THE D'OYLY CARTE OPERA COMPANY

William Thomson as Pish-Tush in The Mikado

William Thomson (1920-23)

[Born 1898]

Baritone William Thomson joined the D'Oyly Carte "New" Opera Company in July 1920. During the 1920-21 season he was a chorister and understudy who went on on occasion for Arthur Argent as the Mikado in The Mikado and Giuseppe in The Gondoliers. Argent left at the end of the season and Thomson moved up to principal baritone. In the limited repertoire of the "New" Company he had roles in each of the four full-length works:in 1921-22 he was Samuel in The Pirates of Penzance, the Earl of Mountararat in Iolanthe, the Lieutenant of the Tower in The Yeomen of the Guard, and Giuseppe in The Gondoliers. The following season The Mikado replaced Iolanthe in the repertoire and Thomson took the part of Pish-Tush. He left the D'Oyly Carte organization in June 1923. He was married to "New" Company chorister Cecile Marione.

In 1926 Thomson appeared as an extra in The Student Prince at London's His Majesty's Theatre. Twenty years later a William Thomson took small parts in Big Ben (Adelphi, 1946), the pantomime Red Riding Hood (Adelphi, 1946-47), and Annie Get Your Gun (Coliseum, 1947-50).

T Index  |  "Who Was Who" Homepage