THE D'OYLY CARTE OPERA COMPANY

Mabel Graham as Kate in The Yeomen of the Guard

Mabel Graham (1905-10)

[Born c.1881, died 29 Apr 1977]

Soprano Mabel Graham served with the D'Oyly Carte Principal Repertory Opera Company from Jannuary 1905 to April 1908, transferred to the Savoy for the first half of the Second London Repertory Season (April-October 1908), then returned to the Principal Repertory Opera Company where she remained until June 1910.

During her first four seasons, her roles were for the most part the secondary soprano roles--the Plaintiff in Trial by Jury (December 1905-April 1908), Isabel in The Pirates of Penzance (July 1905-April 1908), the Lady Ella in Patience (December 1906-April 1908), Fleta (November 1905-December 1906) and Celia (December 1906-April 1908) in Iolanthe, Ada, Sacharissa, and Lady Psyche in Princess Ida (November 1905-April 1908), Peep-Bo in The Mikado (July 1907-April 1908), Kate in The Yeomen of the Guard (November 1905-April 1908), and Guilia (July-November 1905) and Casilda (November 1905-April 1908) in The Gondoliers. She also filled in on occasion as Josephine in H.M.S. Pinafore, Phyllis in Iolanthe, Princess Ida in Princess Ida, and Fiametta and Gianetta in The Gondoliers.

When the London season began in April 1908, Miss Graham's regular duties were limited to the chorus and the small part of Mary Fewlass in the companion piece A Welsh Sunset that played with Pinafore and Pirates beginning in July. She also filled in briefly for Beatrice Boarer as Peep-Bo in June. When the Principal Repertory Opera Company resumed touring in October 1908, Miss Graham left the Savoy to be their principal soprano.

After a week in Holloway, in which she played Patience in Patience, Yum-Yum in The Mikado, Elsie Maynard in The Yeomen of the Guard, and Gianetta in The Gondoliers, she was replaced by Clara Dow and resumed most of the smaller parts she'd played before:Plaintiff, Isabel, Ella, Celia, Psyche, Peep-Bo, Kate (Yeomen), and Casilda. In July 1909 she yielded the Plaintiff to Marjorie Stone. Miss Graham also deputized in November and December 1909 as Mabel in Pirates, Yum-Yum, and Gianetta. She left the D'Oyly Carte in June 1910.

G Index  |  "Who Was Who" Homepage