Florence Smithson (13 March 1884 – 11 February 1936) was an actress and singer celebrated in

Edwardian musical comedy Edwardian musical comedy was a form of British musical theatre that extended beyond the reign of King Edward VII in both directions, beginning in the early 1890s, when the Gilbert and Sullivan operas' dominance had ended, until the rise of the A ...

. In her early career she was an opera singer. She was spotted by the impresario

Robert Courtneidge Robert Courtneidge (29 June 1859 – 6 April 1939) was a British theatrical manager-producer and playwright. He is best remembered as the co-author of the light opera ''Tom Jones (Edward German), Tom Jones'' (1907) and the producer of ''The Arc ...

and recruited for his productions in the West End of London and on tour, most notably the hit musical '' The Arcadians''. She was known for the purity of her

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

singing voice.

Life and career

She was the daughter of Will Smithson, a well-known provincial theatre manager. She was born in

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

in the heart of England, but was raised in south Wales, where her father owned and ran the Theatre Royal,

Merthyr Tydfil Merthyr Tydfil (; cy, Merthyr Tudful ) is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydf ...

. She made her stage debut at the age of three in

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...

. After leaving school she studied at the

London College of Music London College of Music (LCM) is a music school in London, England. It is one of eight separate schools that make up the University of West London. History LCM was founded in 1887 and existed as an independent music conservatoire based at Gr ...

. Various singing engagements followed, and while she was touring with a small opera company in ''

La fille du régiment ' (''The Daughter of the Regiment'') is an opéra comique in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti, set to a French libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and Jean-François Bayard. It was first performed on 11 February 1840 by the Paris Opéra- ...

'', she was spotted by the impresario

. Under his management she toured in 1904–05 as Nanoya in ''

The Cingalee ''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...

'' and Chandra Nil in '' The Blue Moon''. In August 1905, she made her first appearance in the West End repeating her role in ''The Blue Moon'' and making an immediate success. From then until the First World War she made occasional

variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

appearances and played in a series of musical comedies. The latter included ''The Dairymaids'', '' Tom Jones'', '' The Arcadians'' (in which she created the role of Sombra), ''The Mousmé'', ''The Sleeping Beauty'', ''An Indian Romance'' and ''The Sleeping Beauty Re-Awakened.'' In July 1914, she sailed for Australia, but the outbreak of war curtailed her tour. Returning to England in 1915 she toured in variety theatres and played pantomime seasons in London. Australian and South African tours followed in the 1920s, and she returned to England in 1927. One of her last engagements was in a national tour of '' The Gipsy Princess''. She had a singing voice of great purity, and audiences waited expectantly for her trademark pianissimo high notes. The operatic star

Adelina Patti Adelina Patti (19 February 184327 September 1919) was an Italian 19th-century opera singer, earning huge fees at the height of her career in the music capitals of Europe and America. She first sang in public as a child in 1851, and gave her la ...

dubbed her "the Nightingale of Wales". Smithson was the first wife of the actor Dan Rolyat.Parker, p. 790 She died after an operation in Cardiff at the age of 51."Death of Miss Florence Smithson", ''The Times'', 13 February 1936, p. 10

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smithson, Florence 1884 births 1936 deaths Welsh stage actresses 20th-century Welsh women singers 20th-century Welsh actresses People from Leicester People from Merthyr Tydfil Welsh sopranos 19th-century Welsh actresses