THE D'OYLY CARTE OPERA COMPANY

Gillian Humphreys as the Plaintiff in Trial by Jury

Gillian Humphreys (1963-65)

[Born Treforest, Glamorgan, Wales]

Gillian Humphreys took a leave of absence from her studies at the Royal Academy of Music to appear with Tyrone Guthrie's Company in Great Britain and North America. She was in the chorus of H.M.S. Pinafore and The Pirates of Penzance with the Guthrie organization in England in January-February 1962. She also was known as a radio and television performer, and toured with the Welsh National Youth Orchestra, before joining the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in July 1963.

Her first D'Oyly Carte appearance was as Iolanthe in Iolanthe on July 25, 1963, in place of principal mezzo-soprano Joanne Moore. Miss Moore left the Company the following month, and when the new season began on September 9, Gillian Humphreys was installed as the regular Plaintiff in Trial by Jury, Edith in The Pirates of Penzance, Lady Angela in Patience, Iolanthe in Iolanthe, and Peep-Bo in The Mikado. In November 1963 she took on the additional part of Tessa in The Gondoliers. She would give up the Plaintiff in August 1964, but kept her other roles until June 1965 when she left the Company.

Gillian Humphries would later perform with "Gilbert & Sullivan for All," appearing in their 1972 films of Trial by Jury (as the Plaintiff), Iolanthe (as Phyllis), Ruddigore (as Rose Maybud), and The Gondoliers (as Gianetta).

Miss Humphreys has since sung at major opera houses in the United States and Europe. Since 1995 she has been in charge of the Concordia Theatre Company (an element of the Concordia Foundation), performing in numerous international venues and building bridges through music and the arts by bringing together young artists from Europe and Asia. Recent Concordia productions include Cavalleria Rusticana and Carmen at the Opera House in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. She has lately returned to Gilbert & Sullivan, as adjudicator for the 2003 Gilbert & Sullivan Festival in Buxton, England.

H Index  |  "Who Was Who" Homepage