Jean Hindmarsh (born 1932) is a retired English singer and actress. She is best known as a principal

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 ...

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 ...

in the 1950s and 1960s.

Biography

Hindmarsh was born in

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

and educated at

Lawnswood Lawnswood is a small suburb in the north west of the city of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. As such it is in the north north east of the West Yorkshire Urban Area. The suburb falls within the Adel and Wharfedale Ward of the City of Leeds Coun ...

High School. There, she was prominent in the school's musical and theatrical productions, including '' Merrie England'' in 1950, in which she played

Sir Walter Raleigh Sir Walter Raleigh (; – 29 October 1618) was an English statesman, soldier, writer and explorer. One of the most notable figures of the Elizabethan era, he played a leading part in English colonisation of North America, suppressed rebellio ...

. Hindmarsh gained her teaching diploma (ARMCM) from the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music (RCM) is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including pe ...

in Manchester and then continued to study opera for an additional 18 months. She played the lead in two college productions and sang in concerts and

oratorio An oratorio () is a musical composition with dramatic or narrative text for choir, soloists and orchestra or other ensemble. Similar to opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguisha ...

s. Hindmarsh was the runner-up in the first

Kathleen Ferrier Kathleen Mary Ferrier (22 April 19128 October 1953) was an English contralto singer who achieved an international reputation as a stage, concert and recording artist, with a repertoire extending from folksong and popular ballads to the class ...

Competition in 1955 and won the

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

heat against 97 competitors. A representative from the

heard her performance and invited her to audition. Hindmarsh was engaged by the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in March 1956 as principal soprano. Over the next four years, she played the title role in ''

Princess Ida ''Princess Ida; or, Castle Adamant'' is a comic opera with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It was their eighth operatic collaboration of fourteen; the next was ''The Mikado''. ''Princess Ida'' opened at the Savoy Thea ...

'', Mabel in ''

The Pirates of Penzance ''The Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, W. S. Gilbert. Its official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on 3 ...

'', Elsie Maynard in ''

The Yeomen of the Guard ''The Yeomen of the Guard; or, The Merryman and His Maid'', is a Savoy Opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It premiered at the Savoy Theatre on 3 October 1888 and ran for 423 performances. This was the eleventh ...

'', Gianetta 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 t ...

'' and Josephine in ''

HMS Pinafore ''H.M.S. Pinafore; or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It opened at the Opera Comique in London on 25 May 1878, and ran for 571 performances, whi ...

'', soon adding the small role of Lady Ella in ''

Patience or forbearance, is the ability to endure difficult or undesired long-term circumstances. Patience involves perseverance or tolerance in the face of delay, provocation, or stress without responding negatively, such as reacting with disrespect ...

''. In 1959, she began instead to play the title role in ''Patience''.Stone, David.
Jean Hindmarsh
at the Who's Who in the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company website, 2002, accessed 4 November 2008 Hindmarsh married in 1960 and left the D'Oyly Carte organisation when she was expecting her first child. She rejoined the Company as a guest artist in her old roles for seasons in 1961–62, 1962–63, in the spring of 1963, 1963–64, and in the spring of 1969. These included two London seasons, one provincial tour and one American tour. In reviewing ''Princess Ida'' in 1961, ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' wrote that, in the title role, "Hindmarsh charms, amuses and... moves the audience". That paper commented on a 1962 performance of ''The Gondoliers'': "Outstanding among last night's cast was Miss Jean Hindmarsh, a winning Giannetta both in appearance and voice." In recent years, Hindmarsh has performed and given talks at the

International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival The International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival was founded in 1994 by Ian Smith and his son Neil and is held every summer in England. The two- or three-week Festival of Gilbert and Sullivan opera performances and fringe events attracts thousands ...

. At the Festival, in 1999, Hindmarsh and

baritone A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...

Michael Rayner Michael Rayner (6 December 1932 – 13 July 2015)Mackie, David. "Obituaries: Michael Rayner", ''Gilbert and Sullivan News'', Vol. V, No. 9, Autumn/Winter 2015, pp. 17–18, The Gilbert and Sullivan Society was an English opera singer, best kno ...

gave the world premiere performance of "Reflect, my child", a song cut from ''H.M.S. Pinafore'' before the opera opened in 1878 and reconstructed in 1998.

Recordings

Hindmarsh sings the lead soprano roles on four D'Oyly Carte recordings: 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 ...

'' (1957), Mabel in ''Pirates'' (1957), Josephine in ''Pinafore'' (1960), and Rose Maybud 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 ...

'' (1962), even though she never played Yum-Yum or Rose with the company. Of the 1957 ''Pirates'', reviewer Mel Moratti wrote, "The highlights must be the pairing of

Thomas Round Thomas Round (18 October 1915 – 2 October 2016) was an English opera singer and actor, best known for his performances in the leading tenor roles of the Savoy Operas and grand opera. Round began working as a joiner and then a police officer. ...

and Jean Hindmarsh as Frederic and Mabel. Their solos and duets are most delightful". ''The Rough Guide to Opera'' comments that she "is a uniquely charming Josephine" in ''Pinafore''.Boyden et al., p. 318

Notes

References

* Introduction by

Martyn Green William Martin Green (22 April 1899 – 8 February 1975), known by his stage name, Martyn Green, was an English actor and singer. He is remembered for his performances and recordings as principal comedian of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, in ...

. *Boyden, Matthew, Nick Kimberley and Joe Staines.
''The Rough Guide to Opera''
Rough Guides, 2002

External links

*

at the Memories of the D'Oyly Carte website

at David Sandham's site

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hindmarsh, Jean 1932 births Actresses from Leeds 20th-century British women opera singers 20th-century English women opera singers Living people Alumni of the Royal Northern College of Music Musicians from Leeds People educated at Lawnswood High School