Selina Simmons Belasco Dolaro (20 August 1849 – 23 January 1889) was an English singer, actress, theatre manager and writer of the late

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...

. During her career in operetta and other forms of musical theatre, she managed several of her own opera companies and directed 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.

in London. She is best remembered as a producer of the original production of ''

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 ...

'' by

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 ...

. Dolaro sang the title role in the opera ''

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 ...

'' in the first English language version of that opera with the

Carl Rosa Opera Company The Carl Rosa Opera Company was founded in 1873 by Carl Rosa, a German-born musical impresario, and his wife, British operatic soprano Euphrosyne Parepa-Rosa to present opera in English in London and the British provinces. The company premiere ...

. She also wrote plays and novels.

Early life

Dolaro was born in London to Jewish parents, Benjamin Simmons, a violinist and conductor, and Julia (''née'' Lewis).Siegel, Michele
"Selina Dolaro"
''Jewish Women: A Comprehensive Historical Encyclopedia'', 1 March 2009, Jewish Women's Archive, accessed 12 January 2010 She received early music lessons from her father's colleagues, and she attended the

Paris Conservatory The Conservatoire de Paris (), or the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (; CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue Jean Ja ...

as a teenager. In 1865, at the age of sixteen, she married Isaac Dolaro Belasco, an Italian Jew of Spanish descent, in Upper

Kennington Kennington is a district in south London, England. It is mainly within the London Borough of Lambeth, running along the boundary with the London Borough of Southwark, a boundary which can be discerned from the early medieval period between th ...

, with whom she had four children, including the actress Genevieve Belasco (1872–1956); they divorced in 1873. By 1870, she had adopted Dolaro as her stage name.

Career in England

Dolaro made her stage debut at the Lyceum Theatre, in the role of the Spanish princess, Galsuinda, in Hervé's

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs and including dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, and length of the work. Apart from its shorter length, the oper ...

'' Chilpéric'' in 1870 and soon played there in Offenbach operettas. Successes at various London theatres followed: After a season at the

Gaiety Theatre, London The Gaiety Theatre was a West End theatre in London, located on Aldwych at the eastern end of the Strand, London, Strand. The theatre was first established as the Strand Musick Hall in 1864 on the former site of the Lyceum Theatre, London, Lyc ...

, Dolaro starred in an English-language Offenbach adaptation called ''Breaking the Spell'', on tour with Fred Sullivan's Operetta Company in 1871. In 1872 Dolaro was a leading performer in H. B. Farnie's English-language adaptation of Offenbach's ''

Geneviève de Brabant ''Geneviève de Brabant'' () is an opéra bouffe, or operetta, by Jacques Offenbach, first performed in Paris in 1859. The plot is based on the medieval legend of Genevieve of Brabant. For the 1867 version two additional characters, men-at-ar ...

'', in Hervé's '' Doctor Faust'' and in a

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.

Ferdinand Hérold Louis Joseph Ferdinand Herold (28 January 1791 – 19 January 1833), better known as Ferdinand Hérold (), was a French composer. He was celebrated in his lifetime for his operas, of which he composed more than twenty, but he also wrote ballet mus ...

's ''

Zampa ''Zampa'','' ou La fiancée de marbre'' (''Zampa, or the Marble Bride'') is an opéra comique in three acts by French composer Ferdinand Hérold, with a libretto by Mélesville. The overture to the opera is one of Hérold's most famous works an ...

'' ("Charmingly sung by Miss Dolaro in imitation of Mdlle Chaumont", said ''

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 ...

'') She also appeared in the title role of Bizet's ''

'' in the first English-language production, with the

, opposite Durward Lely as Don José.Adams, p. 254 In 1873, Dolaro divorced her husband on the grounds of his adultery and desertion; she brought up her two sons and two daughters on her own income. By January 1875, Dolaro was director of the

, where her father served as musical director. She starred as the title character in Offenbach's ''

La Périchole ''La Périchole'' () is an opéra bouffe in three acts with music by Jacques Offenbach and words by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy. The opera depicts the mutual love of two impoverished Peruvian street singers – too poor to afford a marriage ...

'', uniting "vivacity as an actress" with "taste and skill as a singer". As a replacement afterpiece to ''La Périchole'', her new theatre manager,

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 ...

, commissioned ''

'' from

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

Arthur Sullivan Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan (13 May 1842 – 22 November 1900) was an English composer. He is best known for 14 comic opera, operatic Gilbert and Sullivan, collaborations with the dramatist W. S. Gilbert, including ''H.M.S. Pinaf ...

. Sullivan conducted the opening night performance of ''Trial'' on 25 March, but Dolaro's father generally conducted the orchestra thereafter until the end of its initial run on 12 June 1875. Dolaro took her Madame Selina Dolaro's Comic Opera Co. on tour between 13 June and 10 October 1875, as the theatre was closed during the hot summer months. On their return, Charles Morton became manager of the theatre. Dolaro returned to the position in January 1876 when, again working with Carte, she played Malvina in ''The Duke's Daughter''. Dolaro continued to perform both in London and on tour, appearing 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 ...

in 1877. In 1879 she worked at the Folly Theatre, which she also managed for the time.

