THE D'OYLY CARTE OPERA COMPANY

Maura Canning

Maura Canning (1919-22)

[Born Tipperary, Ireland 21 Nov 1890, died July 1960]

Contralto Maura Canning appeared with the Carl Rosa Opera Company at the Garrick and Shaftesbury Theatres in 1917, where she took small parts in The Tales of Hoffmann and Madame Butterfly.

She joined the D'Oyly Carte "New" Opera Company in September 1919, serving as their principal contralto until January 1922 when she left the D'Oyly Carte organization.Her roles with the "New" Company were Ruth in The Pirates of Penzance (1921-22), Queen of the Fairies in Iolanthe (1919-22, except for the five months from July to December 1920), Katisha in The Mikado (1919-21), Dame Carruthers in The Yeomen of the Guard (1919-22), and the Duchess of Plaza-Toro in The Gondoliers (1919-22).

Miss Canning eventually moved to America, where in 1926 she was giving concerts of Irish music in New York. Between 1929 to 1934 she enjoyed a career as a Wagnerian singer primarily with a group known as "The German Opera Company." She eventually returned to New York and in 1948 was teaching music and directing the glee club for the "Pious School of Music" in Manhattanville.

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