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Christopher Columbus (play)
''Christopher Columbus'' is a radio play, with text by Louis MacNeice and music by William Walton, commissioned by the BBC in 1942. It was first heard in a live broadcast in October 1942 on the BBC Home Service. Sir Adrian Boult conducted the BBC Symphony Orchestra, and the cast was headed by Laurence Olivier in the title role. The production was greatly admired on both sides of the Atlantic, but Walton was reluctant to have his incidental music played in concert or on record and only one number from the score was published in his lifetime. Since his death in 1983 the score of ''Christopher Columbus'' has been arranged into a cantata and a suite, published and recorded. The BBC broadcast a new production of the play in 1992. Background and broadcast The producer and director Dallas Bower, then working for the BBC, produced a radio adaptation of ''Alexander Nevsky'' in 1941 shortly after the Soviet Union entered the Second World War. The adaptation was made in response to a request ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Speaight
Robert William Speaight (; 1904 – 1976) was a British actor and writer, and the brother of George Speaight, the puppeteer. Speaight studied under Elsie Fogerty at the Central School of Speech and Drama, then based in the Royal Albert Hall, London. He was an early performer (from 1927) in radio plays. He came to prominence as Becket in the first production of T. S. Eliot's ''Murder in the Cathedral''. He went on to Shakespearean roles and to direct. He played the title role in the first broadcast in 1941-42 of the radio drama '' The Man Born to Be King''. He also wrote criticism and essays, works on the theatre and biography. He was a Roman Catholic convert, and biographer of Hilaire Belloc and Eric Gill. In the case of Gill, a personal friend, he suppressed material about Gill's sexual interests, which would come out only in the 1989 biography by Fiona MacCarthy. He married the Welsh actress Evelyn Bowen, with whom he had a son; they separated in 1939. Evelyn later mar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jill Balcon
Jill Angela Henriette Balcon (3 January 192518 July 2009) was a British actress. She was known for her work in film, television, radio and on stage. She made her film debut in '' Nicholas Nickleby'' (1947). She was the second wife of poet Cecil Day-Lewis; the couple had two children: Tamasin Day-Lewis became a food critic and TV chef and Daniel Day-Lewis is an actor. Life and career Balcon was born in Westminster, London, the daughter of Aileen Freda Leatherman (1904–1988) and her husband Michael Balcon. Her family was Jewish, with 19th-century Lithuanian Jewish immigrant ancestors from what is now Latvia on her father's side and Poland on her mother's. Balcon attended Roedean School.Tom Vallanc"Jill Balcon: Actress of stage, screen and radio who married the former [should be "late"] Poet Laureate Cecil Day-Lewis" ''The Independent'', 30 July 2009 She trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama and, over the course of her career, performed on stage and in radi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael Aldridge
Michael William ffolliott Aldridge (9 September 1920 – 10 January 1994) was an English actor. He was known for playing Seymour Utterthwaite in the television series ''Last of the Summer Wine'' from 1986 to 1990 and he had a long career as a character actor on stage and screen dating back to the 1930s. Early life The son of Dr Frederick James Aldridge and his wife Kathleen Michaela Marietta White, Aldridge was born in Glastonbury, Somerset, on 9 September 1920. He was educated at Gresham's School, Holt, Norfolk, where he acted in school plays.Seymour: Michael Aldridge at examiner.co.uk (accessed 12 April 2008)''Aldridge, Michael, actor'', in ''Who's Who in the Theatre: a Biographical Record of the Contemporary Stage'' (11th edition, 1952) [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hannah Gordon
Hannah Campbell Grant Gordon Film reference website (born 9 April 1941) is a Scottish actress and presenter who is known for her television work in the United Kingdom, including '' My Wife Next Door'' (1972), '' Upstairs, Downstairs'' (1974–75), '' Telford's Change'' (1979), '' Joint Account'' (1989–90) and an appearance in the [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alan Howard (actor)
Alan MacKenzie Howard (5 August 193714 February 2015) was an English actor. He was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company from 1966 to 1983 and played leading roles at the Royal National Theatre between 1992 and 2000. Early life Howard was born in Croydon, Surrey, the only son of actor Arthur Howard and his wife Jean Compton (Mackenzie). His uncle was Leslie Howard, the film star,Michael Covene"Alan Howard obituary", ''The Guardian'', 18 February 2015 while his aunt was the casting director Irene Howard. On his mother's side he was also a great-nephew of the actress Fay Compton and the novelist Sir Compton Mackenzie. He was educated at the independent school Ardingly College in Ardingly, West Sussex. Theatre career 1958–1965 Alan Howard made his first stage appearance at the Belgrade Theatre, Coventry, in April 1958, as a footman in '' Half In Earnest''. He remained with the company until 1960, where his roles included Frankie Bryant in Arnold Wesker's ''Roots'' in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
BBC Radio 3
BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts also featuring. The station has described itself as "the world's most significant commissioner of new music". Through its BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists scheme, New Generation Artists scheme, it promotes young musicians of all nationalities. The station broadcasts the The Proms, BBC Proms concerts, live and in full, each summer in addition to performances by the BBC Orchestras and Singers. There are regular productions of both classic plays and newly commissioned drama. Radio 3 won the Sony Radio Academy UK Station of the Year Gold Award for 2009 and was nominated again in 2011. According to RAJAR, the station broadcasts to a weekly audience of 1.9 million with a listening share of 1.6% as of March 2024. History Radio 3 is the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Asa Briggs
Asa Briggs, Baron Briggs (7 May 1921 – 15 March 2016) was an English historian. He was a leading specialist on the Victorian era, and the foremost historian of broadcasting in Britain. Briggs achieved international recognition during his long and prolific career for examining various aspects of modern British history. He became a life peer in 1976. Early life Asa Briggs was born in Keighley, West Riding of Yorkshire, in 1921 to William Briggs, an engineer, and his wife Jane. He was educated at Keighley Boys' Grammar School and Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, graduating with a BA (first class) in History, in 1941, and a BSc in Economics (first class) from the University of London External Programme, also in 1941. Military service During the Second World War, from 1942 to 1945, Briggs served in the Intelligence Corps and worked at the British wartime signals intelligence station, Bletchley Park. He was a member of "the Watch" in Hut 6, the section deciphering Enigma mach ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tenor
A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below middle C to the G above middle C (i.e. B2 to G4) in choral music, and from the second B flat below middle C to the C above middle C (B2 to C5) in operatic music, but the range can extend at either end. Subtypes of tenor include the ''leggero'' tenor, lyric tenor, spinto tenor, dramatic tenor, heldentenor, and tenor buffo or . History The name "tenor" derives from the Latin word '' tenere'', which means "to hold". As noted in the "Tenor" article at ''Grove Music Online'': In polyphony between about 1250 and 1500, the enor was thestructurally fundamental (or 'holding') voice, vocal or instrumental; by the 15th century it came to signify the male voice that sang such parts. All other voices were normally calculated in relation to the ten ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Soprano
A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral music, or to soprano C (C6) or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which often encompasses the melody. The soprano voice type is generally divided into the coloratura soprano, coloratura, soubrette, lyric soprano, lyric, spinto soprano, spinto, and dramatic soprano, dramatic soprano. Etymology The word "soprano" comes from the Italian word ''wikt:sopra, sopra'' (above, over, on top of),"Soprano" ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' as the soprano is the highest pitch human voice, often given to the leading female roles in operas. "Soprano" refers ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bedford
Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population was 106,940. Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire and seat of the Borough of Bedford local government district. Bedford was founded at a ford (crossing), ford on the River Great Ouse and is thought to have been the burial place of King Offa of Mercia, who is remembered for building Offa's Dyke on the Welsh border. Bedford Castle was built by Henry I of England, Henry I, although it was destroyed in 1224. Bedford was granted borough status in 1166 and has been represented in Parliament since 1265. It is known for its large Italians in the United Kingdom, population of Italian descent. History The name of the town is believed to derive from the name of a Saxon chief called Beda, and a Ford (crossing), ford crossing the River Great Ouse. Bedford was a market town for the surrounding agricultural region from the early Middle Ages. The Anglo-Saxon King Offa of Mercia was buried in the town ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Margaret Rawlings
Margaret Rawlings, Lady Barlow (5 June 1906 – 19 May 1996) was an English stage actress, born in Osaka, Japan, daughter of the Rev. George William Rawlings and his wife Lilian (née Boddington) Rawlings. Personal life/affiliations She was educated at Oxford High School and Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford. She first married Gabriel Toyne (marriage dissolved) and then Sir Robert Barlow (knighted 1943) who pre-deceased her. Her entries in ''Who's Who in the Theatre'' record her private address as 10 Duke Street, Adelphi, London WC2 (1936), Flat 12, 72 Westbourne Terrace, London W2 (1939), then finally Rocketer Farm, Wendover, Buckinghamshire (from 1947 onwards). She was a co-founder of Equity, serving as a Council member for 30 years and was twice appointed Vice-President, in 1973–74 and 1975–76. Theatre career While still at Oxford, Rawlings appeared at the Little Theatre with John Masefield's company. She made her professional debut in March 1927 with The Macdona Playe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
