Sydney Granville

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Sydney Granville, (1880 – December 27, 1959) was an English singer and actor, best known for his performances in baritone roles of the Savoy Operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company.

1 Life and career
- 1.1 Early career — lyric baritone
- 1.2 Later career — "heavy" baritone
2 Recordings
3 Reference
4 External links

[edit] Life and career

Sydney Granville was born Walter Dewhurst, in Bolton, Lancashire. He made his first appearances on stage in grand opera productions with the Moody-Manners Opera Company.

[edit] Early career — lyric baritone

Granville joined the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company chorus in 1907, soon understudying the role of Lord Mountararat in Iolanthe. When the London season ended, he toured with the company, playing the small role of Selworthy in the curtain raiser After All!. The next season, he played John Lloyd in Fenn & Faraday's A Welsh Sunset, the companion piece to H.M.S. Pinafore, and understudied Henry Lytton in the role of Dick Deadeye in Pinafore.

On tour from 1908 to 1914, he played the Counsel to the Plaintiff in Trial by Jury, Boatswain in Pinafore, Samuel in The Pirates of Penzance, Colonel Calverley in Patience, Strephon in Iolanthe, Arac in Princess Ida, Pish-Tush in The Mikado, the Lieutenant of the Tower in The Yeomen of the Guard, and Luiz in The Gondoliers. In 1914, Granville took a brief break from the company, returning to tour in 1915–16, playing only Strephon and Luiz in a nine-opera repertoire. In the next season, he lost even those roles to Leo Sheffield. He left the D'Oyly Carte organization for the second time in 1917.

From 1918–25, Granville returned to the touring company upon the departure of Frank Wilson, playing the Counsel, Boatswain, Samuel, Strephon, Florian in Princess Ida, Pish-Tush, the Lieutenant, and Luiz, later swapping the Counsel for the Usher in Trial, adding the Colonel and later Grosvenor in Patience, and swapping Luiz for Giuseppe in The Gondoliers. He also added the role of Cox in Cox and Box in 1921. By 1924, he had given up the smaller roles of Samuel and Lieutenant. In 1925 he also played Mountararat in Iolanthe, the Mikado in The Mikado, and Sir Roderic Murgatroyd in Ruddigore.

[edit] Later career — "heavy" baritone

In 1925 Granville left the company for the third time, touring in Australia and New Zealand with the J. C. Williamson organisation in 1926–27 in the "heavy" baritone roles that he would later play with D'Oyly Carte. Returning to England in 1927, he toured in Robert Stulz's musical The Blue Train (1927, opposite the famous beauty Lily Elsie) and then playing Lockit in The Beggar's Opera, at the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith, in 1928.

Granville rejoined the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in 1928, this time replacing the retiring Leo Sheffield as the Learned Judge in Trial, the Sergeant of Police in Pirates, Private Willis in Iolanthe, Pooh-Bah in The Mikado, Sir Despard Murgatroyd in Ruddigore, and Don Alhambra in The Gondoliers. He added Wilfred Shadbolt in Yeomen in 1929 and King Hildebrand in Princess Ida in 1931. By 1939, he had given up the Judge and Willis. Except for Sheffield's return for the 22-week London Season in 1929–30, Granville played the "heavy" baritone roles until his retirement in December 1942.

"Granny," as he was known in the D'Oyly Carte company, was married to chorister and small-part player Anna Bethell (known principally for playing Mrs. Partlett in The Sorcerer whenever it was revived. Bethell later served as stage director of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company from 1947–49 and for the J. C. Williamson Gilbert and Sullivan Company.

Granville died in Stockport, Cheshire.

[edit] Recordings

Granville was Pooh-Bah in the 1939 Technicolor film version of The Mikado.

With D'Oyly Carte, he participated in the following HMV recordings of the operas: H.M.S. Pinafore (1922 — as Captain Corcoran and Boatswain), Princess Ida (1924 — Florian), Iolanthe (1929 — Private Willis), Pinafore (1930 — Boatswain), abridged Gondoliers (1931 — Don Alhambra), abridged Pirates (1931 — Sergeant), Ruddigore (1931 — Despard), abridged Yeomen (1931 — Shadbolt), and Mikado (1936 — Pooh-Bah).