Alice May: Gilbert & Sullivan's First Prima Donna (Forgotten Stars of the Musical Theater)

This biography tells the story of Alice May, a touring prima donna in the nineteenth century who travelled from England to Australia, New Zealand, India and the US, taking part in pioneering performances of the popular light operas of the day. Along the way she took part in many premieres, including the first production of Gilbert and Sullivan's The Sorcerer and the first authorised American production of The Mikado . This colourful life story will appeal to theatre historians, fans of the melodrama, burlesque, and the musical stage.

Alice May is the archetype of the Gilbert and Sullivan prima donna. She ran away with her music teacher as a girl and landed in Australia, becoming that country's leading comic opera singer. As the head of her own company she toured Australia and New Zealand, eventually making her way to Britain via India, where she entered into successful partnerships and productions. Before she drank down the last of her last days in St. Louis—minus the music teacher—she had traveled oceans and brought down not a few houses. This biography brings it all within view, and helps fill-out the picture we have of a former period in musical theater.

Library Journal

Simpson (Opera's Farthest Frontier: A History of Professional Opera in New Zealand) here recounts the short but prominent life of Alice May. A native of England, she made her first appearance as the star of her singing teacher's opera troupe in Melbourne, Australia, in the 1870s. Soon after, Gilbert and Sullivan wrote her the part of Aline in The Sorcerer. May became one of the leading sopranos of the London stage before moving to New York and then to St. Louis, where alcoholism marked her descent and finally ended her life in 1887. As with most biographies, much of the background material is a bit tedious (not helped by the off-putting, self-centered introductory rant by series editor Kurt G nzl). But once the book attains full stride, it provides a revealing and fascinating glimpse into the music theater scene of Australia, India, England, and the United States at the end of the 19th century. No other profiles of May are available. Recommended for public and academic libraries.-Timothy J. McGee, Hastings, Ont. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

"Alice May created the role of the heroine, Aline, in Gilbert and Sullivan's first successful full-length operetta, The Sorcerer. It is for this brief association with one of the musical stage's most famous partnerships that her name is tenuously remembered today. But there was much more to Alice's career than The Sorcerer. During the 1870s and '80s she played leading roles in dozens of comic operas. She sang in a number of world premieres and took part in the first English-language performances of several works by notable European composers. If she never quite scaled the dizzying heights of stardom reached by a few special performers, she nonetheless enjoyed significant success in her chosen profession. At the peak of her powers she gave pleasure to thousands and even in her sad, declining years she remained a performer of consequence, as popular with her colleagues as with the public."--Jacket. The story of Alice May, a touring prima donna in the 19th century who travelled from England to Australia, New Zealand, India and the US, taking part in pioneering performances of the popular light operas of the day, including the first production of Gilbert and Sullivan's "The Sorcerer" and the first authorized American production of "The Mikado".