Sybil Gordon
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Sybil Gordon (22 March 1902 – 17 December 1981) was an English singer and actress.Stone, David

Who Was Who in the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, 23 September 2020, accessed 15 November 2020 She is best remembered for her performances in Gilbert and Sullivan roles with the
D'Oyly Carte Opera Company The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company is a professional British light opera company that, from the 1870s until 1982, staged Gilbert and Sullivan's Savoy operas nearly year-round in the UK and sometimes toured in Europe, North America and elsewhere. The ...
from 1926 to 1931. Gordon started out as a concert singer. After her career with the D'Oyly Carte company, she moved to Canada, where she broadcast on the radio. In the 1981 film ''
Chariots of Fire ''Chariots of Fire'' is a 1981 British historical sports drama film directed by Hugh Hudson, written by Colin Welland and produced by David Puttnam. It is based on the true story of two British athletes in the 1924 Olympics: Eric Liddell ...
'', she is misidentified as the fiancée of Olympic runner
Harold Abrahams Harold Maurice Abrahams (15 December 1899 – 14 January 1978) was an English track and field athlete. He was Olympic champion in 1924 in the 100 metres sprint, a feat depicted in the 1981 film '' Chariots of Fire''. Biography Early life ...
.


Career

Gordon was born Sophia Solomon in
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
. Early in her career, Gordon won first prize at the 1923 Blackpool Music Competition, judged by Sir Steuart Wilson. At this time, she was singing as a mezzo-soprano. The following year, as a soprano, she sang regularly in
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
broadcasts of songs by
Walford Davies Sir Henry Walford Davies (6 September 1869 – 11 March 1941) was an English composer, organist, and educator who held the title Master of the King's Music from 1934 until 1941. He served with the Royal Air Force during the First World War, dur ...
,
Roger Quilter Roger Cuthbert Quilter (1 November 1877 – 21 September 1953) was a British composer, known particularly for his art songs. His songs, which number over a hundred, often set music to text by William Shakespeare and are a mainstay of the E ...
and others, and
opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...
tic arias by composers including
Puccini Giacomo Puccini ( Lucca, 22 December 1858Bruxelles, 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long ...
and
Massenet Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet (; 12 May 1842 – 13 August 1912) was a French composer of the Romantic music, Romantic era best known for his operas, of which he wrote more than thirty. The two most frequently staged are ''Manon'' (1884) ...
. She also performed in a series of concerts in
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
. The critic
Samuel Langford Samuel Langford (1863 - 8 May 1927) was an influential English music critic of the early twentieth century. Trained as a pianist, Langford became chief music critic of ''The Manchester Guardian'' in 1906, serving in that post until his death. ...
wrote of her, "Her voice has a decided freshness and purity, and her interpretations, though not greatly varied, have confidence, alertness and charm." Gordon joined the chorus of the
D'Oyly Carte Opera Company The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company is a professional British light opera company that, from the 1870s until 1982, staged Gilbert and Sullivan's Savoy operas nearly year-round in the UK and sometimes toured in Europe, North America and elsewhere. The ...
in 1926, singing on tour in England and Ireland and in a London season at the
Prince's Theatre The Shaftesbury Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Shaftesbury Avenue, in the London Borough of Camden. Opened in 1911 as the New Prince's Theatre, it was the last theatre to be built in Shaftesbury Avenue. History The theatre was d ...
. Beginning in 1927, she performed several soprano roles with the company: the Plaintiff in ''
Trial by Jury A jury trial, or trial by jury, is a legal proceeding in which a jury makes a decision or findings of fact. It is distinguished from a bench trial in which a judge or panel of judges makes all decisions. Jury trials are used in a significan ...
'', Celia in '' Iolanthe'', Lady Psyche in ''
Princess Ida ''Princess Ida; or, Castle Adamant'' is a comic opera with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It was their eighth operatic collaboration of fourteen. ''Princess Ida'' opened at the Savoy Theatre on 5 January 1884, for a ru ...
'', Zorah in ''
Ruddigore ''Ruddigore; or, The Witch's Curse'', originally called ''Ruddygore'', is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It is one of the Savoy Operas and the tenth of fourteen comic operas written tog ...
'' and Fiametta in ''
The Gondoliers ''The Gondoliers; or, The King of Barataria'' is a Savoy Opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It premiered at the Savoy Theatre on 7 December 1889 and ran for a very successful 554 performances (at that time the ...
''. Her performance with the company as Lady Psyche at the
Savoy Theatre The Savoy Theatre is a West End theatre in the Strand in the City of Westminster, London, England. The theatre was designed by C. J. Phipps for Richard D'Oyly Carte and opened on 10 October 1881 on a site previously occupied by the Savoy P ...
in 1929 was singled out by ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...
'' for particular praise. She sings Fiametta on the 1927 D'Oyly Carte recording of ''The Gondoliers''. She also sang Celia in the radio broadcast of ''Iolanthe'' from the Savoy Theatre in February 1930. Gordon left the company at the end of the 1930 season, rejoining briefly in April 1931 as the Plaintiff in ''Trial by Jury''. In 1931, Gordon moved to Canada. There, from November 1931 to February 1932, she sang in radio broadcasts of all 13 extant Gilbert and Sullivan operas on the CBC, on the C-I-L-sponsored "Opera House of the Air". She died in
Hatch End Hatch End is an area of North West London, situated within the London Borough of Harrow. It is located north west of Charing Cross. Attractions Hatch End is home to Harrow Arts Centre, a complex which centres on the 404-seat Elliott Hall and a ...
, Middlesex, at the age of 79.


''Chariots of Fire''

In the 1981 film ''
Chariots of Fire ''Chariots of Fire'' is a 1981 British historical sports drama film directed by Hugh Hudson, written by Colin Welland and produced by David Puttnam. It is based on the true story of two British athletes in the 1924 Olympics: Eric Liddell ...
'', Olympic runner
Harold Abrahams Harold Maurice Abrahams (15 December 1899 – 14 January 1978) was an English track and field athlete. He was Olympic champion in 1924 in the 100 metres sprint, a feat depicted in the 1981 film '' Chariots of Fire''. Biography Early life ...
's fiancée is misidentified as Sybil Gordon (portrayed by
Alice Krige Alice Maud Krige (; born 28 June 1954) is a South African actress and producer. Her first feature film role was in '' Chariots of Fire'' (1981) as the Gilbert and Sullivan singer Sybil Gordon. She played the dual role of Eva Galli/Alma Mobley i ...
). In reality, his fiancée, whom he did not actually meet until a decade after the 1924 Olympics, was Sybil Evers, who sang small roles with D'Oyly Carte from 1930 to 1931.Chapman, James
''Past and Present: National Identity and the British Historical Film''
London: I.B. Tauris, 2005, p. 292 Also in the film, "Sybil Gordon" is depicted as singing Yum-Yum in ''
The Mikado ''The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen Gilbert and Sullivan, operatic collaborations. It opened on 14 March 1885, in London, whe ...
''; however, this was not a role that either Gordon or Evers sang with D'Oyly Carte.


Notes


Sources

*Rollins, Cyril; R. John Witts (1961). ''The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in Gilbert and Sullivan Operas.'' London: Michael Joseph.


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, Sybil English operatic sopranos 20th-century British women opera singers English mezzo-sopranos 1902 births 1981 deaths Singers from Manchester