Opera Scotland

Arthur Rousbey Suggest updates

James Huntress.

Born South Shields, 1851.

Died at sea, 29 October 1899.

English bass-baritone, conductor and manager.

Arthur Rousbey ran his own successful touring opera company in the last years of the 19th century.

His early stage work, touring the country in music hall, seems to have begun around 1782, as a baritone vocalist singing popular songs. His career in comic opera began as a member of the Fanny Edwards company in 1876. and he also sang small solo roles with Charles Durand's company.

In 1878 he joined the D'Oyly Carte management, taking part in early tours as Counsel Trial by Jury, Sir Marmaduke The Sorcerer and both Dick Deadeye and Corcoran  HMS Pinafore.  He later added both Bunthorne and Grosvenor Patience. In 1882 he played Strephon Iolanthe in New York, as well as Van Slous in Planquette's Rip Van Winkle..

He turned to serious opera, touring in 1885 with the Royal English Opera, under Sydney Hill's management. Parts included Mozart (Figaro), Gounod (Valentin) and Benedict (Danny Mann).

He then established his own company. His operatic roles ranged through Mozart (Don Giovanni, Figaro), Donizetti (Enrico), Verdi (Rigoletto, Luna), Balfe (Arnheim, Don Pedro) and Gounod (Valentin, Méphistophélès). Early opportunities to conduct were given to the young Henry Wood, though Wood was not flattering in his memoirs, and he also employed the bass Arthur Winckworth, later a star of Carl Rosa. After a few seasons as a singer and director, Rousbey also took to conducting some of the repertoire himself.

He did put on several new works, generally unsuccessful.  Perhaps the most interesting of these came in September 1897, when he gave the British premiere of Puccini's first opera Le villi, with his wife, Hope Hastings as Anna. This was less than six months after the Carl Rosa had given the first UK performance of La bohème in the same city.

He died at sea in 1899 of complications from diabetes, while returning from a company tour of South Africa.