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Careless Rapture
''Careless Rapture'' is a 'musical play' by the Welsh composer Ivor Novello and lyrics by Christopher Hassall. It premiered on 11 September 1936 at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. It ran for 295 performances, a relatively modest success given Novello's other major successes. Written as another large-scale extravaganza (including a fair on Hampstead Heath and an on-stage earthquake), it followed Novello's hugely successful ''Glamorous Night'' of 1935. ''Careless Rapture'' is the tale of an actress, Penelope Lee, engaged to the wealthy Sir Robert Alderney, but who is the object of Rodney's half-brother Michael's affections. Set in London, and ending up in China, Michael finally wins Penelope's affections by rescuing her from an earthquake. Novello himself took the speaking part of Michael in the original production, which also starred Dorothy Dickson as Penelope Lee, Zena Dare as Phyllida Frame and Olive Gilbert as Mme Simonetti. Ivy Tresmand Ivy Tresmand (15 December 1898 – 2 N ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Careless Rapture (1936 Musical Play)
''Careless Rapture'' is a 'musical play' by the Welsh composer Ivor Novello and lyrics by Christopher Hassall. It premiered on 11 September 1936 at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. It ran for 295 performances, a relatively modest success given Novello's other major successes. Written as another large-scale extravaganza (including a fair on Hampstead Heath and an on-stage earthquake), it followed Novello's hugely successful ''Glamorous Night'' of 1935. ''Careless Rapture'' is the tale of an actress, Penelope Lee, engaged to the wealthy Sir Robert Alderney, but who is the object of Rodney's half-brother Michael's affections. Set in London, and ending up in China, Michael finally wins Penelope's affections by rescuing her from an earthquake. Novello himself took the speaking part of Michael in the original production, which also starred Dorothy Dickson as Penelope Lee, Zena Dare as Phyllida Frame and Olive Gilbert as Mme Simonetti. Ivy Tresmand later took over the part of Penelope Lee. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Welsh People
The Welsh ( cy, Cymry) are an ethnic group native to Wales. "Welsh people" applies to those who were born in Wales ( cy, Cymru) and to those who have Welsh ancestry, perceiving themselves or being perceived as sharing a cultural heritage and shared ancestral origins. Wales is the third-largest Countries of the United Kingdom, country of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. In the Acts of Union 1707, the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland merged to become the Kingdom of Great Britain. The majority of people living in Wales are British nationality law, British citizens. In Wales, the Welsh language ( cy, Cymraeg) is protected by law. Welsh remains the predominant language in many parts of Wales, particularly in North Wales and parts of West Wales, though English is the predominant language in South Wales. The Welsh language is also taught in schools throughout Wales, and, even in regions of Wales in which Welsh people predominantly speak English ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ivor Novello
Ivor Novello (born David Ivor Davies; 15 January 1893 – 6 March 1951) was a Welsh actor, dramatist, singer and composer who became one of the most popular British entertainers of the first half of the 20th century. He was born into a musical family, and his first successes were as a songwriter. His first big hit was " Keep the Home Fires Burning" (1914), which was enormously popular during the First World War. His 1917 show, ''Theodore & Co'', was a wartime hit. After the war, Novello contributed numbers to several successful musical comedies and was eventually commissioned to write the scores of complete shows. He wrote his musicals in the style of operetta and often composed his music to the libretti of Christopher Hassall. In the 1920s he turned to acting, first in British films and then on stage, with considerable success in both. He starred in two silent films directed by Alfred Hitchcock, '' The Lodger'' and ''Downhill'' (both 1927). On stage, he played the title charact ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christopher Hassall
