mad King
Eight Songs for a Mad King
Eight Songs for a Mad King is a monodrama by Sir Peter Maxwell Davies with a libretto by Randolph Stow, based on words of George III. The work was written for the South-African actor Roy Hart and the composer's ensemble the Pierrot Players, and premiered on 22 April 1969...
, Stockhausen's Spiral
Spiral (Stockhausen)
Spiral , for a soloist with a shortwave receiver, is a composition by Karlheinz Stockhausen, written in 1968. It is Number 27 in the catalogue of the composer’s works.-Conception:...
, and Euripedes's The Bacchae
The Bacchae
The Bacchae is an ancient Greek tragedy by the Athenian playwright Euripides, during his final years in Macedon, at the court of Archelaus I of Macedon. It premiered posthumously at the Theatre of Dionysus in 405 BC as part of a tetralogy that also included Iphigeneia at Aulis, and which...
performed with his own company. He was a guest speaker at psycho-therapeutic and theatre congresses throughout the world; Jerzy Grotowski
Jerzy Grotowski
Jerzy Grotowski was a Polish theatre director and innovator of experimental theatre, the "theatre laboratory" and "poor theatre" concepts....
and Peter Brook
Peter Brook
Peter Stephen Paul Brook CH, CBE is an English theatre and film director and innovator, who has been based in France since the early 1970s.-Life:...
held discussions with him in his studio in London. In 1972, he began to perform as an actor with his own company which at that time had grown to more than forty members. The Theatre company took up residence in the south of France in 1974. Roy Hart died in a car accident while on tour in May 1975.
Hart made a number of recordings during his lifetime, demonstrating the range of his voice, amongst them "...if" http://www.roy-hart.com/if..htm, "Eight octave voice" http://www.roy-hart.com/8_octive_voice.htm and "and man had a voice" http://www.roy-hart.com/andman.htm