Clara Butterworth (18 July 188830 October 1996) was an actress and light opera soprano. Born in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, she was the daughter of Samuel Butterworth, a printer.Andrew Lamb. 'Phillips, Montague Fawcett' in ''The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (2004) Butterworth studied at the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is one of the oldest music schools in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the firs ...

. She made her concert debut in 1907 and on the light opera stage in 1914 as the Indian Princess in the revival of ''

A Country Girl ''A Country Girl, or, Town and Country'' is a musical play in two acts by James T. Tanner, with lyrics by Adrian Ross, additional lyrics by Percy Greenbank, music by Lionel Monckton and additional songs by Paul Rubens (composer), Paul Rubens. Th ...

'' at

Daly's Theatre Daly's Theatre was a theatre in the City of Westminster. It was located at 2 Cranbourn Street, just off Leicester Square. It opened on 27 June 1893, and was demolished in 1937. The theatre was built for and named after the American impresa ...

. Two year later she played the heroine in ''Young England'' (with music by G. H. Clutsam and

Hubert Bath Hubert Charles Bath (6 November 188324 April 1945) was an English film composer, music director, and conductor. His credits include the music to the Oscar-winning documentary '' Wings Over Everest'' (1934), as well as to the films '' Tudor Rose ...

) at the same theatre. Her first big success was as Georgine in the 1918 production of ''

The Lilac Domino ''Der lila Domino'' (''The Lilac Domino'') is an operetta in three acts composed by Charles Cuvillier. The original German libretto is by Emmerich von Gatti and Bela Jenbach, about a gambling count who falls in love at a masquerade ball with a n ...

'' at The Empire Theatre in Leicester Square (it ran for 747 performances). In 2020 she took over the lead from

Ada Reeve Ada Reeve (born Adelaide Mary Reeves, 3 March 1874 – 5 October 1966) was an English actress of both stage and film. Reeve began to perform in pantomime and music hall as a child. She gained fame in Edwardian musical comedies in the 1890s. Re ...

in ''Medorah'' at the

Alhambra The Alhambra (, ; ) is a palace and fortress complex located in Granada, Spain. It is one of the most famous monuments of Islamic architecture and one of the best-preserved palaces of the historic Muslim world, Islamic world. Additionally, the ...

during its three month run. Another highly successful production was '' Lilac Time'', at the Lyric Theatre in 1922 (626 performances). Butterworth played the part of Lili. While studying at the Academy in the early 1900s, Butterworth first met the composer

Montague Phillips Montague Fawcett Phillips (13 November 1885 – 4 January 1969) was a British composer of light classical music and songs, including the popular operetta ''The Rebel Maid'' of 1921. Career Born in Tottenham, London, Phillips began his musical ca ...

, who wrote most of his 100 or more highly popular " royalty ballads" for her. They married at St Peter's Church,

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsiz ...

on 29 December 1909. She performed his song cycle ''Sea Echoes'' at the

Queen's Hall The Queen's Hall was a concert hall in Langham Place, London, Langham Place, London, opened in 1893. Designed by the architect Thomas Knightley, it had room for an audience of about 2,500 people. It became London's principal concert venue. Fro ...

Proms in the autumn of 1915. Most successfully, he created the title role of his operetta ''The Rebel Maid'' for her, and she starred in its first production at the Empire Theatre in 1921 as Lady Mary Trefusis. Selections were recorded by the Empire Theatre Orchestra on 20 May 1921 with the composer conducting, and issued by Columbia Records. Although on stage for only four months (114 performances) due to the contemporary coal strike, ''The Rebel Maid'' quickly became a staple of amateur operatic societies. Clara Butterworth's ballad 'Sail my Ships' was particularly popular and often performed separately. Butterworth was a frequent broadcaster on BBC radio from the mid-1920s and into the 1930s, mostly in events billed jointly with her husband, such as the full scale concert of his music broadcast in August 1933 with the

BBC Symphony Orchestra The BBC Symphony Orchestra (BBC SO) is a British orchestra based in London. Founded in 1930, it was the first permanent salaried orchestra in London, and is the only one of the city's five major symphony orchestras not to be self-governing. The ...

. These concerts became an annual fixture for a while, the last one broadcast in December 1937. Her public appearances cease after this point. From the 1920s Butterworth and Phillips lived at Clare Cottage, Clare Hill,

Esher Esher ( ) is a town in the borough of Borough of Elmbridge, Elmbridge in Surrey, England, to the east of the River Mole, Surrey, River Mole. Esher is an outlying suburb of London, close to the London–Surrey border; with Esher Commons at its ...

until his death in 1969. They had a son and a daughter. Clara survived him and most of her family, dying in Cobham at the age of 109 in 1996.Lamb, Andrew
''150 Years of Popular Music Theatre''
(2000), p.131

References

External links

Clara Butterworth in ''The Lilac Domino'' (1918)
National Portrait Gallery * Clara Butterworth
'Where Love is Waiting', from ''The Lilac Domino''
Columbia L1239 (1918) {{DEFAULTSORT:Butterworth, Clara 1888 births 1996 deaths Actresses from Manchester Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music Musicians from Manchester 20th-century English women opera singers