- John Dean (singer)
John Dean (
September 2 1897 –March 20 1990 ) was an English singer and actor, best known for his performances in thetenor roles of theSavoy Operas with theD'Oyly Carte Opera Company .Life and career
John Dean was born in
Lilleshall ,Shropshire , England. He joined a D'Oyly Carte touring company in 1926. The next year, he took his first role, First Yeoman in "The Yeomen of the Guard ". He also made occasional appearances as Leonard Meryll in "Yeomen". In 1928, he began to play the roles of the Defendant in "Trial by Jury " and Francesco in "The Gondoliers ". In 1929, Dean took over the role of Leonard Meryll and switched to the larger role of Luiz in "The Gondoliers".In 1930, Dean added the roles of Mr. Box in "
Cox and Box ", Earl Tolloller in "Iolanthe ", Cyril in "Princess Ida "and Nanki-Poo in "The Mikado ". Over the next fifteen years, he continued to play the principal tenor parts, although he had to yield some of them toDerek Oldham when he returned to the company, from time to time, until 1936. Other roles included Alexis in "The Sorcerer ", Ralph Rackstraw in "H.M.S. Pinafore " Frederic in "The Pirates of Penzance ", the Duke of Dunstable in "Patience", Richard Dauntless in "Ruddigore ", Colonel Fairfax in "Yeomen", and Marco in "The Gondoliers".Dean left the D'Oyly Carte organisation in 1946 and was replaced by the returning
Leonard Osborn andThomas Round . After leaving the company, he traveled to Australia with several other former members of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company. He appeared in "The Gondoliers" in Australia in 1949 with theJ. C. Williamson Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Company .Dean died in
Thornton-le-Dale ,Yorkshire . He was known, among his D'Oyly Carte colleagues, as a good storyteller.ee also
*
J. C. Williamson References
*cite book|last=Ayre|first=Leslie|year=1972|title=The Gilbert & Sullivan Companion|location=London|publisher=W.H. Allen & Co Ltd Introduction by
Martyn Green .External links
* [http://math.boisestate.edu/gas/whowaswho/D/DeanJohn.htm John Dean] at Who Was Who in the D'Oyly Carte
* [http://pinafore.www3.50megs.com/j-dean.html Information about Dean]
* [http://www.cris.com/~oakapple/gasdisc/artist/granville-1926.htm Information about D'Oyly Carte members who performed with the J. C. Williamson company]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.