Christopher Vernon Hassall (24 March 1912 – 25 April 1963) was an English actor, dramatist, librettist, lyricist and poet, who found his greatest fame in a memorable musical partnership with the actor and composer Ivor Novello after working together in the same touring company. He was also a noted biographer of Rupert Brooke (1964, Faber and Faber) and Edward Marsh (1958, James Tait Black Memorial Prize 1959). Biography Hassall was born in London and educated at St Michael's College, Tenbury, Brighton College and Wadham College, Oxford. He was the son of the illustrator John Hassall and brother of Joan Hassall, who engraved the title page of his book of poetry, ''Devil's Dyke'', published in 1936. Hassall married the actress Eve Lynett, with whom he had a son and a daughter, the actress Imogen Hassall. Hassall was an experienced actor serving as Ivor Novello's understudy in a minor London drama when Novello invited him to provide the lyrics for a new musical. Their ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) and backs onto Drury Lane. The building is the most recent in a line of four theatres which were built at the same location, the earliest of which dated back to 1663, making it the oldest theatre site in London still in use. According to the author Peter Thomson, for its first two centuries, Drury Lane could "reasonably have claimed to be London's leading theatre". For most of that time, it was one of a handful of patent theatres, granted monopoly rights to the production of "legitimate" drama in London (meaning spoken plays, rather than opera, dance, concerts, or plays with music). The first theatre on the site was built at the behest of Thomas Killigrew in the early 1660s, when theatres were allowed to reopen during the English Restoration. Initially ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hampstead Heath
Hampstead Heath (locally known simply as the Heath) is an ancient heath in London, spanning . This grassy public space sits astride a sandy ridge, one of the highest points in London, running from Hampstead to Highgate, which rests on a band of London Clay. The heath is rambling and hilly, embracing ponds, recent and ancient woodlands, a lido, playgrounds, and a training track, and it adjoins the former stately home of Kenwood House and its estate. The south-east part of the heath is Parliament Hill, from which the view over London is protected by law. Running along its eastern perimeter is a chain of ponds – including three open-air public swimming pools – which were originally reservoirs for drinking water from the River Fleet. The heath is a Site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation, and part of Kenwood is a Site of Special Scientific Interest. Lakeside concerts are held there in summer. The heath is managed by the City of London Corporation, and lies mostl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Glamorous Night
''Glamorous Night'' is a musical with a book and music by Ivor Novello and lyrics by Christopher Hassall, Novello's collaborator in six of the eight Novello musicals staged between 1935 and 1951. ''Glamorous Night'' was the first of several Novello musicals in the 1930s given an expensive, spectacular production, with several scene changes and a large cast, including many extras and dancers. Scenes included villas on a suburban street where a horse-drawn carriage was driven, the set of an operetta performed in the fictional country of Krasnia, shipboard skating and assassination scenes, the sinking of the ship, a bustling gypsy wedding and a Royal ballroom. The musical was first performed in London in 1935. In 1937 it was adapted as a film of the same name starring Mary Ellis and Otto Kruger. Productions ''Glamorous Night'' was produced by Ivor Novello. The musical opened at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London on 2 May 1935 to robust ticket sales, but had a limited r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dorothy Dickson
Dorothy Dickson (July 25, 1893 – September 25, 1995) was an American-born, London-based theater actress and singer, and a centenarian. Biography and Career Dickson is known mostly for her rendition of the Jerome Kern song "Look for the Silver Lining". She was also a member of the Ziegfeld Follies and made many appearances in New York and abroad. In 1922, she starred in ''The Cabaret Girl''. In 1936, she co-starred with Ivor Novello in his ''Careless Rapture'' and, in 1937, in his '' Crest of the Wave''. Dickson starred in a few silent films, including ''Eastward Ho!'' (1919) and ''Paying the Piper'' (1921). During her early days on the London stage, Dickson was introduced to another future celebrity (as well as centenarian), Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, later the Queen Mother. The two became close friends and their friendship lasted until Dickson's death at age 102. Her daughter was the actress Dorothy Hyson, who was married to Sir Anthony Quayle. During the Second World War ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zena Dare
