Thomas Lawlor (bass-baritone)
Encyclopedia
Thomas Lawlor is an Irish opera singer. In the 1960s, he became known for his performances in mostly baritone
roles of the Gilbert and Sullivan
operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company
. In the 1970s and 1980s, he performed over 60 operatic roles, usually as a bass-baritone
, with various British opera
companies. He was also a director in the opera department of the Royal Academy of Music
and at Trinity College of Music
. In later years, he moved to the U.S. where he continues to perform, direct and teach.
, earning a B.A. in Philosophy and English. For a time he taught English, Geography and Gaelic. At the same time, he performed as an amateur in musicals and studied singing part-time at the Dublin College of Music where, in 1960, he won the Sam Heilbut Major Scholarship, which helped him to attend the Guildhall School of Music for three years. He began to perform professionally in musicals and concerts.
In 1963, Lawlor was engaged as a chorister by the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company
, performing in the Gilbert and Sullivan
operas. He soon was called upon to understudy and occasionally performed the small roles of Guron in Princess Ida
and the Second Yeoman in The Yeomen of the Guard
. During the company's tour of the U.S. in 1964–65, Lawlor sang at the Carnegie Hall
in New York, as a guest artist in a gala concert of Irish music. In 1965, he was given three principal parts of his own: the Counsel in Trial by Jury
, Strephon in Iolanthe
, and Pish-Tush in The Mikado
. He also played the role of Second Yeoman in some seasons and, when Princess Ida was revived in 1967, added Guron. From 1966, he understudied the roles of Giuseppe in The Gondoliers
(taking that role as his own the following season) and Captain Corcoran in H.M.S. Pinafore
. He also played the Sergeant of Police in The Pirates of Penzance
in some seasons. From 1968, he added three more principal roles on a regular basis (giving up his smaller roles): Captain Corcoran, Florian in Princess Ida, and the Lieutenant of the Tower in Yeomen. A new role in 1970 was Sergeant Bouncer in Cox and Box
. Lawlor married D'Oyly Carte mezzo-soprano
Pauline Wales
in 1971.
reviewed his Don Alfonso in September of that year, commenting, "his eagle-eyed squire of an Alfonso, wise in the knowledge that he will be proved right in the end ... is an interpretation much preferable to the buffo clowning seen in this role at Glyndebourne." The next year, the same paper called his Osmin "imposing ... a figure of menace as well as of fun, with the voice to go with both sides of the character". Among his roles in the British Isles were:
He also sang with such companies as Dublin Grand Opera Society and Netherlands Opera, at the music festivals of Hintlesham
, Camden
, Singapore, Valencia (Spain), Colorado and Michigan, and in concerts and recitals in major concert halls, especially in Britain, Ireland and the U.S. In all he sang more than 60 roles. Lawlor occasionally returned to Gilbert and Sullivan; he appeared as a guest artist with D'Oyly Carte in August 1971 and again in 1974–75 as Florian, as well as in the other Savoy opera
roles noted above for ENO, Kent and Opera North. In the early 1990s, he appeared with the London Savoyards in the roles of Dick Deadeye in Pinafore, the title role in Mikado, and the Pirate King in Pirates.
Lawlor was a director in the opera department of the Royal Academy of Music
and at Trinity College of Music
, both in London, and later for opera at the Bay View Music Festival in Michigan
. He is a member of the music faculty of Rhode Island College
, where he teaches voice and directs in the Opera Workshop. Lawlor and Wales's marriage ended in divorce, and he re-married and divorced again, later moving to the U.S. He also founded and served as artistic director for Beavertail Productions, a company that specialized in educational operatic programming for adults and children. For them, he created and directed an entertainment called Gilbert & Sullivan: A Life, which he toured in the 1980s and presented in England and New England
in the 1990s. He is also "a keen amateur geologist" and has given geology presentations on television.
Now in his 70s, Lawlor continues to perform, direct and teach.
