Evangeline Estelle Gazina (c. 1837Culme, John

''Footlight Notes'', No. 361, 14 August 2004, accessed 7 September 2012; an
"Kate Santley by Sarony Cabinet Card"
''Remains to Be Seen'', accessed 7 September 2012 – 18 January 1923), better known under her stage name, Kate Santley, was a German-born British actress, singer and comedian. After spending her childhood in the US, she came to England in 1861, where she had a successful career, later also becoming a theatre manager.

Early life

Santley's parents emigrated from Germany to

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

, where she was educated. At the outbreak of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

in 1861, she came to England as a practising musician, but soon afterwards went on the stage as "Eva Stella", later becoming "Kate Santley".

Musical theatre career

Santley made a name in the 1860s in British

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was most popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850, through the World War I, Great War. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as Varie ...

s and

Drury Lane Theatre The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) and backs onto Dru ...

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment, generally combining gender-crossing actors and topical humour with a story more or less based on a well-known fairy tale, fable or ...

s. Early in her career, she was popular for singing the song "The Bell goes a-ringing for Sarah." At the

Oxford Music Hall Oxford Music Hall was a music hall located in Westminster, London, at the corner of Oxford Street and Tottenham Court Road. It was established on the site of a former public house, the Boar and Castle, by Charles Morton, in 1861. In 1917 the m ...

, she had appeared with Euphrosyne Parepa, who later married

Carl Rosa Carl August Nicholas Rosa (22 March 184230 April 1889) was a German-born musical impresario best remembered for founding an English opera company known as the Carl Rosa Opera Company. He started his company in 1869 together with his wife, Euphr ...

. Santley was slim and pretty and became much photographed for visiting cards, postcards and advertising. Early in her career, she played in F. C. Burnand's ''St. George and the Dragon''. In 1871–72, she visited the US, where she appeared on Broadway, including in a revival of the hit 1866 musical, ''

The Black Crook ''The Black Crook'' is a work of musical theatre first produced in New York City with great success in 1866. Many theatre writers have cautiously identified ''The Black Crook'' as the first popular piece that conforms to the modern notion of a mu ...

''. Returning to London in 1872, she appeared in

Georges Jacobi Georges Jacobi (3 February 1840 –13 September 1906) was a German violinist, composer and conductor who was musical director of the Alhambra Theatre in London from 1872 to 1898. His best-known work was probably '' The Black Crook'' (1872) wri ...

and Frederick Clay's London production of ''The Black Crook'' at the

Alhambra Theatre The Alhambra Theatre was a popular theatre and music hall located on the east side of Leicester Square, in the West End of London. It was built as the Royal Panopticon of Science and Arts, opening on 18 March 1854. It was closed after two yea ...

, where, the next year, she also starred in the title role in Burnand's English version of

Jacques Offenbach Jacques Offenbach (; 20 June 18195 October 1880) was a German-born French composer, cellist and impresario. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s to the 1870s, and his uncompleted opera ''The Tales of Hoffmann''. He was a p ...

's ''

La Belle Hélène ''La belle Hélène'' (, ''The Beautiful Helen'') is an opéra bouffe in three acts, with music by Jacques Offenbach and words by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy. The piece parodies the story of Helen of Troy's elopement with Paris (mythology ...

''. Later in 1873, she sang Cunegonde in ''Le roi Carotte''. In 1874, she played Haidee in

H. J. Byron Henry James Byron (8 January 1835 – 11 April 1884) was a prolific English dramatist, as well as an editor, journalist, director, theatre manager, novelist and actor. After an abortive start at a medical career, Byron struggled as a provincia ...

's ''Don Juan'', then in ''La Jolie Parfumeuse'', followed by the title role in '' Whittington'', by Offenbach. In 1876, she played Wilhelmina in ''The Jolly Waterman'' at the

Opera Comique The Opera Comique was a 19th-century theatre constructed in Westminster, London, located between Wych Street, Holywell Street and the Strand. It opened in 1870 and was demolished in 1902, to make way for the construction of the Aldwych and K ...

and then created the title character in (and produced) ''

Princess Toto ''Princess Toto'' is a three-act comic opera by W. S. Gilbert and his long-time collaborator Frederic Clay. Its pre-London tour opened on 24 June 1876 at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham, starring Kate Santley, W. S. Penley and J. H. Ryley. It tr ...

'', a

comic opera Comic opera, sometimes known as light opera, is a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending and often including spoken dialogue. Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a ne ...

W. S. Gilbert Sir William Schwenck Gilbert (18 November 1836 – 29 May 1911) was an English dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for his collaboration with composer Arthur Sullivan, which produced fourteen comic operas. The most fam ...

and

Frederic Clay Frederic Emes Clay (3 August 1838 – 24 November 1889) was an English composer known principally for songs and his music written for the stage. Although from a musical family, for 16 years Clay made his living as a civil servant in HM Treasury ...

