THE D'OYLY CARTE OPERA COMPANY

Josephine Curtis in H.M.S. Pinafore

Josephine Curtis (1933-37)

[Born Australia]

Contralto Josephine Curtis joined the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in January 1933 as a member of the chorus.From August of that year until she left the Company in July 1937 she served as understudy to the principal contraltos Dorothy Gill, who left in June 1936, and Evelyn Gardiner who took over when the next season started in August.Miss Curtis sang the small part of Inez in The Gondoliers for those four years, and also occasionally filled in as Katisha in The Mikado (1933-34) and Ruth in The Pirates of Penzance (1935-36).

In June 1936, during Miss Gill's last month with the Company, the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company recorded The Mikado. For some reason, Jo Curtis was given the rare opportunity of recording the role of Katisha, a part she never played on a regular basis.

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