(1972) and appeared in the same role in the 1982 Brent Walker video of Cox and Box. In 1987, he recorded the roles of Dick Deadeye in Pinafore and Roderic in Ruddigore
with the New Sadler's Wells Opera. He also appeared in television movies of Le nozze di Figaro as Antonio (1973) and The Rake's Progress as The Keeper of the Madhouse (1975).
Baritone
Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
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...
. In the 1970s and 1980s, he performed over 60 operatic roles, usually as a 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...
, with various British 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...
companies. He was also a director in the opera department of the Royal Academy of Music
Royal Academy of Music
The Royal Academy of Music in London, England, is a conservatoire, Britain's oldest degree-granting music school and a constituent college of the University of London since 1999. The Academy was founded by Lord Burghersh in 1822 with the help and ideas of the French harpist and composer Nicolas...
and at Trinity College of Music
Trinity College of Music
Trinity College of Music is one of the London music conservatories, based in Greenwich. It is part of Trinity Laban.The conservatoire is inheritor of elegant riverside buildings of the former Greenwich Hospital, designed in part by Sir Christopher Wren...
. In later years, he moved to the U.S. where he continues to perform, direct and teach.
Early life and D'Oyly Carte
Lawlor was born and raised in Dublin. He studied at University College DublinUniversity College Dublin
University College Dublin ) - formally known as University College Dublin - National University of Ireland, Dublin is the Republic of Ireland's largest, and Ireland's second largest, university, with over 1,300 faculty and 17,000 students...
, earning a B.A. in Philosophy and English. For a time he taught English, Geography and Gaelic. At the same time, he performed as an amateur in musicals and studied singing part-time at the Dublin College of Music where, in 1960, he won the Sam Heilbut Major Scholarship, which helped him to attend the Guildhall School of Music for three years. He began to perform professionally in musicals and concerts.
In 1963, Lawlor was engaged as a chorister 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...
, performing 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...
operas. He soon was called upon to understudy and occasionally performed the small roles of Guron 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...
and the Second Yeoman 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...
. During the company's tour of the U.S. in 1964–65, Lawlor sang at the Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
in New York, as a guest artist in a gala concert of Irish music. In 1965, he was given three principal parts of his own: the Counsel 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...
, Strephon 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 Pish-Tush 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...
. He also played the role of Second Yeoman in some seasons and, when Princess Ida was revived in 1967, added Guron. From 1966, he understudied the roles of Giuseppe 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...
(taking that role as his own the following season) and Captain Corcoran 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...
. He also played the Sergeant of Police 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...
in some seasons. From 1968, he added three more principal roles on a regular basis (giving up his smaller roles): Captain Corcoran, Florian in Princess Ida, and the Lieutenant of the Tower in Yeomen. A new role in 1970 was Sergeant Bouncer 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...
. Lawlor married D'Oyly Carte 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...
Pauline Wales
Pauline Wales
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.-Life and career:...
in 1971.
Opera career and later years
Lawlor left D'Oyly Carte in 1971 to pursue a more varied career in opera. He immediately drew good notices: The TimesThe Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
reviewed his Don Alfonso in September of that year, commenting, "his eagle-eyed squire of an Alfonso, wise in the knowledge that he will be proved right in the end ... is an interpretation much preferable to the buffo clowning seen in this role at Glyndebourne." The next year, the same paper called his Osmin "imposing ... a figure of menace as well as of fun, with the voice to go with both sides of the character". Among his roles in the British Isles were:
- Glyndebourne Festival OperaGlyndebourne Festival OperaGlyndebourne Festival Opera is an English opera festival held at Glyndebourne, an English country house near Lewes, in East Sussex, England.-History:...
(1971–1978): Lackey in Ariadne auf NaxosAriadne auf NaxosAriadne auf Naxos is an opera by Richard Strauss with a German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. Bringing together slapstick comedy and consuming beautiful music, the opera's theme is the competition between high and low art for the public's attention.- First version :The opera was originally...
, Guard/Police Chief in Der Besuch der alten DameDer Besuch der alten DameDer Besuch der alten Dame is an opera in three acts by Gottfried von Einem to a German libretto by Friedrich Dürrenmatt, based on his play of the same name.-Performance history:...
