Jessie Broughton (29 March 1885 – 1938) was an English

contralto A contralto () is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range is the lowest female voice type. The contralto's vocal range is fairly rare; similar to the mezzo-soprano, and almost identical to that of a countertenor, typically b ...

and actress. She made her stage debut at the

Apollo Theatre The Apollo Theatre is a Grade II listed West End theatre, on Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster, in central London.

in London in 1903 and soon appeared in '' Véronique'', ''

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

'' and ''

A Waltz Dream ' (''A Waltz Dream'') is an operetta by Oscar Straus with a German libretto by and , based on the novella ' (''Nux, the Prince Consort'') by Hans Müller-Einigen from his 1905 book ' (''Book of Adventures''). The young Jacobson presented Strau ...

'' in the West End. In 1910, she married, and with her husband she performed in London and toured Britain and abroad in

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), ...

and

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Bri ...

, and made recordings, until the 1930s.

Early life and career

Broughton was born in Hackney, London, as Jessie Broughton Black, the daughter of Broughton Black,''Who's Who in Music'', Ed. Sir

Landon Ronald Sir Landon Ronald (born Landon Ronald Russell) (7 June 1873 – 14 August 1938) was an English conductor, composer, pianist, teacher and administrator. In his early career he gained work as an accompanist and ''répétiteur'', but struggled ...

, Shaw Publishing Co. Ltd., 1935, p. 51''Who's Who in Music'', Ed. H. Saxe Wyndham, Boston - Small, Maynard and Co. 1913, p. 31 an actor who had performed 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. Th ...

. She used the stage name Jessie Broughton and for recordings sometimes used the pseudonym Agnes Preston. She was a voice pupil of Madame Oudin and also studied the piano.Culme, John
"Postcard of the week"
''Footlight Notes'', 30 January 2010, accessed 1 May 2012

Stage career

In 1903 she was engaged by the theatre manager

George Edwardes George Joseph Edwardes (né Edwards; 8 October 1855 – 4 October 1915) was an English theatre manager and producer of Irish ancestry who brought a new era in musical theatre to the British stage and beyond. Edwardes started out in theatre ma ...

to appear at the

Apollo Theatre The Apollo Theatre is a Grade II listed West End theatre, on Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster, in central London.

in London's West End. Her first role there was in the musical ''

The Girl from Kays ''The Girl from Kays'' is a musical comedy in three acts, with music by Ivan Caryll and book and lyrics by Owen Hall. Additional songs were by Paul Rubens, Howard Talbot, Adrian Ross, Percy Greenbank and others. The farcical story concerns a mi ...

'' in 1903, subsequently appearing at the same theatre in ''Madame Sherry''. In 1904 she appeared again at the Apollo in the small role of Irma in '' Véronique''. During the 1905–6 season she performed as a solo vocalist at the Empire Theatre. In 1908 she appeared as Zara in ''

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

'' at the Gaiety TheatreW. Macqueen-Pope, ''Gaiety Theatre of Enchantment'', W.H.Allen & Co., Ltd., London, 1949, p. 418 and, in the same year, she appeared as Friedrike in ''

'' at the Hicks Theatre, touring with this production in 1909. She visited America in 1910 as well as appearing in

s. She also made appearances at

Daly's Theatre Daly's Theatre was a theatre in the City of Westminster. It was located at 2 Cranbourn Street, just off Leicester Square. It opened on 27 June 1893, and was demolished in 1937. The theatre was built for and named after the American impresar ...

. In 1910, Broughton married the

tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...

and violinist Dennis Creedon.British General Register Office
/ref> Between 1911 and 1915, she continued to appear at the principal

houses.''Who's who in the theatre'', John Parker, Pitman, London, 1916, "Who's Who in Variety" p. 10 During the next twenty years or so, the couple toured and performed in the UK, US, Africa and Australia."The Wintergarden Theatre"
''The Brisbane Courier'', 24 February 1925, p. 9

Recording career

Broughton made dozens of records mostly of the sacred or light classical typeLondon Musical Shows on Record,

Brian Rust Brian Arthur Lovell Rust (19 March 1922 – 5 January 2011) was an English jazz discographer. Career Rust was born in 1922 in Golders Green, then part of the Municipal Borough of Hendon in Middlesex. He collected records from the age of fiv ...

,General Gramophone Publications Ltd., 1977 for the following labels: Scala,

Coliseum The Colosseum ( ; it, Colosseo ) is an oval amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, just east of the Roman Forum. It is the largest ancient amphitheatre ever built, and is still the largest standing amphitheatre in the world t ...

, Favorite and Homochord. She also made recordings with her husband Dennis Creedon. She was one of the first (in c.1915) to record the song "The Sunshine of Your Smile" which had been written in 1912 by Leonard Cooke and Lilian Ray and which was covered more recently in 1980 by the singer Mike Berry. She died in

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from Watling Street, the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the Lon ...

, London, England in 1938 aged 53.

References

External links

Photo of Broughton in ''Véronique''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Broughton, Jessie 1885 births 1938 deaths English stage actresses Music hall performers 20th-century English women singers 20th-century English singers