Opera Scotland

Geisha 1896George Edwardes' Company

Read more about the opera Geisha

This touring company of one of the most successful musical comedies contained some starry names. The American Geraldine Ulmar had crossed the Atlantic bringing with her an established reputation in Gilbert and Sullivan, and then spent some time in the top team at the Savoy. Rutland Barrington had been one of the resident principals there for many years, and rarely worked outside London (and in this case missed at least the opening night in Dundee because of an unexpected recall to the Metropolis). Marie Studholme had established herself as a leading performer in musical comedy, by playing the lead in this team's first great success, A Gaiety Girl.

Perhaps our main reason for including this tour in the website is the presence in the cast of a young baritone, John Coates. Here he plays the romantic lead, Reginald Fairfax. Within a few months he began to retrain as a tenor, quickly gaining a prominent place in the British operatic world, especially for his Wagner, which he also sang in Germany.

The week before the company's arrival in Aberdeen, the city suffered the loss of its variety theatre, the People's Palace, in a catastrophic fire on 30 September, as a result of which seven people died and many were seriously injured. The entire proceeds of the matinee of The Geisha on Saturday 10 October (a sum of £56.30) were donated to the fund in aid of victims, along with the artistes' fees, which George Edwardes paid to them in the usual way. Livermore Brothers, proprietors of the Palace, themselves donated £50, and Aberdeen F C, admittedly a small enterprise in those days, £3 3s.

This cast is from the programme in the Dundee Central Library (Lamb Collection 252-16).