, Antonio in The Marriage of FigaroThe Marriage of FigaroLe nozze di Figaro, ossia la folle giornata , K. 492, is an opera buffa composed in 1786 in four acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte, based on a stage comedy by Pierre Beaumarchais, La folle journée, ou le Mariage de Figaro .Although the play by...
, Major-Domo in CapriccioCapriccio (opera)Capriccio is the final opera by German composer Richard Strauss, subtitled "A Conversation Piece for Music". The opera received its premiere performance at the Nationaltheater München on October 28, 1942. Clemens Krauss and Strauss himself wrote the German libretto...
, Lawyer in IntermezzoIntermezzo (opera)Intermezzo is an opera in two acts by Richard Strauss to his own German libretto, described as a Bürgerliche Komödie mit sinfonischen Zwischenspielen . It premiered at the Dresden Semperoper on November 4, 1924, with sets that reproduced Strauss' home in Garmisch...
, Harašta in The Cunning Little VixenThe Cunning Little VixenThe Cunning Little Vixen is an opera by Leoš Janáček, with a libretto adapted by the composer from a serialized novella by Rudolf Těsnohlídek and Stanislav Lolek, which was first published in the newspaper Lidové noviny.-Composition history:When Janáček discovered Těsnohlídek's...
, Zaretsky in Eugene OneginEugene Onegin (opera)Eugene Onegin, Op. 24, is an opera in 3 acts , by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto was written by Konstantin Shilovsky and the composer and his brother Modest, and is based on the novel in verse by Alexander Pushkin....
, Keeper of the Madhouse in The Rake's ProgressThe Rake's ProgressThe 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...
and Benoît in La bohème. - Glyndebourne Touring Opera (1971–1976): Zaretsky in Eugene Onegin, Don Alfonso in Così fan tutteCosì fan tutteCosì fan tutte, ossia La scuola degli amanti K. 588, is an opera buffa by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart first performed in 1790. The libretto was written by Lorenzo Da Ponte....
, Schaunard in La bohème, Osmin in Die Entführung aus dem SerailDie Entführung aus dem SerailDie Entführung aus dem Serail is an opera Singspiel in three acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The German libretto is by Christoph Friedrich Bretzner with adaptations by Gottlieb Stephanie...
, Bartolo in The Marriage of Figaro, the Hermit in Der FreischützDer FreischützDer Freischütz is an opera in three acts by Carl Maria von Weber with a libretto by Friedrich Kind. It premiered on 18 June 1821 at the Schauspielhaus Berlin...
. - Wexford Festival OperaWexford Festival OperaThe Wexford Festival Opera is an opera festival that takes place in the town of Wexford in South-Eastern Ireland during the months of October and November.-Festival origins under Tom Walsh, 1951 to 1966:...
(1971, 1989, 1990): Rambaldo in La rondineLa rondineLa rondine is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Giuseppe Adami, based on a libretto by Alfred Maria Willner and Heinz Reichert...
, Don Carlos in Betrothal in a Monastery, Noye in Noye's FluddeNoye's FluddeNoye's Fludde is an early 15th century mystery play from the Chester Mystery Cycle. It was set to music by Benjamin Britten in 1957 based on an edition by Alfred W. Pollard...
and Lynch in The Rising of the MoonThe Rising of the Moon (opera)The Rising of the Moon is an operatic comedy in three acts composed by Nicholas Maw to a libretto by Beverley Cross. It premiered on 19 July 1970 at the Glyndebourne Festival conducted by Raymond Leppard and directed by Colin Graham...
. - Phoenix Opera (UK) (1970s): Plunkett in MarthaMartha (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....
. The Times noted his "rich bass-baritone" in this role. - Sadler's Wells Opera/English National OperaEnglish National OperaEnglish National Opera is an opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St. Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with the Royal Opera, Covent Garden...
(1970s–1980s): roles in PatiencePatience (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...
, H.M.S. Pinafore, La traviataLa traviataLa traviata is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on La dame aux Camélias , a play adapted from the novel by Alexandre Dumas, fils. The title La traviata means literally The Fallen Woman, or perhaps more figuratively, The Woman...
