Sydney Granville (born Walter Dewhurst; 1880 – 27 December 1959) was an English singer and actor, best known for his performances in the

Savoy Operas 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 ...

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 ...

. After early theatrical work in

musical comedy Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...

, straight plays and

grand opera Grand opera is a genre of 19th-century opera generally in four or five acts, characterized by large-scale casts and orchestras, and (in their original productions) lavish and spectacular design and stage effects, normally with plots based on o ...

, he joined the D'Oyly Carte company, at first in the chorus, then in lyric

baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...

roles and finally in the comic

bass-baritone A bass-baritone is a high-lying bass or low-lying "classical" baritone voice type which shares certain qualities with the true baritone voice. The term arose in the late 19th century to describe the particular type of voice required to sing thr ...

parts of 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 ...

operas. With brief breaks when he performed for other managements, Granville was with D'Oyly Carte from 1907 to 1942.

Life and career

Granville was born Walter Dewhurst in

Bolton Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish people, Flemish weavers settled in the area i ...

, Lancashire. His early stage appearances were on tour in a

entitled ''Dorcas'', a romantic drama, ''The God of War'', and in

with the

Moody-Manners Opera Company Charles Manners (27 December 18573 May 1935) was a British bass singer and opera company manager. His earliest performances were with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, first as a chorus member and then as a principal, creating the role of Private ...

.''

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 ...

'', obituary, 29 December 1959, p. 10

Early career – lyric baritone

Granville joined the

chorus in 1907, soon understudying the role of Lord Mountararat 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 ...

'' 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 Pala ...

in London.Stone, David
"Sydney Granville"
''Who Was Who in the D'Oyly Carte Company'', accessed 28 December 2009 When the season ended, he toured with the company in the chorus and played the small role of Selworthy in the curtain raiser ''

After All! ''After All!'' is a one-act comic opera with a libretto by Frank Desprez and music by Alfred Cellier. It was first performed at the Savoy Theatre under the management of Richard D'Oyly Carte, along with ''H.M.S. Pinafore'' and another short piece ...

''. The next season, at the Savoy, he played John Lloyd in Fenn and Faraday's '' A Welsh Sunset'', given as a curtain raiser to ''

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 ''

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 ...

'', and he understudied

Henry Lytton Sir Henry Lytton (born Henry Alfred Jones; 3 January 1865 – 15 August 1936) was an English actor and singer who was the leading exponent of the starring comic patter-baritone roles in Gilbert and Sullivan operas from 1909 to 1934. He also sta ...

in the role of Dick Deadeye in ''Pinafore''. Granville-sheffield-1920

On tour with D'Oyly Carte from 1908 to 1914, Granville played a variety of

roles, including the Counsel to the Plaintiff in ''

Trial by Jury A jury trial, or trial by jury, is a legal proceeding in which a jury makes a decision or findings of fact. It is distinguished from a bench trial in which a judge or panel of judges makes all decisions. Jury trials are used in a significant ...

'', Boatswain in ''Pinafore'', Samuel in ''The Pirates of Penzance'', Colonel Calverley 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 ...

'', Strephon in ''

'', Arac 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 ...

'', Pish-Tush 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 ...

'', the Lieutenant of the Tower 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 ...

'', and Luiz 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 ...

''. In March 1914, Granville left the company. He played 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 ...

as the Demon Killjoy in ''Cinderella'' at the

London Palladium The London Palladium () is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in the famous area of Soho. The theatre holds 2,286 seats. Of the roster of stars who have played there, many have televised performances. Between 1955 an ...

. He rejoined D'Oyly Carte, during its 1915–16 tour, playing only Strephon and Luiz in a nine-opera repertoire. ''

The Manchester Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' commented on his neglect, "Mr. Sydney Granville, who has been heard too little, was a delightful Strephon." In the next season, he lost the role of Strephon to

Leo Sheffield Leo Sheffield (15 November 1873 – 3 September 1951), born Arthur Leo Wilson, was an English singer and actor best known for his performances in baritone roles of the Savoy Operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company. He made his first stage a ...

when the latter rejoined the company. Granville left D'Oyly Carte for the second time in 1917. Following the death of the veteran D'Oyly Carte performer

Fred Billington Fred Billington (1 July 1854 – 2 November 1917) was an English singer and actor, best known for his performances in baritone roles of the Savoy Operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company. His career with the company began in 1879 and continued ...

in November 1917, Sheffield took on most of his

roles. A year later, Granville returned to play the lyric

roles that Sheffield had earlier played.Rollins and Witts, pp. 134–46 These roles were the Counsel, Boatswain, Samuel, Strephon, Florian in ''Princess Ida'', Pish-Tush, the Lieutenant, and Luiz, later swapping the Counsel for the Usher in ''Trial'', adding the Colonel and later Grosvenor in ''Patience'', and swapping Luiz for Giuseppe in ''The Gondoliers''. In 1920, the critic

Neville Cardus Sir John Frederick Neville Cardus, CBE (2 April 188828 February 1975) was an English writer and critic. From an impoverished home background, and mainly self-educated, he became ''The Manchester Guardian''s cricket correspondent in 1919 and it ...

wrote of him, "As fine a Savoyard as any in the company, Mr. Sydney Granville acted and sang capitally. He has a rare instinct for the gauntness of the English ballad manner which is the secret of Gilbert's lyrical style ... also he never loses the suspicion of parody which so often underlines Sullivan's tunes." In 1921 Granville added to his repertoire the role of Cox 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 ...

