THE D'OYLY CARTE OPERA COMPANY

Mrs. Arthur Rousbey

Mrs. Arthur Rousbey (1900-02, 1906-07, 1910)

[Born Genoa, Italy c.1869, died 1962]

Mrs. Arthur Rousbey (born Amelia Emily Mary Park) was the widow of D'Oyly Carte baritone Arthur Rousbey when she joined D'Oyly Carte Opera Company "E" as the Sultana Zubedyah in The Rose of Persia in February 1900. (Arthur Rousbey had died at sea in 1899 and his first wife, Margaret, had predeceased him in 1895.) Company "E" added Patience in December 1900 with Mrs. Rousbey in the title role, then dropped both operas in July 1901 to tour The Emerald Isle exclusively as the "Savoy Touring Company," Mrs. Rousbey as Lady Rose Pippin. The Emerald Isle toured until May 1902 at which point she left the D'Oyly Carte organization.

Her second of three tours was as principal soprano with the D'Oyly Carte Principal Repertory Opera Company, from September 1906 until November 1907. During this time she used the stage name of Hope Hastings, appearing as Josephine in H.M.S. Pinafore, Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance, Patience in Patience, Phyllis in Iolanthe, Princess Ida in Princess Ida, Yum-Yum in The Mikado, Elsie Maynard in The Yeomen of the Guard, and Gianetta in The Gondoliers.

She returned for her third and final stint, again with the Repertory Company in February 1910, replacing the departing Elsie Spain. She appeared for the next four months in the same eight roles as she had in 1906-07. Mrs. Rousbey, as she was once again known, left the Company again when the season ended in June.

Little is known of her career beyond D'Oyly Carte. She later married Charles Roby Walenn and played the rest of her career, mostly in Australia, as Mrs. Walenn. Mrs. Rousbey reportedly wrote the libretto for a musical called Compromising Harriet (music by May Brahe) in 1933, but further details are not available.

R Index  |  "Who Was Who" Homepage