Peter Pratt (21 March 1923 – 11 January 1995) was an English actor and singer. He was best known for his comic roles in the
Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan was a Victorian era, Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900), who jointly created fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which ...
comic opera
Comic opera, sometimes known as light opera, is a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending and often including spoken dialogue.
Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a ne ...
s.
Pratt started his career in the chorus of 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 ...
in 1945, moving up to small roles and then understudying
Martyn Green
William Martin Green (22 April 1899 – 8 February 1975), known by his stage name, Martyn Green, was an English actor and singer. He is remembered for his performances and recordings as principal comedian of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, in t ...
, the principal comedian. From 1951 to 1959, he was the company's principal comedian, earning critical praise in the famous "
patter
Patter is a prepared and practiced speech that is designed to produce a desired response from its audience. Examples of occupations with a patter might include the auctioneer, salesperson, dance caller, magician, or comedian.
The term may have ...
" roles. After leaving the company, he moved on to a career in theatre, television, concert and radio, although he continued to perform the Gilbert and Sullivan roles throughout his career.
Among his television roles Pratt was the second actor to play
the Master in the
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
series ''
Doctor Who
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...
''.
Biography
Pratt was born and grew up in
Eastbourne
Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the la ...
, England, where he began to study singing as a child and was a soloist in his church choir. He was also involved in amateur theatrical societies.
[Peter Pratt]
at the Memories of the D'Oyly Carte website
D'Oyly Carte years
Peter Pratt joined 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 ...
in the chorus in September 1945, at the age of 22. He began to play small roles with the company in 1947, including Go-To in ''
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 Gilbert and Sullivan, operatic collaborations. It opened on 14 March 1885, in London, whe ...
''. In the 1948–49 season, he became second understudy to
Martyn Green
William Martin Green (22 April 1899 – 8 February 1975), known by his stage name, Martyn Green, was an English actor and singer. He is remembered for his performances and recordings as principal comedian of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, in t ...
and continued to play several of the smaller roles, including Bouncer in ''
Cox and Box
''Cox and Box; or, The Long-Lost Brothers'', is a one-act comic opera with a libretto by F. C. Burnand and music by Arthur Sullivan, based on the 1847 farce '' Box and Cox'' by John Maddison Morton. It was Sullivan's first successful comic o ...
'', Bill Bobstay in ''
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, on 25 May 1878 and ran for 571 performances, whic ...
'' and Major Murgatroyd in ''
Patience
(or forbearance) is the ability to endure difficult circumstances. Patience may involve perseverance in the face of delay; tolerance of provocation without responding in disrespect/anger; or forbearance when under strain, especially when faced ...
''.
[ He got his big break when he was called upon to play Robin Oakapple in '']Ruddigore
''Ruddigore; or, The Witch's Curse'', originally called ''Ruddygore'', is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It is one of the Savoy Operas and the tenth of fourteen comic operas written tog ...
'' on short notice in May 1949 (and several of the other "patter" roles that summer), when both Green and the principal understudy fell ill. He was soon given the primary understudy responsibilities, filling in for most of the comic "patter" roles, as well as playing several of the other smaller roles from time to time.[Stone, David]
Peter Pratt
at ''Who Was Who in the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company (2007)
In September 1951, exactly six years after joining the company, Pratt became the principal comedian following Green's departure, and he served in that capacity for the next eight seasons, playing Sir Joseph Porter in ''Pinafore'', the Major-General in ''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, W. S. Gilbert. Its official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on 31 ...
'', Bunthorne in ''Patience'', the Lord Chancellor in ''Iolanthe
''Iolanthe; or, The Peer and the Peri'' () is a comic opera with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, first performed in 1882. It is one of the Savoy operas and is the seventh of fourteen operatic collaborations by Gilbert ...
'', Ko-Ko in ''The Mikado'', Robin in ''Ruddigore'', Jack Point in ''The Yeomen of the Guard
''The Yeomen of the Guard; or, The Merryman and His Maid'', is a Savoy Opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It premiered at the Savoy Theatre on 3 October 1888 and ran for 423 performances. This was the eleventh ...
'', the Duke of Plaza-Toro in ''The Gondoliers
''The Gondoliers; or, The King of Barataria'' is a Savoy Opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It premiered at the Savoy Theatre on 7 December 1889 and ran for a very successful 554 performances (at that time the ...