, The Marriage of Figaro, JuliettaJuliettaJulietta is an opera by Bohuslav Martinů, who also wrote the libretto, which is based on the play Juliette, ou La clé des songes by the French author Georges Neveux. The opera received its first performance at the National Theatre, Prague on 16 March 1938, with Ota Horaková in the title role and...
, FidelioFidelioFidelio is a German opera in two acts by Ludwig van Beethoven. It is Beethoven's only opera. The German libretto is by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of Jean-Nicolas Bouilly which had been used for the 1798 opera Léonore, ou L’amour conjugal by Pierre Gaveaux, and for the 1804 opera Leonora...
RigolettoRigolettoRigoletto 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...
and CinderellaLa CenerentolaLa Cenerentola, ossia La bontà in trionfo is an operatic dramma giocoso in two acts by Gioachino Rossini. The libretto was written by Jacopo Ferretti, based on the fairy tale Cinderella...
, in which The Times praised praised his musicianship and called his Don Magnifico "a well-judged impersonation". His Baron Zeta in The Merry WidowThe Merry WidowThe Merry Widow is an operetta by the Austro–Hungarian composer Franz Lehár. The librettists, Viktor Léon and Leo Stein, based the story – concerning a rich widow, and her countrymen's attempt to keep her money in the principality by finding her the right husband – on an 1861 comedy play,...
was judged amusing, "but with a lean, unfulsome joviality that gives fresh interest to the part". - Kent OperaKent OperaKent Opera was a British opera company in the period 1969-1989. Based in Ashford, England the Company presented its productions in several centres mainly in the southern part of England. These included The Orchard Theatre, Dartford, the Assembly Halls, Tunbridge Wells, Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury,...
(c. 1973 – c. 1983): Sir Joseph Porter in H.M.S Pinafore, Pasha Selim in Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Tempo (Time) in Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patriaIl ritorno d'Ulisse in patriaIl ritorno d'Ulisse in patria is an opera in a prologue and five acts , set by Claudio Monteverdi to a libretto by Giacomo Badoaro. The opera was first performed at the Teatro Santi Giovanni e Paolo in Venice during the 1639–1640 carnival season...
, Sparafucile in Rigoletto, Rocco in FidelioFidelioFidelio is a German opera in two acts by Ludwig van Beethoven. It is Beethoven's only opera. The German libretto is by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of Jean-Nicolas Bouilly which had been used for the 1798 opera Léonore, ou L’amour conjugal by Pierre Gaveaux, and for the 1804 opera Leonora...
, Leporello in Don GiovanniDon GiovanniDon Giovanni is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and with an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It was premiered by the Prague Italian opera at the Teatro di Praga on October 29, 1787...
, Guglielmo in Così, Sir Despard in RuddigoreRuddigoreRuddigore; 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 the title character Telemann's The Patience of Socrates (British premiere). Concerning the last, Stanley SadieStanley SadieStanley Sadie CBE was a leading British musicologist, music critic, and editor. He was editor of the sixth edition of the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians , which was published as the first edition of the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians.Sadie was educated at St Paul's School,...
, writing for The Times, commented: "Among the large cast there was some specially accomplished singing from Thomas Lawlor ... as Socrates. - Royal OperaRoyal Opera, LondonThe Royal Opera is an opera company based in central London, resident at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Along with the English National Opera, it is one of the two principal opera companies in London. Founded in 1946 as the Covent Garden Opera Company, it was known by that title until 1968...
(1974): Alcindoro in La bohèmeLa bohèmeLa bohème is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions quadro, a tableau or "image", rather than atto . by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, based on Scènes de la vie de bohème by Henri Murger...
. - Opera NorthOpera NorthOpera North is an English opera company based in Leeds. The company's home theatre is the Leeds Grand Theatre, but it also presents regular seasons in several other cities, at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham, the Lowry Centre, Salford Quays and the Theatre Royal, Newcastle...
