THE D'OYLY CARTE OPERA COMPANY

Jessie Browning

Jessie Browning (1901-03)

[Born Southwark 11 Feb 1868]

Jessie Browning (birth name Brown) was a veteran of the English stage when she was engaged in October 1901 to replace the departing Kate Forster in the principal contralto roles with the D'Oyly Carte Repertoire Opera Company "C." From October to December, she appeared as Ruth in The Pirates of Penzance, the Lady Jane in Patience, Lady Blanche in Princess Ida, Katisha in The Mikado, Dame Carruthers in The Yeomen of the Guard, and the Duchess of Plaza-Toro in The Gondoliers.

Forster returned in January 1902, but Jessie Browning's D'Oyly Carte career was not over. She was engaged again for the Carte's South African touring company from April 1902 until May 1903, appearing there as Ruth, Jane, Katisha, Dame Carruthers, and the Duchess, as well as Lady Sangazure in The Sorcerer, Little Buttercup in H.M.S. Pinafore, the Queen of the Fairies in Iolanthe, Lady Sophy in Utopia Limited, and "Dancing Sunbeam" in The Rose of Persia.

Around 1916 she moved with her husband to Argentina where she lived for at least thirty-five years.

B Index  |  "Who Was Who" Homepage