In the United States

Dolaro travelled to the United States that autumn, appearing in October at the Academy of Music in New York City in the title role of ''Carmen'', but reviews were mixed, with one critic commenting that she seemed "much more at home" performing in burlesque and

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 ...

. She then joined a touring

troupe before returning to London. In 1880 she appeared again at the

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 ...

as Cerisette in Farnie & Genee's ''The Naval Cadets''. Soon thereafter she moved to New York, where she spent the next few seasons performing in comic opera. There, she worked under Carte's agency while appearing as Girola in Bucalossi's ''Les Manteaux Noirs'' and Katrina in

Robert Planquette Jean Robert Planquette (; 31 July 1848 – 28 January 1903) was a French composer of songs and operettas. Several of Planquette's operettas were extraordinarily successful in Britain, especially ''Les cloches de Corneville'' (1878), the length o ...

's ''

Rip van Winkle "Rip Van Winkle" () is a short story by the American author Washington Irving, first published in 1819. It follows a Dutch-American villager in Colonial history of the United States, colonial America named Rip Van Winkle who meets mysterious Du ...

'' and as the Fairy Queen in Gilbert and Sullivan's ''

Iolanthe ''Iolanthe; or, The Peer and the Peri'' () is a comic opera with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, first performed in 1882. It is one of the Savoy operas and is the seventh of fourteen operatic collaborations by Gilbert ...

'', all in 1882 at the Standard Theatre. The same year she played the title role in '' Olivette'' at the Bijou Opera House. In 1883, an opinion piece in the ''

New York Herald The ''New York Herald'' was a large-distribution newspaper based in New York City that existed between 1835 and 1924. At that point it was acquired by its smaller rival the '' New-York Tribune'' to form the '' New York Herald Tribune''. Hi ...

'' by a Reverend Philip Germond denounced "play-acting as a godless life". Dolaro responded with a spirited defence of her profession: "Had I not been ‘launched’ on this ‘godless life,’ I should probably have been a burden to some parish or perhaps launched on what I regard as indeed a godless life. ... Is it not enough that we must slave as we do to earn the means to educate and train our children so as to enable them to become useful members of society without being assailed even from the pulpit with such outrageous slander?” Dolaro's last part was Minnie Marden in an adaptation of

Victorien Sardou Victorien Sardou ( , ; 5 September 1831 – 8 November 1908) was a French dramatist. He is best remembered today for his development, along with Eugène Scribe, of the well-made play. He also wrote several plays that were made into popular 19th-c ...

's ''Agnes'' in 1886.Stone, David
"Selina Dolaro"
Who Was Who in the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, 9 April 2003, accessed 29 November 2020

Health decline and death

Soon after her performance in ''Agnes'' Dolaro's health began to decline as she began to struggle with

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

. Her last appearance was in New York as a supernumerary in a benefit production of ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

'' for

Lester Wallack John Johnstone Wallack (January 1, 1820, New York City – September 6, 1888, Stamford, Connecticut), was an American actor-manager and son of James William Wallack and Susan Johnstone. He used the stage name John Lester until October 5, 1858, ...

, played at Daly's Theatre in May 1888. She died of a stroke in New York City in January 1889 at the age of 39 and was buried in the

Beth Olam Cemetery The Beth Olam Cemetery is a historic cemetery in Cypress Hills, Brooklyn, New York, United States. It is located in the city's Cemetery Belt, bisected by the border between Brooklyn and Queens. It is a rural cemetery in style, and was started in ...

in New York City.Ward, John
"The Rosa Troupe: Selina Dolaro"
Carl Rosa Trust, (2016)

Publications

Dolaro's play, ''In the Fashion'' (later known only as ''Fashion''), ran in New York between 1887 and 1888. Her ''Mes amours: Poems, Passionate and Playful'', based on love letters that she had received, was published in 1888. She also wrote a play called ''Justine''. Dolaro also wrote novels, including: *''The Princess Daphne'', Belford, Clarke & Co. (US), 1888 ( Edward Heron-Allen with Selina Dolaro – a tale of psychic vampirism, involving mesmerism, doppelgangers and metapsychosis)Heron-Allen, Edward
"A Guide to Supernatural Fiction"
Tartarus Press, accessed 29 November 2020 *''Bella Demonia'', Belford, Clarke & Co. (US), .1889(ghost written for Dolaro by Heron-Allen – an historical novel concerning the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78), published shortly after her death by '' Lippincott's Magazine'' *''The Vengeance of Maurice Denalguez'', Belford, Clarke & Co. (US), .1889(ghost written for Dolaro by Heron-Allen)

Notes

References

*Adams, William Davenport.
''A dictionary of the drama''"> ''A dictionary of the drama''
(1904) Chatto & Windus. * *

External links

Includes some information about some of Dolaro's writingsProfile and photo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dolaro, Selina 1849 births 1889 deaths Tuberculosis deaths in New York (state) 19th-century English businesswomen 19th-century English businesspeople 19th-century British women singers 19th-century British theatre managers Actor-managers Actresses from London Businesspeople from London Conservatoire de Paris alumni English theatre managers and producers Jewish English actresses People associated with Gilbert and Sullivan Singers from London British women theatre managers and producers 19th-century deaths from tuberculosis