'' and King Gama in ''Princess Ida
''Princess Ida; or, Castle Adamant'' is a comic opera with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It was their eighth operatic collaboration of fourteen. ''Princess Ida'' opened at the Savoy Theatre on 5 January 1884, for a ru ...
''.[ In 1953, his first London season as principal comedian, '']The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' reviewed him in the role of the Lord Chancellor: "Mr. Peter Pratt... had a good delivery, a quiet manner, and a nimble pair of legs that contrasted suddenly and superbly with his dry demeanour. He refrained from overplaying the part". In reviewing a 1956 ''Ruddigore'', ''The Times'' wrote, "Mr. Pratt showed true operatic talent in the win roleschanging the colour of his tone and the expression of his face with decisive skill." In a 1957 review, a correspondent for ''The Times'' called Pratt's Jack Point, in ''Yeomen'', "very human, not over-dramatized".
Pratt suffered an illness in the spring of 1959, and in May he announced that he had decided not to rejoin the company the next season. His last appearance with the company was on 30 May 1959. During his tenure with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, Pratt recorded the roles of Major Murgatroyd (''Patience'', 1951), John Wellington Wells (''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 Lo ...
'', 1953), King Gama (''Princess Ida'', 1955), Ko-Ko (''The Mikado'', 1957), and Major-General Stanley (''Pirates'', 1957).[
]
Later years
After leaving the D'Oyly Carte organisation, Pratt turned his attention to theatre, television, concert, and radio work. In 1964, for example, he appeared in ''All in Love'', a musical based on Sheridan's ''The Rivals
''The Rivals'' is a comedy of manners by Richard Brinsley Sheridan in five acts which was first performed at Covent Garden Theatre on 17 January 1775. The story has been updated frequently, including a 1935 musical and a 1958 List of Maverick ...
''. In 1965, he was seen in the comic play '' A Month in the Country'' at the Cambridge Theatre in London. He was a member of the BBC Drama Repertory Company in the early 1960s.
In 1966, BBC Radio
BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering th ...
presented a complete cycle of the thirteen extant Gilbert and Sullivan operas, with dialogue, with Pratt starring in ten of them and working behind the scenes as co-producer. His love of Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan was a Victorian era, Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900), who jointly created fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which ...
continued during his later career, and he frequently turned to their operas for inspiration. As a writer, narrator, and performer he presented a television play called ''Jack Point'' (1973), and radio programmes such as ''Afternoon at the Savoy'', ''Evening at the Savoy'', and ''Take a Sparkling Pair''. Pratt also toured his own companies, "Music Mosaic" and "The World of Gilbert and Sullivan" presenting Gilbert and Sullivan and other works to audiences in Britain, North America, and Australia.[ He appeared in a full costume production of ''The Mikado'' at ]Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...
. As part of the 1975 centennial season, before the first of the four performances of ''Trial by Jury'', a specially-written curtain raiser by William Douglas-Home
William Douglas Home (3 June 1912 – 28 September 1992) was a British dramatist and politician.
Early life
Douglas-Home (he later dropped the hyphen from his surname) was the third son of Charles Douglas-Home, 13th Earl of Home, and Lady Lili ...
, called ''Dramatic Licence'', was played by Pratt as Richard D'Oyly Carte
Richard D'Oyly Carte (; 3 May 1844 – 3 April 1901) was an English talent agent, theatrical impresario, composer, and hotelier during the latter half of the Victorian era. He built two of London's theatres and a hotel empire, while also establi ...
, Kenneth Sandford
Kenneth Sandford (28 June 1924 – 19 September 2004) was an English singer and actor, best known for his performances in baritone roles of the Savoy Operas of Gilbert and Sullivan.
After service the Royal Air Force during World War II, San ...
as Gilbert and John Ayldon
John Ayldon (11 December 1943 – 16 February 2013) was an English opera singer and comic actor, best known for his performances in bass-baritone roles of the Savoy Operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company.
Though born in England, Ayldon spen ...
as Sullivan, in which Gilbert, Sullivan and Carte plan the birth of ''Trial'' in 1875.
In 1976, Pratt appeared in the serial ''The Deadly Assassin
''The Deadly Assassin'' is the third serial of the 14th season of the British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 30 October to 20 November 1976. It is the first seri ...
'' from the BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
.