t h e r o s a t r o u p e
Durward Lely
The tenor Durward Lely was really James Durward Lyall, a
proud Scot born at Arbroath on 2 September 1852. His vocal gifts were recognised
via the local church choir and choral society, and one Patrick Allan Fraser, a
patron of the arts, arranged training in Dundee followed by further study in
Milan. He made his operatic debut in Italy in 1875 and sang there for three
years in minor houses before returning home in to make his British operatic
debut with the Rosa in their 1879 London season.
Lely began as Don Jose in the British English-language première of Carmen
at Her Majesty’s Theatre on 5 February 1879 and returned for the 1880 London
season. He sang only Don Jose at this time; he may have been engaged
specifically for this role but there was an additional complication. The usually
astute Carl had obtained London rights of performance but omitted the provincial
rights. The equally astute Emily Soldene promptly recruited Lely for her own
company and acquired temporary provincial rights. Lely was sandwiched between
Rosa in London and Soldene in the provinces for almost two seasons and it was
probably a relief to migrate to D’Oyly Carte at the Savoy Theatre in late 1880.
He created five Gilbert and Sullivan roles with them, including Nanki-Poo in
The Mikado,
before departing to other companies in 1887 and returning to the Rosa four years
later.
His second period with the Rosa was with the subordinate Carmen company and
occasional performances with the main touring company. He appeared in about one
hundred and thirty performances from 1879 until his final Carmen at
Leicester in December 1891. His additional Rosa repertoire consisted of the
leading tenor roles in Bohemian Girl, Maritana, Lurline, Faust,
and Mignon. The Rosa activities, although now overshadowed by his
Gilbert and Sullivan creations, are important. He was the first to sing Don Jose
in English and he did it with famous Carmens, including Selina Dolaro, Marie
Roze and Zelie de Lussan to say nothing of Emily Soldene.
Lely made his Covent Garden debut as Don Jose in 1892 and whilst touring America
with Adelina Patti in 1893 he returned to the opera house to sing with her in
the world première of Gabriella (Pizzi) at Boston. He frequently shared
the concert platform with her and became a personal friend. His career was now
changing with national and international concert tours where he championed the
songs and ballads of his native land in concert and in musical plays. He made a
film version of Rob Roy in 1911 which has presumably not survived and
he seems never to have made commercial recordings. He had a son, Durward Lely
junior, who briefly sang supporting bass roles with the Rosa. Lely senior
retired in the 1920s and died in Glasgow on 29 February 1944 as one of the last
links with the early Rosa and the Savoy operas.
© 2021 John Ward