. Thereafter, Clay wrote numerous songs (such as her popular hit, "Nobody knows as I know") and other operas for Santley. In 1878, Santley produced and starred in ''Dipunacy'', which was a popular

burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.

of ''Diplomacy''. 1879, at the

Royalty Theatre The Royalty Theatre was a small London theatre situated at 73 Dean Street, Soho. Established by the actress Frances Maria Kelly in 1840, it opened as Miss Kelly's Theatre and Dramatic School and finally closed to the public in 1938.

, Santley played in ''La Marjolaine'' and starred in (and produced) ''Little Cinderella'' and in the hit ''

Tita in Thibet ''Tita in Thibet'' (aka ''Brum, a Birmingham Merchant'') is an English two-act musical play by Frank Desprez. It opened at the Royalty Theatre in London on 1 January 1879. ''Tita in Thibet'' was written as a vehicle for the music hall star Kat ...

'' by

Frank Desprez Frank Desprez (9 February 1853 – 25 November 1916) was an English playwright, essayist, and poet. He wrote more than twenty pieces for the theatre, as well as numerous shorter works, including his famous poem, ''Lasca''. Life and career D ...

. In 1880, she played in the Drury Lane pantomime ''Mother Goose (and the Enchanted Beauty)'' with Arthur Roberts, the popular music hall comedian. In 1883, Santley starred in the English adaptation of

Edmond Audran Achille Edmond Audran (12 April 184017 August 1901) was a French composer best known for several internationally successful comic operas and operettas. After beginning his career in Marseille as an organist, Audran composed religious music and b ...

's ''

Gillette de Narbonne ''Gillette de Narbonne'' is an ''opéra comique'' in three acts, with music by Edmond Audran and words by Alfred Duru and Henri Chivot. It is based on a fabliau from ''The Decameron'' and depicts a rejected bride posing as another woman to dece ...

''. The following year, she played in ''La Cosaque'' at the Royalty, and in 1886, she hired Sidney Jones as musical director for the tour of her musical ''Vetah''. In 1887, she played the title role in ''Indiana'' at the

Grand Theatre, Islington The Grand Theatre, Islington – formerly the Philharmonic, Islington, later the Empire, Islington, and finally the Empire Cinema – was a theatre and later a cinema in the London suburb of Islington. Opened in 1860 as a concert hall it became a ...

, and then on tour.

Theatre management

In 1876, Santley managed

Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900) and to the works they jointly created. The two men collaborated on fourteen com ...

's revival of their one-act hit ''

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 increasingly used ...

'' at the

Richard D'Oyly Carte Richard D'Oyly Carte (; 3 May 1844 – 3 April 1901) was an English talent agent, theatrical impresario, composer, and hotelier during the latter half of the Victorian era. He built two of London's theatres and a hotel empire, while also establi ...

joined forces with Santley in January 1877 at the Royalty to present ''Lischen and Fritzen'', Offenbach's ''Orpheus in the Underworld'' and ''Happy Hampstead'' by Carte (under the pseudonym Mark Lynne) and his secretary,

. In 1877, Santley became the manager of the Royalty Theatre, an association lasting some thirty years. She later seems to have acquired the head lease.''The Pitt Estate in Dean Street – The Royalty Theatre''
''

Survey of London The Survey of London is a research project to produce a comprehensive architectural survey of central London and its suburbs, or the area formerly administered by the London County Council. It was founded in 1894 by Charles Robert Ashbee, an A ...

: volumes 33 and 34: St Anne Soho'' (1966), pp. 215–21 (British History Online), accessed 15 January 2009 Also in 1877, the First Chief Officer of the

London Fire Brigade The London Fire Brigade (LFB) is the Fire department, fire and rescue service for London, the capital of the United Kingdom. It was formed by the Metropolitan Fire Brigade Act 1865 (28 & 29 Vict. c. 90), under the leadership of superintendent ...

strongly recommended to the Metropolitan Board of Works the immediate closure of the theatre. Santley, however, had it reconstructed to designs of architect Thomas Verity, whose plans, providing improved means of egress, were approved in 1882. Many of the productions at the Royalty were opera-bouffes adapted from the French. M. L. Mayer, formerly of the Gaiety Theatre, staged twice-yearly seasons of plays in French. The Coquelins and other luminaries of the

Comédie-Française The Comédie-Française () or Théâtre-Français () is one of the few state theatres in France. Founded in 1680, it is the oldest active theatre company in the world. Established as a French state-controlled entity in 1995, it is the only state ...

appeared here in the 1880s, when the Royalty was 'the recognised home of the Parisian drama.' There was further reconstruction of the theatre in 1883, and Santley was praised for the theatre's renovations then and in the later 1905 renovation. The opening of

Shaftesbury Avenue Shaftesbury Avenue is a major road in the West End of London, named after The 7th Earl of Shaftesbury. It runs north-easterly from Piccadilly Circus to New Oxford Street, crossing Charing Cross Road at Cambridge Circus. From Piccadill ...

and of new theatres in that neighbourhood, including the Lyric Theatre and the

Apollo Theatre The Apollo Theatre is a listed building, Grade II listed West End theatre in Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster, in central London.

