Florence Easton (not to be confused with the better known soprano

Florence Easton Florence Easton (25 October 1882 – 13 August 1955) was a popular English dramatic soprano in the early 20th century. She was one of the most versatile singers of all time. She sang more than 100 parts, covering a wide range of styles and ...

) was a British singer and actress who sang with the

D'Oyly Carte Opera Company The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company is a professional British light opera company that, from the 1870s until 1982, staged Gilbert and Sullivan's Savoy operas nearly year-round in the UK and sometimes toured in Europe, North America and elsewhere. The ...

in the early 1890s. Easton appeared with the

Savoy Opera Savoy opera was 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 impr ...

s from May 1892 to June 1894. In ''

Captain Billy ''Captain Billy'' is a one-act comic opera with a libretto by Harry Greenbank and music by François Cellier. It was first performed at the Savoy Theatre on 24 September 1891 until 16 January 1892, as a curtain raiser to ''The Nautch Girl'', and f ...

'', a one-act curtain raiser that accompanied ''

The Vicar of Bray The Vicar of Bray is a satirical description of an individual fundamentally changing his principles to remain in ecclesiastical office as external requirements change around him. The religious upheavals in England from 1533 to 1559 (and then from ...

'', she played the small role of Polly in May and June 1892. She originated another small role, Deborah, in ''

Haddon Hall Haddon Hall is an English country house on the River Wye near Bakewell, Derbyshire, a former seat of the Dukes of Rutland. It is the home of Lord Edward Manners (brother of the incumbent Duke) and his family. In form a medieval manor house, it ...

'' in September 1892, and in April 1893 she had the opportunity to play the leading role of Dorothy Vernon in that opera for several nights until the end of that opera's run. In 1893, she alo appeared in another small part, Winifred, in ''

Mr. Jericho ''Mr. Jericho'' is a comic opera in one act with words by Harry Greenbank and music by Ernest Ford. The work was first performed at the Savoy Theatre, London, on 18 March 1893 as a curtain raiser to Arthur Sullivan's ''Haddon Hall'' in March and ...

'', by

Harry Greenbank Harry Greenbank (11 September 1865 – 26 February 1899) was an English author and dramatist best known for contributing lyrics to the successful series of musicals produced at Daly's Theatre by George Edwardes in the 1890s. Life and career Harr ...

and

Ernest Ford Albert Ernest Alsor Clair Ford (17 February 1858 – 2 June 1919) was an English composer of operas and ballet music and a conductor. Life and career Ford was born in Warminster, Wiltshire, England, the son of Edward Ford, the vestry clerk a ...

, a

curtain raiser A curtain raiser is a short performance, stage act, show, actor or performer that opens a show for the main attraction. The term is derived from the act of raising the stage curtain. The first person on stage has "raised the curtain". The fashio ...

to ''Haddon Hall'' and ''

Jane Annie ''Jane Annie, or The Good Conduct Prize'' is a comic opera written in 1893 by J. M. Barrie and Arthur Conan Doyle, with music by Ernest Ford, a conductor and occasional composer. When the Gilbert and Sullivan partnership disbanded after the p ...

'', also at the

Savoy Theatre The Savoy Theatre is a West End theatre in the Strand in the City of Westminster, London, England. The theatre was designed by C. J. Phipps for Richard D'Oyly Carte and opened on 10 October 1881 on a site previously occupied by the Savoy P ...

. In 1893, she was supposed to create the small role of Phylla in the original production of Gilbert and Sullivan's ''

Utopia, Limited ''Utopia, Limited; or, The Flowers of Progress'', is a Savoy opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It was the second-to-last of Gilbert and Sullivan's fourteen collaborations, premiering on 7 October 1893 for a ...

'', but her understudy, Miss Howell-Hersee, sang the role from 7 October until 7 November 1893, when Easton took over the part.Ayre, p. 79

Notes

References

* English operatic sopranos Women of the Victorian era 19th-century births Year of death unknown 19th-century British women opera singers {{UK-opera-singer-stub