Alice May
Encyclopedia
Alice May sometimes known as Louise Allen, was an English singer and actress, perhaps best remembered as the creator of the soprano
role of Aline in Gilbert and Sullivan
's The Sorcerer
(1877).
After musical studies as a child, May studied voice in London with the composer George Benjamin Allen. She began singing in his concerts. May and Allen began to have a relationship, and she traveled with him to Australia in 1870, where they performed together in concerts. Beginning in 1872, May began star in comic opera
s in Australia. May and Allen returned to England in 1876, where she continued to perform in Offenbach
works, earning good notices.
In 1877, May created the role of Aline in The Sorcerer, earning warm reviews, but she left the company after only two months. She quickly returned to Offenbach in London under the management of Richard D'Oyly Carte
and, by 1882, she was touring with Emily Soldene
's opera company. She split up with Allen and moved to the U.S. in 1883, where she performed first in New York but soon joined Charles Ford's Opera Company in St. Louis and on tour. The next year, she married Louis Raymond, another member of the company. She was earning good notices, but she began to miss performances due to her growing struggle with alcoholism. She continued to perform on tour until 1887, when she became ill and died at the age of 40.
, England. She began to study music as a child. She sang amateur concerts in the 1860s. About 1868, she began to study voice in London with the composer George Benjamin Allen (1822–1897), with whom she later lived.
soprano
. She toured in New Zealand for a year, beginning in 1874, with Allen's Royal English Opera Company, followed by seasons with that company in Australia (Melbourne and Adelaide) and India (Calcutta and Madras).
After May and Allen returned to England, she first performed in Liverpool
for R. W. South in December 1876, and later the same month she began to star at the Gaiety Theatre
, London, in the title roles of Offenbach's
La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein
and La belle Hélène
. She continued to star in operettas and became a client of Richard D'Oyly Carte
's artiste agency. The Observer wrote in January 1877, "a morning performance of The Grand Duchess was on Wednesday last given at the Opera Comique
Theatre. Miss May proved herself a capable heroine of opera bouffe
, both in her singing and her acting.... The Opera is [presented by] Mr R. W. South's company". She then toured in The Grand Duchess and other operettas, earning good notices while also singing songs, such as G. B. Allen's "Unrest", in concert. In May, she played Mlle Lange in Charles Lecocq's operetta, La fille de Madame Angot
. The Manchester Guardian wrote, "Miss Alice May [played] the part... with considerable power. Especially good was her acting in the scene in which the favourite realises that Clairette is her rival; in facial expression, in the tone of her voice, and in every gesture, Miss May succeeded in this scene in giving powerful expression to intense but subdued passion." After a recital in Belfast
, Ireland, in early 1877, The Musical World printed not only a favourable review but also a celebratory poem dedicated to her. Her repertory was not restricted to comic opera; she was warmly praised as a Handel
singer.
's The Sorcerer
at the Opera Comique
, and Allen became musical director of the production. The Sorcerer opened on 17 November 1877. May received warm reviews, and her Act I aria was encored. The Era wrote: "we may again compliment Miss Alice May upon her graceful impersonation of Aline and her artistic singing". The Entr'acte and Limelight noted on 24 November 1877, "Miss Alice May vocalises with very good effect, and although she is known more as a vocalist than as a histrion, her acting seems as good as her singing." The Observer commented, "Miss Alice May carries off the main honours among the ladies". The following month, Allen was replaced as musical director, and in January 1878, May was replaced in the role of Aline.
Late in January 1878, she played Drogan in a revival of Jacques Offenbach
's Geneviève de Brabant
in Islington at the Royal Philharmonic Theatre in a production also managed by Carte. Allen was the musical director. After this, May starred in The Little Duke (1878, Royal Philharmonic), La petite demoiselle and La princesse de Trébizonde (both 1879 at the Alhambra Theatre
), Les mousquetaires (1880, Globe Theatre
), Jeanne, Jeannette, and Jeanneton and The Bronze Horse (both in 1881 at the Alhambra). In March 1882, May was touring the British provinces with Emily Soldene
's opera company, when a train on which they were travelling narrowly escaped a high-speed collision with an express train. Soldene, May and other members of the company were slightly injured falling off their beds as the quick-thinking engineer of a loose engine "ran full tilt at" the train Soldene's company were riding and quickly pushed it out of the way of the oncoming express train.
. Her biographer, Adrienne Simpson, wrote that May was still reeling from her break-up with Allen and was drinking too much. This affected her performances and caused her to miss performances due to "indisposition". Satanella was a failure. Charles Ford, a son of John T. Ford
, hired May for his St. Louis, Missouri
opera company performing at Uhrig's Cave gardens and on tour. She first starred in F. C. Burnand and Meyer Lutz
's operatic burlesque of Bluebeard, which had opened in London earlier that year. The piece was a popular hit, and May received excellent notices. She then starred in H. B. Farnie and Robert Planquette
's Rip Van Winkle
, another hit.