, drew audiences away from the little Royalty theatre in Dean Street, and in the 1890s the Royalty was not prospering. This led to her providing an occasional home for the

Independent Theatre Society The Independent Theatre Society was a by-subscription-only organisation in London from 1891 to 1897, founded by Dutch drama critic Jacob Grein to give "special performances of plays which have a literary and artistic rather than a commercial valu ...

, who produced plays on a subscription-only basis – hence evading the censorship of the

Lord Chamberlain's Office The Lord Chamberlain's Office is a department within the British Royal Household. It is concerned with matters such as protocol, state visits, investitures, garden parties, royal weddings and funerals. For example, in April 2005 it organised t ...

. The London première's of

Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright, poet and actor. Ibsen is considered the world's pre-eminent dramatist of the 19th century and is often referred to as "the father of modern drama." He pioneered ...

's ''

Ghosts In folklore, a ghost is the soul or Spirit (supernatural entity), spirit of a dead Human, person or non-human animal that is believed by some people to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from a ...

'' (on 13 March 1891) and

Émile Zola Émile Édouard Charles Antoine Zola (, ; ; 2 April 184029 September 1902) was a French novelist, journalist, playwright, the best-known practitioner of the literary school of Naturalism (literature), naturalism, and an important contributor to ...

's ''

Thérèse Raquin ''Thérèse Raquin'' () is an early novel by French writer Émile Zola. It appeared in serial form from August–October 1867 in the magazine ''L'Artiste'', and was published in book form later that year. Although it was Zola's third novel, it ...

'' (on 9 October 1891), led to a storm of protest, with some critics calling for the withdrawal of Santley's licence.

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 188 ...

's first play, ''

Widowers' Houses ''Widowers' Houses'' (1892) was the first play by George Bernard Shaw to be staged. It premièred on 9 December 1892 at the Royalty Theatre, under the auspices of the Independent Theatre Society — a subscription club, formed to escape t ...

'', premièred for the Society at the theatre on 9 December 1892. When the theatre finally had a great success, with

Brandon Thomas Brandon Thomas may refer to: *Brandon Thomas (playwright) (1848–1914), English actor and playwright who wrote the hit farce, ''Charley's Aunt'' * Brandon Thomas (musician) (born 1980), American rock band singer *Brandon Thomas (American football) ...

's play, ''

Charley's Aunt ''Charley's Aunt'' is a farce in three acts written by Brandon Thomas. The story centres on Lord Fancourt Babberley, an undergraduate whose friends Jack and Charley persuade him to impersonate the latter's aunt. The complications of the plot in ...

'', its popularity led to its transference after only a month to the larger

Globe Theatre The Globe Theatre was a Theater (structure), theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 at Southwark, close to the south bank of the Thames, by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men. It was ...

. In 1895–96 the Royalty's manager was

Arthur Bourchier Arthur Bourchier (22 June 186314 September 1927) was an English actor and Actor-manager, theatre manager. He married and later divorced the actress Violet Vanbrugh. Bourchier was noted for roles both in classical drama, particularly William S ...

, and the theatre underwent another renovation. He produced, among other plays, ''The Chili Widow'', an adaptation of his own that ran for over 300 nights. In 1899, the first production of the

Incorporated Stage Society The Incorporated Stage Society, commonly known as the Stage Society, was an English theatre society with limited membership which mounted private Sunday performances of new and experimental plays, mainly at the Royal Court Theatre (whose Vedrenne- ...

took place with the first performance of

's '' You Never Can Tell''. In 1900–01 Mrs. Patrick Campbell hired the theatre and staged a succession of contemporary plays in which she starred, and in 1903–04 Hans Andresen and Max Behrend presented a successful season of German theatre. Also in 1904, the newly founded Irish National Theatre Society gave plays by

W. B. Yeats William Butler Yeats (, 13 June 186528 January 1939), popularly known as W. B. Yeats, was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer, and literary critic who was one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the ...

and, in 1905, it presented an early performance of Synge's first play, ''The Shadow of the Glen''. In addition, Philip Carr's Mermaid Society produced Elizabethan and Jacobean plays.

Personal

Santley married Lieutenant Colonel Lockhart Mure Hartley Kennedy in 1901. She was able to read her own obituaries when premature news of her death circulated in 1880.''The Times'', 19 January 1923 She died at her home in Brunswick Square,

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

, in 1923. She claimed that she was born in 1843, but like many actresses, her actual birthday was likely earlier, and some sources date her birth to 1837.

References

External links

*
Notice for 1880 performanceDiscussion of photography of famous people, including Santley, for visiting cardsPhoto of Santley as a childPhoto of Santley
{{DEFAULTSORT:Santley, Kate People associated with Gilbert and Sullivan English theatre managers and producers Women theatre managers and producers 1830s births 1923 deaths Year of birth missing 19th-century British women opera singers Emigrants from the German Confederation Immigrants to the United States Immigrants to the United Kingdom