Zena Dare (born Florence Hariette Zena Dones; 4 February 1887 – 11 March 1975) was an English singer and actress who was famous for her performances in Edwardian musical comedy and other musical theatre and comedic plays in the first half of the 20th century. In a career spanning more than six decades, Dare made her first appearance on stage in 1899, in the Christmas pantomime ''Babes in the Wood'' in London, where she performed under her real name Florence Dones. She starred alongside her sister Phyllis in the production, and they both adopted the stage name of Dare soon afterwards. In the first decade of the 1900s, she starred in pantomimes and various Edwardian musical comedy productions including ''An English Daisy'', ''Sergeant Brue'' and ''The Catch of the Season'', as well as the title roles in ''Lady Madcap'' and ''The Girl on Stage''. She retired in 1911 and nursed soldiers in France during World War I. Dare returned to the stage in 1926 where she played the title r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Olive Gilbert
Olive Sarah Gilbert (22 November 1898 – 19 February 1981) was a British singer and actress, who, in a career spanning seven decades, performed first in opera and then in many of Ivor Novello's musicals in London's West End. After the First World War, Gilbert sang contralto and mezzo-soprano roles with the Carl Rosa Opera Company for more than a decade. She moved into musical theatre in 1935, appearing in Novello's ''Glamorous Night''. She also had roles in his ''Careless Rapture'' (1936), '' Crest of the Wave'' (1937), ''The Dancing Years'' (1939), ''Arc de Triomphe'' (1943), '' Perchance to Dream'' (1945) and ''King's Rhapsody'' (1949). From 1961 to 1966, she played Sister Margaretta in ''The Sound of Music'', and she appeared as the housekeeper in ''Man of La Mancha'' in 1968. She continued to perform into the 1970s. Biography Gilbert was born in Carmarthen, Wales. By 1919, she began her professional career in contralto and mezzo-soprano roles with the Carl Rosa Opera Comp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ivy Tresmand
Ivy Tresmand (15 December 1898 – 2 November 1980) was an English soubrette who appeared mostly in musical theatre. Tresmand was born in London. Her earliest appearances were in the chorus of the revue '' Shell Out'' (1915), in the musicals ''Houp La!'' (1916–1917) and ''Betty'', and in the revue ''Bubbly''.Kurt Gänzl, ''The Encyclopedia of the Musical Theatre'' (Schirmer, 2001), p. 2070: "TRESMAND, Ivy (b London, 15 December 1898; d South Africa, 2 November 1980). British soubrette of the 1920s and 1930s. After early appearances in the chorus of the revue ''Shell Out'' (1915) and in small parts in the musical ''Houp-La!'' (1916), ''Betty'', and the revue ''Bubbly'', Ivy Tresmand was cast at the age of 21 in the role of Tina in London's version of ''The Red Mill''. She subsequently appeared in the revue ''Just Fancy'', took over the comic role of Margot in ''Sybil'' from May Beatty..." In 1922 Tresmand won the leading role of Tina in a West End revival of the Broadway show ''T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leontine Sagan
Leontine Sagan (born Leontine Schlesinger; 13 February 1889 – 20 May 1974) was an Austrian-Hungarian theatre director and actress of Jewish descent. She is best known for directing ''Mädchen in Uniform'' (1931). Along with directing for both cinema and the stage, Sagan also acted in several films. She died in Pretoria, South Africa in 1974, at the age of 85. Personal life Born in either Budapest or Vienna in 1889, Sagan trained with Max Reinhardt, who is best known for his elaborate and imaginative sets and theatrics. In 1899, as a child, she moved to South Africa with her family just before the Second Boer War. She was educated in a German-language school in Johannesburg. In her later years, Sagan married publisher and writer Dr. Victor Fleischer; the union was childless. Career Sagan directed three films. She is best remembered for the first of two films she directed, ''Mädchen in Uniform'' (1931). It has an all-female cast and was ground-breaking not only for its po ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
