THE D'OYLY CARTE OPERA COMPANY

Geoffrey Sanders

Geoffrey Sanders (1946, 1948-50, 1951)

[Born Aston, Birmingham 6 Aug 1924, died Tamworth, Staffordshire 2004]

George Geoffrey Sanders had three tours of duty with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in the later 1940s and early 1950s. He was initially a baritone chorister, appearing briefly from July until November 1946, when he was called up for military service. His next engagement was a two-year stretch from August 1948 to July 1950. During the 1949-50 season he appeared regularly as Second Yeoman in The Yeomen of the Guard and shared Antonio in The Gondoliers with Peter Pratt. He also deputized on occasion between 1948 and 1950 as Samuel in The Pirates of Penzance, Colonel Calverley in Patience, the Earl of Mountararat in Iolanthe, and Go-To in The Mikado. He may be heard on the D'Oyly Carte's 1950 recordings of Gondoliers and Yeomen as Antonio and Second Yeoman, respectively.

After another break in service, Sanders returned in March 1951, appearing until August as Second Yeoman and Antonio. He then left the D'Oyly Carte for the last time. In October 1951, he was at the Palace Theatre, London, in the musical extravaganza Zip Goes of Million. Sanders eventually left the professional stage, though he continued to appear in Gilbert & Sullivan as an amateur. He was the Pirate King in The Pirates of Penzance with the Castle Bromwich Operatic Society in 1974.

S Index  |  "Who Was Who" Homepage