Rosemary Elizabeth Ashe (born 28 March 1953) is an English stage actress and singer.

Early life and training

She was born to Philip Stephen Ashe and Dorothy May (née Watts). She attended

Lowestoft Grammar School Lowestoft ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish in the East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . As the most easterly UK settlement, it is north-east of Ipswich and south-east of Norwich, an ...

before studying 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 ...

Career

Her wealth of theatre roles include Carlotta in the original cast of ''

The Phantom of the Opera The Phantom of the Opera may refer to: Novel * The Phantom of the Opera (novel), ''The Phantom of the Opera'' (novel), 1910 novel by Gaston Leroux Characters * Erik (The Phantom of the Opera), Erik (''The Phantom of the Opera''), the title char ...

'' ( Her Majesty's), Madame Thenardier in ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' (, ) is a 19th-century French literature, French Epic (genre), epic historical fiction, historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published on 31 March 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. '' ...

'' ( Palace Theatre), Widow Corney in ''

Oliver! ''Oliver!'' is a stage musical, with book, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. The musical is based upon the 1838 novel ''Oliver Twist'' by Charles Dickens. It premiered at the Wimbledon Theatre, southwest London in 1960 before opening in the W ...

'' (

London Palladium The London Palladium () is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in Soho. The theatre was designed by Frank Matcham and opened in 1910. The auditorium holds 2,286 people. Hundreds of stars have played there, many wit ...

), Hortense in '' The Boy Friend'' (The Albery), ''

Forbidden Broadway ''Forbidden Broadway'' is an off-Broadway revue parodying musical theatre, particularly Broadway musicals. Conceived, written, and directed by Gerard Alessandrini, the show has been updated many times to parody new musicals and productions. The r ...

'' (The Fortune), Felicia Gabriel in ''

The Witches of Eastwick ''The Witches of Eastwick'' is a 1984 novel by American writer John Updike. A sequel, '' The Widows of Eastwick'', was published in 2008. Plot The story, set in the fictional Rhode Island town of Eastwick in the early 1970s, follows the witc ...

'' (

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

) (for which she was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Supporting Performance in a Musical), Miss Andrew in ''

Mary Poppins Mary Poppins may refer to: * Mary Poppins (character), a nanny with magical powers * Mary Poppins (franchise), based on the fictional nanny ** Mary Poppins (book series), ''Mary Poppins'' (book series), the original 1934–1988 children's fanta ...

'' ( Prince Edward), Lottie Grady in ''

When We Are Married ''When We Are Married'' is a three-act play by the English dramatist J. B. Priestley, described as "A Yorkshire Farcical Comedy". Written in 1934, it is set about thirty years earlier, and depicts the consequences when three middle-aged couples ...

'' (

The Garrick The Garrick Club is a private members' club in London, founded in 1831 as a club for "actors and men of refinement to meet on equal terms". It is one of the oldest members' clubs in the world. Its 1,500 members include many actors, writers, j ...

), and Grandma Mole in '' The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13¾'' (

The Ambassadors ''The Ambassadors'' is a 1903 novel by Henry James, originally published as a serial in the ''North American Review'' (NAR). The novel is a dark comedy which follows the trip of protagonist Lewis Lambert Strether to Europe to bring the son of ...

). Also:''Call Me Merman'' (tour), Betty in ''

The Great American Trailer Park Musical ''The Great American Trailer Park Musical'' is a two-act musical, written by David Nehls and Betsy Kelso. It explores the relationships between the tenants at the Armadillo Acres Trailer Park in Starke, Florida, particularly between Pippi, "the s ...

'' (Waterloo East Theatre), Miss Bleacher in ''Crush'' (tour), Kate Hoey MP in ''Committee'' (Donmar Warehouse), '' Tonight at 8.30'' (Jermyn St Theatre), and The Old Lady in ''

Candide ( , ) is a French satire written by Voltaire, a philosopher of the Age of Enlightenment, first published in 1759. The novella has been widely translated, with English versions titled ''Candide: or, All for the Best'' (1759); ''Candide: or, The ...

'' (Iford & Grange Park Festivals). She has appeared with English National Opera, Opera North, Scottish Opera, Sadlers Wells Opera, Opera Northern Ireland and Carl Rosa in many different roles; including Musetta in ''

La bohème ''La bohème'' ( , ) is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions '':wikt:quadro, quadri'', ''wikt:tableau, tableaux'' or "images", rather than ''atti'' (acts). composed by Giacomo Puccini between 1893 and 1895 to an Italian libretto b ...

'', Helene in ''

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 ...

'', Frasquita in ''

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the O ...

'' and Despina in ''

Così fan tutte (''Women are like that, or The School for Lovers''), Köchel catalogue, K. 588, is an opera buffa in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It was first performed on 26 January 1790 at the Burgtheater in Vienna, Austria. The libretto was written ...

''. Television and radio appearances include: ''

Doctors Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded b ...

'', ''An Audience With Ronnie Corbett'', ''

The House of Eliott ''The House of Eliott'' is a British television series produced and broadcast by the BBC in three series between 31 August 1991 and 6 March 1994. The series starred Stella Gonet as Beatrice Eliott and Louise Lombard as Evangeline Eliott, two s ...

'', ''Cosi Fan Tutte'', ''The Beggar's Opera'' and '' Friday Night is Music Night'', ''Songs From the Shows'' and ''In Tune''. She has taught at the

Royal Conservatoire of Scotland The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (), formerly the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama () is a conservatoire of dance, drama, music, production, and film in Glasgow, Scotland. It is a member of the Federation of Drama Schools. Founde ...

, the

Guildford School of Acting Guildford School of Acting (GSA) is a drama school in Guildford, Surrey, England. It is an academic school in the University of Surrey. It is a member of the Federation of Drama Schools. Overview The school is part of the University of Surrey ...

Arts Educational Schools Arts Educational Schools, or ArtsEd, is an independent performing arts school in Chiswick, West London, England. Overview ArtsEd provides specialist vocational training at secondary, further and higher education level in musical theatre an ...

, Musical Theatre Academy and London School of Musical Theatre.

Awards and nominations

Ashe received an

Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply The Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognize excellence in professional theatre in London. The awards were originally known as the Society of West End Theatre Aw ...

nomination, for 'Best Supporting Performance in a Musical' in 2001 for her role in ''The Witches of Eastwick''.Olivier Awards, 2001
Olivierawards.com, retrieved 9 March 2017

Recordings

In 2004, she recorded a song for the CD ''Weird & Wonderful – A Collection of Songs by Alexander S. Bermange celebrating weirdos and weirdness'', featuring sixteen West End stars (released on Dress Circle Records). She can be heard on the cast recordings of ''

'', '' The Boy Friend'', '' Bitter Sweet'', '' Kismet'', ''

The Student Prince ''The Student Prince'' is an operetta in a prologue and four acts with music by Sigmund Romberg and book and lyrics by Dorothy Donnelly. It is based on Wilhelm Meyer-Förster's play ''Old Heidelberg (play), Old Heidelberg''. The piece has a scor ...

'', '' Song of Norway'', ''

Oliver Oliver may refer to: Arts, entertainment and literature Books * ''Oliver the Western Engine'', volume 24 in ''The Railway Series'' by Rev. W. Awdry * ''Oliver Twist'', a novel by Charles Dickens Fictional characters * Ariadne Oliver ...

'', ''The Killer Soprano'', ''

'', ''Serious Cabaret'', and ''

'' amongst others.

Notes

References

*''Debrett's People of Today'' (2010), Debrett's Ltd,

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashe, Rosemary 1953 births Living people English musical theatre actresses English sopranos Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music