May married bass-baritone
Louis W. Raymond, another actor with Ford's Opera Company, in 1884. May toured in America for several years in light opera. She now played the contralto
character roles, including Little Buttercup in H.M.S. Pinafore
, Ruth in The Pirates of Penzance
, Lady Jane in Patience
, Jelly in Gilbert
and Clay
's Princess Toto
, and Katisha in the first authorised American production of The Mikado
at Uhrig's Cave in St. Louis, in July 1885.
Although May achieved popularity as a touring performer in America, she continued to struggle with alcoholism and continued to miss performances. In 1887, she became very ill in St. Louis during a tour with the Bijou Opera Company. She died there, at City Hospital, only 40 years of age. She was buried in St. Louis by members of the company.
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
role of Aline in 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 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...
(1877).
After musical studies as a child, May studied voice in London with the composer George Benjamin Allen. She began singing in his concerts. May and Allen began to have a relationship, and she traveled with him to Australia in 1870, where they performed together in concerts. Beginning in 1872, May began star 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...
s in Australia. May and Allen returned to England in 1876, where she continued to perform in 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....
works, earning good notices.
In 1877, May created the role of Aline in The Sorcerer, earning warm reviews, but she left the company after only two months. She quickly returned to Offenbach in London under the management of 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...
and, by 1882, she was touring with Emily Soldene
Emily Soldene
Emily Soldene was an English singer, actress, director, theatre manager, novelist and journalist of the late Victorian era and the Edwardian period...
's opera company. She split up with Allen and moved to the U.S. in 1883, where she performed first in New York but soon joined Charles Ford's Opera Company in St. Louis and on tour. The next year, she married Louis Raymond, another member of the company. She was earning good notices, but she began to miss performances due to her growing struggle with alcoholism. She continued to perform on tour until 1887, when she became ill and died at the age of 40.
Biography
May was born in YorkshireYorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
, England. She began to study music as a child. She sang amateur concerts in the 1860s. About 1868, she began to study voice in London with the composer George Benjamin Allen (1822–1897), with whom she later lived.
Early career
By 1869, May was singing professionally in Allen's concerts. In 1870, Allen and May had an opportunity to perform in Australia and made the voyage posing as Mr. and Mrs. Allen. She made her Australian concert debut at the Princess's Theatre, Melbourne, in 1870, receiving good notices. After building her reputation in concert work, May made her operatic debut with Lyster & Cagli's Royal Italian Opera Company in 1872, soon becoming Australia's leading comic operaComic 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...
soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
. She toured in New Zealand for a year, beginning in 1874, with Allen's Royal English Opera Company, followed by seasons with that company in Australia (Melbourne and Adelaide) and India (Calcutta and Madras).
After May and Allen returned to England, she first performed in Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
for R. W. South in December 1876, and later the same month she began to star at the 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...
, London, in the title roles of Offenbach's
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....
La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein
La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein
La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein is an opéra bouffe , in three acts and four tableaux by Jacques Offenbach to an original French libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy...
and 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...
. She continued to star in operettas and became a client of 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...
's artiste agency. The Observer wrote in January 1877, "a morning performance of The Grand Duchess was on Wednesday last given at 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...
Theatre. Miss May proved herself a capable heroine of opera bouffe
Opéra bouffe
Opéra bouffe is a genre of late 19th-century French operetta, closely associated with Jacques Offenbach, who produced many of them at the Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens that gave its name to the form....
, both in her singing and her acting.... The Opera is [presented by] Mr R. W. South's company". She then toured in The Grand Duchess and other operettas, earning good notices while also singing songs, such as G. B. Allen's "Unrest", in concert. In May, she played Mlle Lange in Charles Lecocq's operetta, 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:...
. The Manchester Guardian wrote, "Miss Alice May [played] the part... with considerable power. Especially good was her acting in the scene in which the favourite realises that Clairette is her rival; in facial expression, in the tone of her voice, and in every gesture, Miss May succeeded in this scene in giving powerful expression to intense but subdued passion." After a recital in Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
, Ireland, in early 1877, The Musical World printed not only a favourable review but also a celebratory poem dedicated to her. Her repertory was not restricted to comic opera; she was warmly praised as a Handel
George Frideric Handel
George Frideric Handel was a German-British Baroque composer, famous for his operas, oratorios, anthems and organ concertos. Handel was born in 1685, in a family indifferent to music...
singer.
The Sorcerer and later London engagements
In the autumn of 1877, May's theatrical agent, Richard D'Oyly Carte, engaged both her and Allen for his Comedy-Opera Company. For Carte, May created the role of Aline in Gilbert and SullivanGilbert 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 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...
at 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...
, and Allen became musical director of the production. The Sorcerer opened on 17 November 1877. May received warm reviews, and her Act I aria was encored. The Era wrote: "we may again compliment Miss Alice May upon her graceful impersonation of Aline and her artistic singing". The Entr'acte and Limelight noted on 24 November 1877, "Miss Alice May vocalises with very good effect, and although she is known more as a vocalist than as a histrion, her acting seems as good as her singing." The Observer commented, "Miss Alice May carries off the main honours among the ladies". The following month, Allen was replaced as musical director, and in January 1878, May was replaced in the role of Aline.