(1979–1988): Jupiter in Orpheus in the UnderworldOrpheus in the UnderworldOrphée aux enfers is an opéra bouffon , or opéra féerie in its revised version, by Jacques Offenbach. The French text was written by Ludovic Halévy and later revised by Hector-Jonathan Crémieux....
, Baron Zeta in The Merry Widow, the Sacristan in ToscaToscaTosca is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900...
, Tovey in The Mines of SulphurThe Mines of SulphurThe Mines of Sulphur is an opera in three acts by Richard Rodney Bennett, his first full-length opera, composed in 1963. Beverley Cross wrote the libretto, based on his play Scarlet Ribbons, at the suggestion of Colin Graham, who eventually directed the first production in 1965...
, Marti in A Village Romeo and JulietA Village Romeo and JulietA Village Romeo and Juliet is an opera by Frederick Delius, the fourth of his six operas. The composer himself, with his wife Jelka, wrote the English-language libretto based on the short story Romeo und Julia auf dem Dorfe by the Swiss author Gottfried Keller. The first performance was at the...
, Kuno in Der Freischütz, Kecal in The Bartered BrideThe Bartered BrideThe Bartered Bride is a comic opera in three acts by the Czech composer Bedřich Smetana, to a libretto by Karel Sabina. The opera is considered to have made a major contribution towards the development of Czech music. It was composed during the period 1863–66, and first performed at the...
, Geronte in ManonManonManon is an opéra comique in five acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Henri Meilhac and Philippe Gille, based on the 1731 novel L’histoire du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut by the Abbé Prévost...
, the Magistrate in WertherWertherWerther is an opera in four acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Édouard Blau, Paul Milliet and Georges Hartmann based on the German epistolary novel The Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe....
, Somarone in Béatrice et BénédictBéatrice et BénédictBéatrice et Bénédict is an opera in two acts by Hector Berlioz. Berlioz wrote the French libretto himself, based closely on Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing....
, Giles Lacy in Wilfred JosephsWilfred Josephs-Life:Born in Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne, Wilfred Josephs had his first musical studies in Newcastle with Arthur Milner, and showed early promise, but was persuaded by his parents to take up a 'sensible' career. He subsequently became a dentist, qualifying as a Bachelor of Dental Surgery of the...
's Rebecca (world premiere), the Parson in The Cunning Little VixenThe Cunning Little VixenThe Cunning Little Vixen is an opera by Leoš Janáček, with a libretto adapted by the composer from a serialized novella by Rudolf Těsnohlídek and Stanislav Lolek, which was first published in the newspaper Lidové noviny.-Composition history:When Janáček discovered Těsnohlídek's...
, the Artists' Manager in Jonny spielt aufJonny spielt aufJonny spielt auf is an opera with words and music by Ernst Krenek about a jazz violinist. The work typified the cultural freedom of the 'golden era' of the Weimar Republic.-Performance history:...
(British premiere), the Grand Inquisitor in The Gondoliers, General Polkan in The Golden CockerelThe Golden CockerelThe Golden Cockerel is an opera in three acts, with short prologue and even shorter epilogue, by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. Its libretto, by Vladimir Belsky, derives from Alexander Pushkin's 1834 poem The Tale of the Golden Cockerel, which in turn is based on two chapters of Tales of the Alhambra by...
, Pooh-Bah in The Mikado, and roles in Les mamelles de TirésiasLes mamelles de TirésiasLes mamelles de Tirésias is a surrealist two-act opéra bouffe by Francis Poulenc, based on the play of the same title by Guillaume Apollinaire, which was written in 1903 but first performed in 1917...
and La CenerentolaLa CenerentolaLa Cenerentola, ossia La bontà in trionfo is an operatic dramma giocoso in two acts by Gioachino Rossini. The libretto was written by Jacopo Ferretti, based on the fairy tale Cinderella...
. - New Sadler's Wells Opera (1980s): Pooh-Bah in The Mikado, Dick Deadeye in H.M.S. Pinafore and Sir Roderic Murgatroyd in RuddigoreRuddigoreRuddigore; 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...
.
