t h e r o s a t r o u p e
Edith Santley
The
names of Santley and Rosa are usually linked through the association of
the famous baritone Charles Santley with the company but another
Santley also sang with the Rosa company. Edith Santley was the daughter
of the celebrated Charles and Gertrude Kemble, a soprano from a famous
theatrical family. Edith, born about 1860, unsurprisingly had vocal
aspirations and was also an accomplished pianist. Her stage debut when
she was about sixteen was presumably an arrangement between Carl and
Santley.
Her debut at Liverpool’s Royal Amphitheatre on 13 January
1876
was followed by appearances at Manchester Sheffield and Carlisle with a
final appearance at Birmingham’s Theatre Royal a few months
later
on 19 May. She appeared in ten performances in the minor roles of
Angelina in The Water
Carrier and the bridesmaid in Der Freischütz.
All were under the watchful eye of her father who shared the stage with
her.
This seems to have been her only acquaintance with opera as further
vocal training seems to have been followed by the concert platform. Her
mother died in 1882 and two years later she married the Hon. R. H.
Lyttleton and this effectively brought her professional career to an
end. They moved to Warwick where she was active in the musical life of
the town, occasionally singing at charity concerts. She continued in
this vein when they returned to the London at the turn of the century
and she was a very busy lady during the first world war. She died at
her home in St John’s Wood on 14 February 1926.
© 2017 John Ward
