- Isabel Jay
Isabel Jay (
October 17 1879 –February 26 1927 ) was an Englishopera singer andactress , best known for her performances insoprano roles of theSavoy Operas with theD'Oyly Carte Opera Company and in musical comedies. During Jay's career, picture postcards were immensely popular, and Jay was photographed for over 400 different postcards.Life and career
Early life and D'Oyly Carte years
Isabel Emily Jay was born in
Wandsworth ,London , the daughter of John Wimburn Jay, an insurance officer, and his wife Isabelle Clara (Wicks). She was descended from John George Henry Jay (1770 - 1849), a musician and composer connected with theRoyal Academy of Music . She began to sing in public at the age of twelve. She entered the Royal Academy of Music in 1895, where she came to be the first winner of the Gilbert R. Betjemann medal for operatic singing.On leaving the Academy, in 1897, she joined the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company with a week-long trial at the
Savoy Theatre , singing the part of Elsie Maynard in the first London revival of "The Yeomen of the Guard ". She immediately became principalsoprano in a D'Oyly Carte touring company, playing the roles of Elsie, Phyllis in "Iolanthe ", Yum-Yum in "The Mikado ", Princess Lucilla Chloris in "His Majesty", and later adding the roles of Aline in "The Sorcerer ", and Mabel in "The Pirates of Penzance ".Jay joined the main D'Oyly Carte company at the Savoy in 1898, briefly playing Gianetta and then Casilda in "
The Gondoliers ", and soon took over the role of The Plaintiff in "Trial by Jury ", winning a favourable review in "The Sunday Times". In early 1899, she created the small role of Aloës in "The Lucky Star ", and she then filled in forRuth Vincent for 21 performances as Josephine in "H.M.S. Pinafore ", as well as performing again as The Plaintiff.Principal soprano
Late in 1899, Vincent left the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, turning down the secondary role in "
The Rose of Persia " when she was passed over to make way for American sopranoEllen Beach Yaw to sing the lead, Sultana Zubeydah. Jay was initially given the small role of Blush-of-Morning. Less than two weeks later, when Yaw was dismissed, young Jay was promoted to the demanding lead role and received favourable notices as the Sultana. [ [http://math.boisestate.edu/gas/rose/html/two_sultanas.html Information about Jay's substitution as Sultana in "The Rose of Persia"] ]Now the company's leading soprano, Jay played Mabel in "Pirates" (1900), again earning good notices, and the title role in the first London revival of "Patience" (1901). During the run, she was made an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music. She then created the roles of Lady Rose Pippin in "
The Emerald Isle " (1901) and the Gipsy Woman in "Ib and Little Christina " (1901). She played Phyllis in the first London revival of "Iolanthe " (1901–1902) and then toured with "The Emerald Isle". She left the company in 1902 to marry the African explorer Henry Shepherd Cavendish, who was later the 6thBaron Waterpark .West End career
After the birth of her first daughter, Cecilia, in 1903, Jay returned to the stage, taking over the role of Marjory Joy in a hit production of "
A Country Girl ". She then starred in one West End production after another — eleven in all — over a period of seven-and-a-half years.The first was the hit musical "
The Cingalee " (1904, withRutland Barrington andHayden Coffin ), in which she created the role of Lady Patricia Vane, followed by the role of Hélène de Solanges in "Véronique" in 1905, withRosina Brandram . In 1905 she was invited to sing before King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra atChatsworth House , where the Queen presented her with a brooch.Later that year she was hired by
Frank Curzon , a successful theatre manager, who became her mentor. Her first role with Curzon was to star as Sybil Cunningham in "The White Chrysanthemum " at the Criterion in 1905 (withRutland Barrington andHenry Lytton ) and then on tour. In early 1906, Jay split up with her husband. Her next role was Winnie Willoughby in "The Girl Behind the Counter " (1906, withHayden Coffin ). For the next four years, she starred regularly in Curzon's West End productions, often atThe Prince of Wales Theatre and often in a show by Paul Rubens. These were intended to be spectacular shows, with exotic sets, elaborate costumes and beautiful chorus girls. Her roles during these years included Olivia in Liza Lehmann's "The Vicar of Wakefield" (1906, based on the novel of the same name), Sally in "Miss Hook of Holland " (1906, running for a very successful 462 performances), Paulette in "My Mimosa Maid" (1908), Princess Marie in the hit "King of Cadonia " (1908), Christina in "Dear Little Denmark" (1909), and Princess Stephanie in "The Balkan Princess " (1910).Jay and Curzon married in 1910. After the end of the run of "
The Balkan Princess " in 1911, Jay retired from the stage at only 31 years of age, and she had a second child (Pamela Stephanie Curzon) in 1915. In 1923, Jay created the role of Anne West, with Curzon as suitor James Hathaway and daughter Cecelia as Angela West, in a play of her own authorship, "The Inevitable". The play toured Hastings, Eastbourne, Littlehampton and Brighton, before opening for a short run at theSt. James Theatre .Early death
Jay's health began to deteriorate due to the effects of
scarlet fever as a child, and she died at the age of only 47, inMonte Carlo , having been on a cruise with her husband. In recognition of her achievements, the Royal Academy of Music two years later instituted the Isabel Jay Memorial Prize.Recordings
Jay made a number of recordings between 1900 and 1906, mostly from her early musical comedies. She also recorded "Poor Wand'ring One" from "Pirates" on three occasions, once in 1900 during the Savoy revival, and twice in 1904. One of the 1904 recordings is heard on the Pearl LP and CD sets "The Art of the Savoyard."
Notes
References
*Cannon, John. "Old Favourites: Isabel Jay" in "The Savoyard", the magazine of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Trust, Vol. XVII No.1, May 1978.
*cite book|last=Ayre|first=Leslie|year=1972|title=The Gilbert & Sullivan Companion|location=London|publisher=W.H. Allen & Co Ltd Introduction byMartyn Green .
* (and four supplements published in 1966, 1971, 1976, and 1983)
* [http://www.collectorspost.com/Jay.htm Profile, reviews and photos of Jay]
* [http://math.boisestate.edu/gas/whowaswho/I-J/JayIsabel.htm Isabel Jay] at Who Was Who in the D'Oyly Carte.External links
* [http://pinafore.www3.50megs.com/i-jay-p.html Photographs]
* [http://library.kent.ac.uk/library/special/icons/playbills/playdat1.htm Cast lists of many of Jay's West End plays]
* [http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/stage2/produce/th-rvw014.html Review of "The Balkan Princess"]
* [http://www.stagebeauty.net/th-main.html Photographs and profile]
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