Darrell Fancourt
Darrell Louis Fancourt Leverson (8 March 1886 – 29 August 1953), known as Darrell Fancourt, was an English bass-baritone and actor, known for his performances and recordings of the Savoy operas. After a brief concert career, Fancourt joined the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, where he starred in more than 10,000 performances over a 33-year period until his death. He regularly played about ten different roles for the company over these years, including the Pirate King in The Pirates of Penzance, Dick Deadeye in H.M.S. Pinafore, and the title character in The Mikado, which he played more than 3,000 times. Fancourt was famous for his melodramatic style, creating the controversial Mikado laugh that was later adopted by some of his successors. His performances are preserved in nineteen of the company's recordings made between 1923 and 1950. |
Birth and Death Data: Born March 8, 1888, Died August 29, 1953
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1926 - 1930
Roles Represented in DAHR: baritone vocal
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Gramophone | Cc9463 | 12-in. | 11/19/1926 | The Mikado | D'Oyly Carte Opera Company ; Darrell Fancourt ; Harry Norris | Male vocal chorus and soloist, with orchestra | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Gramophone | Cc9464 | 12-in. | 11/19/1926 | The Mikado | D'Oyly Carte Opera Company ; Aileen Davies ; Darrell Fancourt ; Elsie Griffin ; Bertha Lewis ; Henry A. Lytton ; Harry Norris ; Derek Oldham | Mixed vocal chorus and soloists, with orchestra | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Gramophone | Cc9470 | 12-in. | 11/22/1926 | The Mikado | D'Oyly Carte Opera Company ; Elsie Griffin ; Harry Norris ; Derek Oldham | Female vocal solo, with orchestra | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Gramophone | Cc9488 | 12-in. | 11/26/1926 | The Mikado | D'Oyly Carte Opera Company ; Darrell Fancourt ; Elsie Griffin ; Bertha Lewis ; Henry A. Lytton ; Harry Norris ; Derek Oldham | Mixed vocal chorus and soloists, with orchestra | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Gramophone | Cc18640 | 12-in. | 2/4/1930 | H.M.S. Pinafore | George Baker ; D'Oyly Carte Opera Company ; Darrell Fancourt ; Charles Goulding ; Sydney Granville ; Elsie Griffin | Vocal soloists, chorus, and orchestra | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Gramophone | Cc18647 | 12-in. | 2/6/1930 | H.M.S. Pinafore | Nellie Briercliffe ; D'Oyly Carte Opera Company ; Darrell Fancourt ; Charles Goulding ; Sydney Granville ; Elsie Griffin ; Bertha Lewis ; Stuart Robertson | Vocal soloists, chorus, and orchestra | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Gramophone | Cc18648 | 12-in. | 2/6/1930 | H.M.S. Pinafore | George Baker ; Nellie Briercliffe ; D'Oyly Carte Opera Company ; Darrell Fancourt ; Charles Goulding ; Sydney Granville ; Elsie Griffin ; Bertha Lewis ; Henry A. Lytton ; Stuart Robertson | Vocal soloists, chorus, and orchestra | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Gramophone | Cc18649 | 12-in. | 2/6/1930 | H.M.S. Pinafore | Nellie Briercliffe ; D'Oyly Carte Opera Company ; Darrell Fancourt ; Charles Goulding ; Sydney Granville ; Elsie Griffin | Vocal soloists, chorus, and orchestra | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Gramophone | Cc18705 | 12-in. | 3/14/1930 | H.M.S. Pinafore | George Baker ; Nellie Briercliffe ; D'Oyly Carte Opera Company ; Darrell Fancourt ; Charles Goulding ; Elsie Griffin ; Bertha Lewis ; Henry A. Lytton | Vocal soloists, chorus, and orchestra | vocalist, baritone vocal | |
Gramophone | Cc18713 | 12-in. | 3/24/1930 | H.M.S. Pinafore | George Baker ; D'Oyly Carte Opera Company ; Darrell Fancourt ; Elsie Griffin ; Henry A. Lytton | Vocal soloists, chorus, and orchestra | vocalist, baritone vocal |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Fancourt, Darrell," accessed November 6, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/102214.
Fancourt, Darrell. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 6, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/102214.
"Fancourt, Darrell." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 6 November 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Darrell Fancourt
Discogs: Darrell Fancourt
Allmusic: Darrell Fancourt
IMDb: Darrell Fancourt
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Fancourt, Darrell - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n78035058
Wikidata: Darrell Fancourt - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q5224621
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/18443986
MusicBrainz: Darrell Fancourt - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/9dd005d7-f787-4c45-98cc-00fe3b84a9fc
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