Formation 1940 (1940) Type Opera company | Extinction 1955 (1955) Founder and Music Director Frederick Mawson | |
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The Toronto Light Opera Association was an opera company based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada that specialized in performing the works of Gilbert and Sullivan. It was founded in 1940 and disbanded in 1955.
Contents
History
Members of the association first came together in 1940 when Howard Mawson and some friends who had appeared in collegiate productions of Gilbert & Sullivan operettas asked Mawson's father Frederick, a Toronto choirmaster and conductor, to teach them more about the performance of Gilbert & Sullivan's music. Frederick Mawson, with the help of his son organized what was to become the Toronto Light Opera Association. Frederick Mawson also served as the association's music director and led it in presenting operettas in a number of venues in Toronto. Their first operetta, Trial by Jury, was staged in 1942 with H.M.S. Pinafore staged the following year. There were no productions in 1944, as many of the young cast members were involved in the war effort of World War II.
In 1945 the first notices naming the troupe as the Toronto Light Opera Association appeared in the local news. In 1946 the Toronto Daily Star termed it "an excellent organization", and another review in 1950 praised the "enjoyable acting and singing". Mawson was assisted in most of the productions by Alfred Kidney, who acted as stage director. After a number of successful productions, the association disbanded in 1955.
Productions
Between 1942 and 1950 the company presented six different Gilbert and Sullivan operas, mostly those in the popular repertoire. The actors and singers were ably accompanied by pianist Winnifred Smith Stewart. Edward Wodson of The Evening Telegram described her as "a solo pianist whose touch gives the piano a song always delighful". The Association's productions between 1942 and 1950 were as follows:
Notable members
Howard Mawson, a bass baritone who played a role in many of the productions, went on to have a notable career in other operatic and dramatic organizations. He became a founding member of the Toronto branch of the Gilbert and Sullivan Society. His wife Elizabeth Mawson (née Burlington), a mezzo-soprano and a regular performer in the association, would later become well known for her long-standing role as Marilla in the Anne of Green Gables – The Musical production at the Charlottetown Festival; she also performed with the Canadian Opera Company. Both Howard and Elizabeth would also later perform in the Eaton Operatic Society of Toronto. Geoffrey Hatton had been a member of the famous D'Oyly Carte Opera Company before moving to Toronto and continuing to both perform and direct in various musical organizations. Alfred Kidney was involved as performer, director, producer or coach in dozens of productions in Scotland, Ireland and Canada over a period of 40 years. Rose McDonald of the Toronto Evening Telegram wrote, "There is no one more experienced hereabouts in Gilbert and Sullivan business."
Other performers who went on to further musical accomplishments include Bertram Kelso (Reading Choral Society, Toronto Mendelssohn Choir), Godfrey Rideout (symphonic composer and conductor, Eaton Operatic Society), Howard Russell (Oshawa Choral Society, Serenata Singers), Bill Wright (Orpheus Theatre), and Bert Scarborough (30 productions of the Eaton Operatic Society).