ROMÉO ET JULIETTE – GOUNOD
Presented on May 7, 15, 19 at the Gaiety Theatre Dublin and on May 31 at the Opera House Cork as part of the Dublin Grand Opera Society’s Spring Season
May Devitt – Juliette
Joseph McLaughlin / Francis Russell[May 31] – Roméo
Richard Mason – Laurent
Leslie Jones – Mercutio
Josephine O’Hagan – Stéphano
Dermot Browner – Capulét
Joseph Flood – Tybalt
Commdt J M Doyle – Conductor
Sydney Russell – Producer
AIDA – VERDI
Presented on May 8, 10, 16 at the Gaiety Theatre Dublin as part of the Dublin Grand Opera Society’s Spring Season
Eva Turner – Aida
Parry Jones – Radames
Patricia Black – Amneris
John Lynskey – Amonasro
Richard Mason – Ramfis
Dermot Browner – King
Marjorie Barry – Priestess
Thomas Synnott – Messenger
Commdt J M Doyle – Conductor
Sydney Russell – Producer
MADAMA BUTTERFLY – PUCCINI
Presented on May 9, 12 19m at the Gaiety Theatre Dublin and on May 29 at the Opera House Cork as part of the Dublin Grand Opera Society’s Spring Season
May Devitt – Cio-Cio San
Joseph McLaughlin – Pinkerton
Patricia Black / Cathleen O’Byrne[May9] – Suzuki
Leslie Jones – Sharpless
Joseph Flood – Goro
Dermot Browner – Bonze
William Hogarty – Yamadori
Marie Doyle / Maura Mooney[May 29] – Kate
Arnold Perry – Conductor
Sydney Russell – Producer
LA GIOCONDA – PONCHIELLI
Presented on May 11, 17 at the Gaiety Theatre Dublin as part of the Dublin Grand Opera Society’s Spring Season
May Devitt – Gioconda
Joseph McLaughlin – Enzo
Patricia Black – Laura
John Lynskey – Barnaba
Cathleen O’Byrne – Cieca
Richard Mason – Alvise
Edgar W Bouchier – Conductor
Sydney Russell – Producer
LES CONTES D’HOFFMANN – OFFENBACH
Presented on May 12m, 14, 18 at the Gaiety Theatre Dublin and on May 28, Jun 2 at the Opera House Cork as part of the Dublin Grand Opera Society’s Spring Season
Parry Jones / Francis Russell[May 28, Jun 2] – Hoffmann
Josephine O’Hagan – Olympia
Patricia Black – Giulietta
John Lynskey – Coppélius / Miracle / Dapertutto
Molly Murphy – Nicklausse
Maureen Harold / Maureen Keane[May 14] – Antonia
Joseph Flood – Spalanzani / Frantz
Richard Mason – Crespel / Schlemil
Robert J Carey – Cochenille / Pitichinaccio
Arnold Perry – Conductor
Sydney Russell – Producer
LA BOHÈME – PUCCINI
Presented on May 27, Jun 1 at the Opera House Cork as part of the Dublin Grand Opera Society’s Spring Season
May Devitt – Mimi
Joseph McLaughlin – Rodolfo
Josephine O’Hagan – Musetta
John Lynskey – Marcello
Richard Mason – Colline
Leslie Jones – Schaunard
Commdt J M Doyle – Conductor
Sydney Russell – Producer
CARMEN – BIZET
Presented on May 30, Jun 3 at the Opera House Cork as part of the Dublin Grand Opera Society’s Spring Season
Patricia Black – Carmen
Francis Russell – Don José
May Devitt – Micaëla
John Lynskey – Escamillo
Josephine O’Hagan – Frasquita
Marie Slowey – Mercédès
Leslie Jones – Dancaïre
Joseph Flood – Remendado
Richard Mason – Zuniga
Ben Ennis – Moralès
Commdt J M Doyle – Conductor
Sydney Russell – Producer
Before the Spring 1945 Season commenced, there was a Grand Concert featuring John Lynskey, Patricia Black, May Devitt and Joseph McLaughlin (Josef Locke) and other local soloists:
The season also involved a visit to Cork:
The dark war clouds lifted and gradually rolled away, heralding an new era for the society in the spring of 1945. Comdt. O’Kelly was particularly relieved and declared frankly, ‘Without the help of our great friend Louis Elliman we would not have survived the forties. He gave us the benefit of his great experience, the help of his stage staff, and during all the period we dealt with him we never signed a contract for our seasons. He is a man of his word, and we owe him a great deal.’ 0’Kelly’s own contribution was also considerable. From the outset he was an inspirational figure whose vision and drive had made dream into reality; he exuded enthusiasm in what he did and it was infectious as his fellow officers Bertie Timlin, Michael Dinnigan and perhaps most of all, Dr Larchet, wholeheartedly agreed. The chairman was forgiven if sometimes this enthusiasm got the better of him and he wanted to do the impossible on the society’s very limited resources. The DGOS was not the only company to survive the difficult war years. George Sleator’s Dublin Operatic Society was still presenting operas at the Olympia and by early ’45 the new National Opera Society of Ireland was doing the same thing. The capital, it seemed, had an insatiable appetite for opera. Comdt. O’Kelly and his colleagues now realised that Irish Opera buffs wanted to see new faces and hear new voices and be able to enjoy more imaginative productions, provided of course that the society could afford to mount them. Quickly he arranged meetings in London with agents and forged new contacts in an atmosphere of considerable