Beecham Opera Company
The Beecham Opera Company was an opera company founded by Thomas Beecham which presented opera in English in London and on tour between 1916 and 1920. The initiative was conceived as part of Beecham's campaign to foster musical life during World War I, after the forced closure of the Covent Garden Opera Company, where the conductor had been mounting opera seasons. Conveniently, Beecham's project was able to draw on many former members of the Edinburgh-based Denhof Opera Company, thereby effectively continuing the earlier company's work. The company was formed with mainly British singers, with New Zealander Rosina Buckman a notable exception; she was assigned the role of a principal dramatic soprano. Supported financially by Beecham's father, Joseph, the new outfit quickly turned into a successful touring company with casts of mainly British singers, including Frank Mullings, who was entrusted with some of the key lead roles. Beecham's company provided the wartime public with opera performances both around the provinces and in London (at the Drury Lane, Shaftesbury and Aldwych theatres), even during the 1917 Zeppelin raids. The repertoire was extensive, and included productions of works as ambitious as Boris Godunov (in French) and Tristan und Isolde. Although Beecham had intended the company to be a permanent venture, it was disbanded in 1920 when financial problems over buying the Bedford Estate forced him to withdraw temporarily from the music scene. Many of the performers joined the British National Opera Company (1922–1929), a replacement venture which bought the entire assets of the Beecham company, comprising the scenery, costumes, scores, instruments and performing rights for 48 operas. |
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1919
Roles Represented in DAHR: Musical group
= 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 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Columbia | 76568 | 12-in. | approximately 1919 | Overture | Beecham Opera Company ; Eugene Goossens | Orchestra | Musical group | |
Columbia | 76569 | 12-in. | approximately 1919 | Entracte | Beecham Opera Company ; Eugene Goossens | Orchestra | Musical group | |
Columbia | 76570 | 12-in. | approximately 1919 | On Monday she sold cod-fish | Beecham Opera Company ; Eugene Goossens ; Herbert Langley | Baritone vocal solo, with chorus and orchestra | Musical group | |
Columbia | 76571 | 12-in. | approximately 1919 | When heavy care | Beecham Opera Company ; Desirée Ellinger ; Eugene Goossens ; Constantin Stroesco | Vocal duet (soprano and tenor), with orchestra | Musical group | |
Columbia | 76572 | 12-in. | approximately 1919 | Clairette I worship | Beecham Opera Company ; Eugene Goossens ; Constantin Stroesco | Tenor vocal solo, with orchestra | Musical group | |
Columbia | 76573 | 12-in. | approximately 1919 | The Augereau grenadiers | Gladys Ancrum ; Beecham Opera Company ; Eugene Goossens | Soprano vocal solo, with chorus and orchestra | Musical group | |
Columbia | 76574 | 12-in. | approximately 1919 | Where are you going? | Beecham Opera Company ; Eugene Goossens ; Herbert Langley ; Arthur Wynn | Vocal duet (2 baritones), with orchestra | Musical group | |
Columbia | 76575 | 12-in. | approximately 1919 | In days gone by | Beecham Opera Company ; Desirée Ellinger ; Eugene Goossens | Soprano vocal solo, with chorus and orchestra | Musical group | |
Columbia | 76576 | 12-in. | approximately 1919 | Eh, what! | Gladys Ancrum ; Beecham Opera Company ; C. Bloomfield ; Desirée Ellinger ; Eugene Goossens ; Constantin Stroesco ; Arthur Wynn | Vocal quintet with orchestra | Musical group | |
Columbia | 76577 | 12-in. | approximately 1919 | Come, let's discuss political relations | Gladys Ancrum ; Beecham Opera Company ; Eugene Goossens ; Constantin Stroesco | Vocal duet (soprano and tenor), with orchestra | Musical group | |
Columbia | 76578 | 12-in. | approximately 1919 | You spent a lot on my education | Beecham Opera Company ; Desirée Ellinger ; Eugene Goossens | Soprano vocal solo, with chorus and orchestra | Musical group | |
Columbia | 76579 | 12-in. | approximately 1919 | She is so sweet | Beecham Opera Company ; Eugene Goossens ; Herbert Langley | Baritone vocal solo, with orchestra | Musical group | |
Columbia | 76580 | 12-in. | approximately 1919 | Bless me, 'tis Larivaudiere | Beecham Opera Company ; Eugene Goossens ; Constantin Stroesco ; Arthur Wynn | Vocal duet (2 baritones), with orchestra | Musical group | |
Columbia | 76581 | 12-in. | approximately 1919 | This surely is a mystery | Beecham Opera Company ; Desirée Ellinger ; Eugene Goossens ; Herbert Langley ; Arthur Wynn | Vocal trio, with orchestra | Musical group | |
Columbia | 76582 | 12-in. | approximately 1919 | Oh, happy days of childhood | Gladys Ancrum ; Beecham Opera Company ; Desirée Ellinger ; Eugene Goossens | Vocal duet (2 sopranos), with orchestra | Musical group | |
Columbia | 76583 | 12-in. | approximately 1919 | Softly, idly | Gladys Ancrum ; Beecham Opera Company ; C. Bloomfield ; Desirée Ellinger ; Eugene Goossens ; Constantin Stroesco ; Arthur Wynn | Vocal quintet, with orchestra | Musical group | |
Columbia | 76584 | 12-in. | approximately 1919 | Ah, then 'tis you | Gladys Ancrum ; Beecham Opera Company ; Desirée Ellinger ; Eugene Goossens | Vocal duet (2 sopranos), with chorus and orchestra | Musical group |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Beecham Opera Company," accessed November 25, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/357769.
Beecham Opera Company. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 25, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/357769.
"Beecham Opera Company." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 25 November 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Beecham Opera Company
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Beecham Opera Company - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/nb2010014993
Wikidata: Beecham Opera Company - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q4879611
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
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