Opera Scotland

Yeomen of the Guard 1918D'Oyly Carte Opera Company

Read more about the opera Yeomen of the Guard

At this time the annual tour by the main D'Oyly Carte company in Scotland included two weeks each in Aberdeen and Dundee as well as periods in Edinburgh and Glasgow.   In the two northern cities  The Yeomen of the Guard was given on the first Tuesday and the second Friday at each venue.

 

Two Dundee Reviews

Dundee Courier & Argus:  Wednesday, 23 October 1918

Her Majesty's Theatre - The Yeomen of the Guard

'The Yeomen of the Guard, the greatest of the Savoy operas, musically and dramatically, attracted an even bigger house than that of the night before.  Every seat was occupied, and standing room was at a premium.  This, on a Tuesday night, generally unpopular, was a rare, and of course, well deserved, tribute to the opera. The performance was one of much excellence, and we wish to note that the chorus, despite serious raids from the prevalent influenza, did nobly.

'Mr Lytton's Jack Point is as finished an artistic performance as ever.  When he is on the stage one forgets his predecessors.  Mr M'Keown not only sang prettily, but acted with real force, and Mr Sheffield's Jailer, if a little lachrymose, was instinct with point and dry humour.   Miss Phyllis Dicksee, a new soprano, has a fine voice and engaging manner, and Miss Catherine Ferguson made the most of the delightful part of Phoebe.   Miss Bertha Lewis was, as usual, dignified and dramatic as Dame Carruthers, and Miss Elsie Coram sang sweetly as Kate.   The acting was throughout specially good.'

 

Dundee Evening Telegraph & Post: Wednesday, 23 October 1918

Her Majesty's Theatre - The Yeomen of the Guard

'“Is not the jester a man with a heart like you?” says Canio in Pagliacci, and this is the root matter of The Yeomen of the Guard.  As Jack Point, Mr Lytton makes a striking success, and did he but give a little more emphasis to the man in the jester the balance would be better kept.  Nevertheless, it is a fine bit of character study, and he sets a high standard of finished acting for the other members of the company to copy.  Certainly last night the acting all round, no less than the singing, was notable for its careful finish and artistic value.  The newcomers are no slavish imitators of their predecessors.  Miss Phyllis Dicksee as Elsie sings with considerable brilliancy, and Miss Catherine Ferguson as Phoebe infused a telling note of sincerity into her acting and singing which made her reading a real success.  The rather slow tempos taken for these ladies' chief solos robbed some of the music of its rhythmic vigour.

'Mr Edward M'Keown, as Colonel Fairfax, made a great hit.  His singing, in spite of strong nasal resonance, is most artistic, and “Is life a boon?” had a very effective rendering.  Besides, his acting is uncommonly graceful and attractive.  Mr Leo Sheffield made a very unhappy and doleful Shadbolt, who did not even cheer up when Phoebe accepted him.  He is very amusing in the part.  The other members were all admirable in their parts, and a special word of praise is due to the rendering of the various pieces of concerted music, more especially the nice tone and expression in “Tower Tomb.”'

 

The cast is drawn from reviews of Tuesday 22 October in the Dundee Advertiser and Dundee Courier & Argus. Who took over from a flu-stricken Edward McKeown at the final Dundee performance has not been established.

Glasgow and Edinburgh dates to be confirmed.