Late in January 1878, she played Drogan in a revival of 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 Geneviève de Brabant
Geneviève de Brabant
Geneviève de Brabant is an opéra bouffe, or operetta, by Jacques Offenbach, first performed in Paris in 1859. The plot is based on the medieval legend of Genevieve of Brabant....
in Islington at the Royal Philharmonic Theatre in a production also managed by Carte. Allen was the musical director. After this, May starred in The Little Duke (1878, Royal Philharmonic), La petite demoiselle and La princesse de Trébizonde (both 1879 at the Alhambra Theatre
Alhambra Theatre
The Alhambra was a popular theatre and music hall located on the east side of Leicester Square, in the West End of London. It was built originally as The Royal Panopticon of Science and Arts opening on 18 March 1854. It was closed after two years and reopened as the Alhambra. The building was...
), Les mousquetaires (1880, 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...
), Jeanne, Jeannette, and Jeanneton and The Bronze Horse (both in 1881 at the Alhambra). In March 1882, May was touring the British provinces with Emily Soldene
Emily Soldene
Emily Soldene was an English singer, actress, director, theatre manager, novelist and journalist of the late Victorian era and the Edwardian period...
's opera company, when a train on which they were travelling narrowly escaped a high-speed collision with an express train. Soldene, May and other members of the company were slightly injured falling off their beds as the quick-thinking engineer of a loose engine "ran full tilt at" the train Soldene's company were riding and quickly pushed it out of the way of the oncoming express train.
Last years in America
Allen and May separated in 1883, and she travelled to America. She debuted with the Barton English Opera Company in May 1883, in the title role of Michael Balfe's Satanella at New York's Standard TheatreManhattan Theatre
The Manhattan Theatre, directly across from Greeley Square at Sixth Avenue and 33rd Street, was located at 102 West 33rd Street, in New York, NY. It was a 1100-seat theatre which opened in 1875 as the Eagle Variety Theatre, and later re-named the Standard Theatre in 1878...
. Her biographer, Adrienne Simpson, wrote that May was still reeling from her break-up with Allen and was drinking too much. This affected her performances and caused her to miss performances due to "indisposition". Satanella was a failure. Charles Ford, a son of John T. Ford
John T. Ford
John Thomson Ford was an American theater manager in the nineteenth century. He is most notable for operating Ford's Theatre at the time of the Abraham Lincoln assassination.-Early life:...
, hired May for his St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
opera company performing at Uhrig's Cave gardens and on tour. She first starred in F. C. Burnand and Meyer Lutz
Meyer Lutz
Wilhelm Meyer Lutz was a German-born English composer and conductor who is best known for light music, musical theatre and burlesques of well-known works....
's operatic burlesque of Bluebeard, which had opened in London earlier that year. The piece was a popular hit, and May received excellent notices. She then starred in H. B. Farnie and Robert 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 Rip Van Winkle
Rip Van Winkle (operetta)
Rip Van Winkle is an operetta in three acts by Robert Planquette. The English libretto by Henry Brougham Farnie was based on the stories The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving after the play by Dion Boucicault and Joseph Jefferson.-Performance history:The operetta...
, another hit.
May married 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...
Louis W. Raymond, another actor with Ford's Opera Company, in 1884. May toured in America for several years in light opera. She now played the contralto
Contralto
Contralto is the deepest female classical singing voice, with the lowest tessitura, falling between tenor and mezzo-soprano. It typically ranges between the F below middle C to the second G above middle C , although at the extremes some voices can reach the E below middle C or the second B above...
character roles, including Little Buttercup 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...
, Ruth 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...
, Lady Jane 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...
, Jelly in Gilbert
W. S. Gilbert
Sir William Schwenck Gilbert was an English dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for his fourteen comic operas produced in collaboration with the composer Sir Arthur Sullivan, of which the most famous include H.M.S...
and Clay
Frederic Clay
Frederic Emes Clay was an English composer known principally for his music written for the stage. Clay, a great friend of Arthur Sullivan's, wrote four comic operas with W. S...
's Princess Toto
Princess Toto
Princess Toto is a three-act comic opera by W. S. Gilbert and his long-time collaborator Frederic Clay. It opened on 24 June 1876 at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham, starring Kate Santley, W. S. Penley and J. H. Ryley. It transferred to the Royal Strand Theatre in London on 2 October 1876 for a run...
, and Katisha in the first authorised American production of 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...
at Uhrig's Cave in St. Louis, in July 1885.
Although May achieved popularity as a touring performer in America, she continued to struggle with alcoholism and continued to miss performances. In 1887, she became very ill in St. Louis during a tour with the Bijou Opera Company. She died there, at City Hospital, only 40 years of age. She was buried in St. Louis by members of the company.