goodwill. Sometimes Bertie Timlin or vice-chairman Michael Dinnigan accompanied O’Kelly on these trips and were agreeably surprised by the number of artists available, many of them demobbed servicemen who wanted to resume their singing careers. They had to work in haste as the scene in Ireland was about to change. James Johnston and Patricia Black had signed contracts with the Sadler’s Wells Company so that their appearances with the society would in future only be on an irregular basis. Moira Griffith was soon to concentrate on accompaniment, in between her secondary school commitments. In truth she said she wanted to carve a career outside of opera. Meanwhile, Rita Lynch had met her husband-to-be, Patrick Shaw, at a concert in the Opera House, Cork, and settled in the southern capital, though she continued to take on numerous concert engagements. Charles Lynch, her firm friend, and the country’s leading piano soloist, could no longer spare the time for operatic conducting as he pursued a solo career. It was at the same time rumoured that Joseph McLaughlin and May Devitt were together contemplating a move to Britain, as was Belfast tenor John Torney. Before the year was far advanced the society had engaged a bevy of new names to opera in Ireland; they included Owen Brannigan, Gwen Catley, Eva Turner, Parry Jones, Ruth Packer and Ivan Dixon. Usually Comdt. O’Kelly greeted them on their arrival and was photographed by press photographers; it was useful publicity and the chairman never let such an opportunity escape him. Once, when he introduced a famous soprano to reporters, he quipped, ‘She’s come here for our big steaks.” There was more than a modicum of truth in this for in the immediate post-war years, food in Britain remained rationed and it was no secret that singers welcomed engagements in Ireland where it was in good supply. Although the general public eagerly looked forward to hearing the new artists, some Irish singers soon resigned themselves to the fact that in future they would be playing secondary roles. Moira Griffith was prepared for that eventuality. ‘I had sung principal roles only with the society and suspected that before long I would be asked to take on lesser parts and maybe end up in the chorus. I was by then church organist in Bray, a busy accompanist and occasionally a chorus mistress. I felt a bit sorry, though, for some of my colleagues.’ Nonetheless, the Irish were still needed and Comdt. O’Kelly reminded his critics that one of the chief aims of the society was to foster home talent and this remained a priority. He was aware of the criticism from some quarters but he was not a man to ever let criticism stand in the way of progress. Like his colleague Dr Larchet, he knew the time had arrived to expand their repertory. His timing was right and his choice of cross-channel artists would in time also prove him a good judge of voices. For example, the soprano Eva Turner made an immediate impact as Aida. She was by now in her early fifties and already a renowned Turandot. She was partnered in Aida by Welsh tenor Parry Jones whose singing of “Celeste Aida” in act one was greeted by warm applause, though it was the soprano who enraptured the audience by her opulent voice that swept over the orchestra into every corner of the Gaiety. The Evening Mail summed up: ‘Together these two singers overshadowed all others on stage, both vocally and dramatically; they were magnificent.’ Ruth Packer, an unusually tall soprano, was soon also to attract the admiration of audiences by her dramatic singing in the winter season of ’45 as Leonora in “Trovatore”, displaying a true Verdian line and real acting ability. ‘Miss Packer is a discovery,’ wrote the Evening Herald critic. ‘The society must have her back again.’ Likewise, another English newcomer, Victoria Sladen, was a touching Butterfly, even if Dublin oldtimers were understandably reluctant to place her above ‘their own’ May Devitt in the same role. Ivan Dixon, as Pinkerton partnered Miss Sladen impressively in the love duet in act one. It was the new production of “Rigoletto” that however drew the most enthusiastic response of the season. Roderick Jones was very popular with Dublin audiences and his portrayal of the tormented jester was eagerly awaited. This was borne out by Irish Independent critic Joseph O’Neill: ‘I had looked forward to Jones’s appearance in the role and I can say he gave me all the pleasure I had expected. His flexible baritone voice is eminently suitable for the portrayal of this complex part and he conveyed the character’s mixed emotions in a thoughtful and intelligent manner.’ James Johnston had returned from Sadler’s Wells to sing the Duke while Gwen Catley, the young English coloratura soprano, won a lot of friends in the audience by ‘her delicate artistry and vocal agility’ as Gilda. Owen Brannigan, one of the leading British basses of the day, combining a large and rich voice with assured acting ability, sang the assassin Sparafucile, and was described by one critic as ‘a magnificently honest villain.’ By now the society had introduced gala nights and they injected a welcome touch of colour and glamour that helped to make opera-going a social occasion. Newspapers dispatched photographers to the Gaiety Theatre and subsequent photographs helped to boost attendances. A gala night was certainly different, recalled Aileen Walsh. There was an added buzz in the auditorium and the boxes were always filled. In her view empty boxes did not look well and could convey the wrong impression. To Florrie Draper, a chorister like Miss Walsh, a gala occasion prompted the ladies to dress in their most elegant finery. She saw nothing elitist about this. ‘I think everyone agreed that on big occasions there was no harm in a bit of colour – and that went for the gentlemen too.’ The casting of Joseph McLaughlin and May Devitt in Gounod’s romantic opera, “Romeo & Juliette” was a talking point in the spring of 1945. No one could deny they looked the part and as well as that their off-stage love affair had some of the elements of the opera itself. Sometimes they attracted the attention of people in the streets as they passed by in a horse-drawn carriage – the handsome tenor liked to do things in style. DGOS chorus members wondered if he was in fact serious about making a career in opera for he seemed more showman than opera singer. A veteran photographer of the social scene once told me that McLaughlin and Devitt attracted people to the Gaiety who wouldn’t normally go to opera. ‘I think he had a big effect on women and it was one of the reasons at the time why everyone was looking forward to his Romeo.’ Behind the scenes the ‘big fellow’ from Derry was finding difficulty learning Gounod’s music and both May Devitt and Julia Gray had to spend painstaking hours on the score with him.. McLaughlin made no secret of his dilemma and conductor J M Doyle was only too aware of it when rehearsals began, for he was obliged to give him more musical cues than usual. The fact that the tenor wasn’t a musician and lacked training as a singer did not help matters. There were times when Miss Devitt expressed real worry and hoped that by opening night her ‘lover Joe’ would be a convincing Romeo on stage. The opera, which when premiered in Paris in April 1867 was a resounding success, would on this occasion be sung in English. The critics’ reaction was favourable though not over-enthusiastic. May Devitt and Joseph McLaughlin in the leading roles were convincing,’ stated the Irish Times, ‘their singing in the Garden Scene of act two and the Vault Scene of the last act being among the best things they have sung together.’ After commenting on Miss Devitt’s convincing acting as Juliette and the beauty of her singing voice, the Irish Independent described Joseph McLaughlin’s approach as romantic, but criticised his reading of the part because of his over-restraint as compared with Miss Devitt’s intense show of passion. He did however ‘rise to dramatic heights in the Duel Scene and his farewell to Juliette.’ Because McLaughlin was considered ‘a bit of a character’ he was not always easy to handle, though he rarely got the better of Comdt. O’Kelly. He sometimes played tricks on Jim Doyle but the conductor was inclined to laugh them off. He saw the tenor as ‘somewhat incorrigible’ and did his best to keep him to the music. Pianist Jeannie Reddin believed that with more discipline and dedication to the music he would have made it in opera. ‘I suspect though he found opera restricting and was more at home in show business.’ Comdt. O’ Kelly offered Joseph McLaughlin the role of Cavaradossi in the following season’s “Tosca” but he turned it down, explaining to the chairman that he and May Devitt were shortly off to England. O’Kelly expressed his deep gratitude and wished him well. He knew that McLaughlin was fond of the good life and that the money he could pay him would never satisfy him. In subsequent years, the tenor, singing under the name of Josef Locke, would attain millionaire status and buy a half share in the Grand Theatre, Blackpool. But he has no regrets about his stint in opera in Dublin. As he told me in more recent years, ‘I showed them I could sing it, the audiences loved me, and Bill O’Kelly was pleased. But I couldn’t go on singing for buttons, even for Bill and, God knows, he put a lot into the DGOS, so he did.’
(Extracted from “Love and Music: The Glorious History of the Dublin Grand Opera Society” by Gus Smith, 1998)
Opera in Ireland 