He also sang with such companies as Dublin Grand Opera Society and Netherlands Opera, at the music festivals of Hintlesham
Hintlesham
Hintlesham is a small village in Suffolk, England, situated roughly halfway between Ipswich and Hadleigh.The village is notable for Hintlesham Hall, a 16th Century Grade I listed country house that was restored and turned into a hotel by the famous chef, restaurateur and food writer Robert Carrier...
, Camden
London Borough of Camden
In 1801, the civil parishes that form the modern borough were already developed and had a total population of 96,795. This continued to rise swiftly throughout the 19th century, as the district became built up; reaching 270,197 in the middle of the century...
, Singapore, Valencia (Spain), Colorado and Michigan, and in concerts and recitals in major concert halls, especially in Britain, Ireland and the U.S. In all he sang more than 60 roles. Lawlor occasionally returned to Gilbert and Sullivan; he appeared as a guest artist with D'Oyly Carte in August 1971 and again in 1974–75 as Florian, as well as in the other 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...
roles noted above for ENO, Kent and Opera North. In the early 1990s, he appeared with the London Savoyards in the roles of Dick Deadeye in Pinafore, the title role in Mikado, and the Pirate King in Pirates.
Lawlor was a director in the opera department of the Royal Academy of Music
Royal Academy of Music
The Royal Academy of Music in London, England, is a conservatoire, Britain's oldest degree-granting music school and a constituent college of the University of London since 1999. The Academy was founded by Lord Burghersh in 1822 with the help and ideas of the French harpist and composer Nicolas...
and at Trinity College of Music
Trinity College of Music
Trinity College of Music is one of the London music conservatories, based in Greenwich. It is part of Trinity Laban.The conservatoire is inheritor of elegant riverside buildings of the former Greenwich Hospital, designed in part by Sir Christopher Wren...
, both in London, and later for opera at the Bay View Music Festival in Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
. He is a member of the music faculty of Rhode Island College
Rhode Island College
Rhode Island College is a nationally ranked, coeducational, state-supported comprehensive college founded in 1854, located in Providence, Rhode Island, USA...
, where he teaches voice and directs in the Opera Workshop. Lawlor and Wales's marriage ended in divorce, and he re-married and divorced again, later moving to the U.S. He also founded and served as artistic director for Beavertail Productions, a company that specialized in educational operatic programming for adults and children. For them, he created and directed an entertainment called Gilbert & Sullivan: A Life, which he toured in the 1980s and presented in England and New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
in the 1990s. He is also "a keen amateur geologist" and has given geology presentations on television.
Now in his 70s, Lawlor continues to perform, direct and teach.
Recordings
Lawlor's roles recorded with D'Oyly Carte include Second Yeoman in The Yeomen of the Guard (1964) and Captain Corcoran in H.M.S. Pinafore (1971), as well as excerpts from the roles of Giuseppe and Strephon on a 1970 highlights LP entitled Songs and Snatches. He also was in the 1966 film version of The Mikado as Pish-Tush. He recorded Bouncer with Gilbert and Sullivan for AllGilbert and Sullivan for All
Gilbert and Sullivan for All was a touring concert and opera company, formed in 1963 by D'Oyly Carte Opera Company performers Thomas Round and Donald Adams and Norman Meadmore, and which exclusively performed the works of Gilbert and Sullivan, usually in concert, but sometimes giving full...
(1972) and appeared in the same role in the 1982 Brent Walker video of Cox and Box. In 1987, he recorded the roles of Dick Deadeye in Pinafore and Roderic 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 the New Sadler's Wells Opera. He also appeared in television movies of Le nozze di Figaro as Antonio (1973) and The Rake's Progress as The Keeper of the Madhouse (1975).
External links
- Thomas Lawlor at the IMDB database
- Photo of Lawlor as Strephon (with John ReedJohn Reed (actor)John Lamb Reed, OBE was an English actor, dancer and singer, known for his nimble performances in the principal comic roles of the Savoy Operas, particularly with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company...
) in Iolanthe. - Photo of Lawlor as Counsel in Trial by Jury
- Photo of Lawlor as Pish-Tush in The Mikado
- Profile of Thomas Lawlor
