- Scott Russell (actor)
Harry Henry Russell, better known as Scott Russell (
25 September 1868 and died on28 August 1949 ), was an English singer, actor and theatre manager best known for his performances in thetenor roles with theD'Oyly Carte Opera Company . He was the brother-in-law of D'Oyly Cartecontralto Louie Rene.Life and career
Russell was born in
Great Malvern and studied singing with Gustave Garcia at theRoyal Academy of Music .Early career
Russell made his stage debut in the chorus of the Agnes Huntingdon Company in
New Jersey in the United States. His London debut came with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company at theSavoy Theatre in 1893, where he created the role of Lord Dramaleigh in the original production ofUtopia, Limited . In 1895, he created the roles of Bertuccio in "Mirette" and Pedro Gomez in "The Chieftain " at the Savoy. He also created the roles of and Dr. Tannhauser in "The Grand Duke " (1996), He in "Weather or No " (1896-97), and Count Cosmo in "His Majesty " (1897), among others. Other roles with D'Oyly Carte in the 1890s included Mr. Box in "Cox and Box ", Cyril in "Princess Ida ", Leonard Meryll in "The Yeomen of the Guard ", Nanki-Poo in "The Mikado ", and Frederic in "The Pirates of Penzance ".Russell played roles in the musical comedies including "
Baron Golosh " (1895), "The Yashmak " (1897), and the highly successful "Veronique", "The Geisha ", "A Greek Slave ", "The Gaiety Girl " and "San Toy " (most atDaly's Theatre ), between 1898 and 1902 under the management ofGeorge Edwardes . From 1902 to 1904, Russell returned to D'Oyly Carte, appearing in his oldtenor roles and adding to his repertoire the Duke of Dunstable in "Patience", Earl Tolloller in "Iolanthe ", Marco in "The Gondoliers and Ralph Rackstraw in "H.M.S. Pinafore ".Later life and career
Russell appeared again at Daly's in 1906-07 in "The Geisha", "Amasis", and "Les Merveilleuses", then left the stage for three years before returning in 1910 with the Beecham Light Opera Company. He continued to perform in London and on tour for another 28 years. Russell's last role in London was Locket in Austin's "
The Beggar's Opera " in 1938.Between 1920 and 1932, Russell served as the manager of the Lyric Theatre in
Hammersmith .He died in
Great Malvern .Recordings
In 1898, Russell recorded "Take a pair of sparkling eyes" from "
The Gondoliers ". This is generally regarded as being the first professionally produced recording of a song from aGilbert and Sullivan opera. Among many other recordings, he recorded "Take a Pair" again in 1899, and also recorded tenor songs from "The Rose of Persia " ("I Care Not If"), "Princess Ida" ("Would You Know"), and "Utopia ,Limited" ("A Tenor All Singers") in 1900. The last three of these appear on the Pearl CD "The Art of the Savoyard" (GEMM CD 9991).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/R/RussellScott.htm Info about Russell]
* [http://pinafore.www3.50megs.com/s-russell.html Profile of Russell]
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