'', and by 1924, he had given up the smaller roles of Samuel and the Lieutenant. In 1925 he transferred to D'Oyly Carte's smaller touring company, playing Colonel Calverley in ''Patience'', Mountararat in ''Iolanthe'', the title role in ''The Mikado'', and Sir Roderic Murgatroyd 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 ...

''.

Later career – "heavy" baritone

In 1925 Granville left the company for the third time, touring in Australia and New Zealand with the J. C. Williamson organisation in 1926–27 in the Gilbert and Sullivan bass-baritone roles that he would later play with D'Oyly Carte.Morrison, Robert
"Sydney Granville's 1926 Australasian Tour"
''A Gilbert and Sullivan Discography'', accessed 28 December 2009 Returning to England in 1927, he made several radio broadcasts for the

BBC #REDIRECT 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 ex ...

, including '' The Red Pen'', "a sort of opera" by

A. P. Herbert Sir Alan Patrick Herbert CH (A. P. Herbert, 24 September 1890 – 11 November 1971), was an English humorist, novelist, playwright, law reformist, and in 1935–1950 an independent Member of Parliament for Oxford University. Born in Ashtead, Su ...

and

Geoffrey Toye Edward Geoffrey Toye (17 February 1889 – 11 June 1942), known as Geoffrey Toye, was an English conductor, composer and opera producer. He is best remembered as a musical director of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company and for his association wit ...

. He toured in

Robert Stolz Robert Elisabeth Stolz (25 August 188027 June 1975) was an Austrian songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be call ...

's musical ''The Blue Train,'' and then played Lockit in ''

The Beggar's Opera ''The Beggar's Opera'' is a ballad opera in three acts written in 1728 by John Gay with music arranged by Johann Christoph Pepusch. It is one of the watershed plays in Augustan drama and is the only example of the once thriving genre of satiri ...

'', at the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith, in 1928. Granville rejoined the D'Oyly Carte company in 1928, replacing the retiring Leo Sheffield in the bass-baritone roles. Except during Sheffield's return for the 22-week London Season in 1929–30, Granville performed these "heavy" baritone roles until his retirement in December 1942. He played the Learned Judge in ''Trial'', the Sergeant of Police in ''Pirates'', Private Willis in ''Iolanthe'', Pooh-Bah in ''The Mikado'', Sir Despard Murgatroyd in ''Ruddigore'', and Don Alhambra in ''The Gondoliers''. He added Wilfred Shadbolt in ''Yeomen'' in 1929 and King Hildebrand in ''Princess Ida'' in 1931.Rollins and Witts, pp. 153–66 In 1938, ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

'' wrote that Granville "has worked up from stripling parts like Strephon to become, after twenty-five odd years, one of the great Savoy veterans." By 1939, he had given up the Judge and Willis. "Granny," as he was known in the D'Oyly Carte company, was married to the chorister and small-part player

Anna Bethell Anna Bethell (1882 – 2 March 1969) was an English actress, singer and stage director. She is best known for her performances in the Gilbert and Sullivan operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company. After playing other small mezzo-soprano par ...

(known principally for playing Mrs. Partlett in ''

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 ...

'' whenever it was revived. Bethell later served as stage director of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company from 1947–49 and for the J. C. Williamson Gilbert and Sullivan Company.Rollins and Witts, pp. iv–v Granville died in

Stockport Stockport is a town and borough in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt and Tame merge to create the River Mersey here. Most of the town is within ...

, Cheshire, in 1959 at the age of 79.

Recordings

Granville was Pooh-Bah in the 1939 Technicolor film version of ''The Mikado''. With D'Oyly Carte, he participated in the following

HMV Sunrise Records and Entertainment, trading as HMV (for His Master's Voice), is a British music and entertainment retailer, currently operating exclusively in the United Kingdom. The first HMV-branded store was opened by the Gramophone Company ...

recordings of the operas: ''H.M.S. Pinafore'' (1922 – as Captain Corcoran and Boatswain), ''Princess Ida'' (1924 – Florian), ''Iolanthe'' (1929 – Private Willis), ''Pinafore'' (1930 – Boatswain), abridged Gondoliers (1931 – Don Alhambra), abridged Pirates (1931 – Sergeant), Ruddigore (1931 – Despard), abridged Yeomen (1931 – Shadbolt), and Mikado (1936 – Pooh-Bah).

References

Sources

* *

External links

Profile of Granville
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Granville, Sydney 1880 births 1959 deaths English operatic baritones 20th-century British male opera singers