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Darrell Fancourt (8 March 1886 – 29 August 1953) was an English bass-baritone and actor, known for his performances and recordings of the Savoy operas. After a brief concert career, Fancourt joined the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, where he starred in more than 10,000 performances over a 33-year period until his death. He regularly played about ten different roles for the company over these years, including the Pirate King in ''The Pirates of Penzance'', Dick Deadeye in ''H.M.S. Pinafore'', and the title character in ''The Mikado'', which he played more than 3,000 times. Fancourt was famous for his melodramatic style, creating the controversial Mikado laugh that was later adopted by some of his successors. His performances are preserved in nineteen of the company's recordings made between 1923 and 1950. ==Early years== Fancourt was born Darrell Louis Fancourt Leverson, the younger son of three children of a Jewish family in Kensington, London.〔UK official records, including census returns, army lists, and birth, marriage and death certificates, confirm Fancourt's full name as Darrell Louis Fancourt Leverson. The name is incorrectly given in an anecdote by Frederic Lloyd, the D'Oyly Carte general manager, who (remembered it as David Levinson ), and at (the IMDB site ) and (the ''Memories of the D'Oyly Carte'' site ), which both give his birth-name as Darrell David Leverson.〕 His father, Louis George Leverson (1860–1909),〔1891 census, PRO reference RG12/1015; England and Wales Death Index, 1837–1915, St Marylebone, Volume 1a, p. 288〕 was a diamond merchant who had made a fortune in South Africa.〔Wood, p. 114.〕 His mother, Amelia (Amy) de Symons, ''née'' Lewis-Barned (1865–1931),〔''The Morning Post'', 26 May 1881, p. 8; 1891 census, PRO reference RG12/1015; and England and Wales Death Index, 1916–2005, Marylebone, Volume 1a, p. 496〕 was "a clever vivacious young artist of the musical comedy type".〔 Both were staunch friends of the arts.〔 His father's sister married Brandon Thomas.〔Lejeune, C. A. ("The High Noon of Darrell Fancourt" ), July 1953, reprinted at the Gilbert and Sullivan Archive, 28 August 2013〕 Fancourt was baptised into the Church of England when he was fourteen years old.〔London, Births and Baptisms, 1813–1906, 16 January 1901, Parish of St John at Hampstead〕 Fancourt was educated at Bedford School and with a private tutor in Germany. He continued his vocal studies in Germany with Lilli Lehmann.〔Ayer, p. 85〕 Upon his return to England, he won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music.〔〔 At the Royal Academy, he studied singing with his mother's former teacher, Sir Henry Wood,〔 and Alberto Randegger, and drama with Richard Temple, creator of many of the Savoy roles in which Fancourt was later famous.〔''The Musical Times'', Vol. 52, No. 815, 1 January 1911, p. 29〕 While a student, Fancourt performed in opera productions at the Academy, creating the role of Tackleton, the toy merchant, in Alexander Mackenzie's opera ''The Cricket on the Hearth'',〔''The Musical Times'', Vol. 55, No. 857, 1 July 1914, pp. 459–60〕 and playing Colas in Mozart's ''Bastien und Bastienne'', and Benoit in ''La bohème''. ''The Times'' thought him "amusing but not noticeably musical" in the last.〔''The Times'', 4 December 1913, p. 12〕 Even before completing his studies, Fancourt was building a concert career in London, the British provinces and the European continent.〔〔Stone, David. (Darrell Fancourt ) at Who Was Who in the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, 3 September 2003〕 ''The Times'' said of an Aeolian Hall recital in 1912, "Mr. Fancourt has some noble notes in his voice, except when he forces it occasionally ... Schubert's ''Tod und das Mädchen'' was remarkably well characterized; it was quite his best and he made it into a thing of great beauty."〔''The Times'', 30 November 1912, p. 8〕 In World War I, Fancourt volunteered for military service and was commissioned in the London Regiment as a lieutenant.〔(British Army WWI Medal Rolls Index, 1914–1920: Darrell Louis Fancourt Leverson ), accessed 25 July 2010 〕 In 1917, while still serving in the army, Fancourt married a beautiful Welsh singer, Eleanor Evans, at St Mark's Church, Hamilton Terrace, London.〔(London, England, Marriages and Banns, 1754–1921 ), accessed 25 July 2010 〕 She had been a fellow student at the Royal Academy.〔''The Musical Times'', July 1914, p. 469〕 After returning to civilian life in 1919, Fancourt sang in a single performance of ''Prince Igor'' in Sir Thomas Beecham's opera season at Covent Garden as Prince Galitsky under the baton of Albert Coates.〔''The Times'', 24 July 1919, p. 12〕 This was his only professional appearance in a grand opera, and his only paid acting experience up to that point.〔 In the same year, he appeared as a soloist at the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts and in oratorio elsewhere in London.〔''The Musical Times'', Vol. 60, No. 918, 1 August 1919, pp. 432–33〕〔''The Times'', 3 April 1919, p. 15〕 Fancourt joined the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in May 1920 to succeed Frederick Hobbs, who had announced his decision to leave the company.〔Helperin, Ralph. ("He Who Laughed First" ), at the ''Memories of the D'Oyly Carte'' website, accessed 23 July 2010〕 Fancourt went on for Hobbs as Mountararat in ''Iolanthe'', Arac in ''Princess Ida'' and the title character in ''The Mikado''. In June 1920, Hobbs left, and Fancourt took over the bass-baritone roles, including the above parts, Dick Deadeye in ''H.M.S. Pinafore'', the Pirate King in ''The Pirates of Penzance'', Colonel Calverley in ''Patience'', Sir Roderick Murgatroyd in ''Ruddigore'' and Sergeant Meryll in ''The Yeomen of the Guard''.〔Rollins and Witts, pp. 136 and 138〕 In 1921, when ''Cox and Box'' and ''The Sorcerer'' were revived, Fancourt added the roles of Sergeant Bouncer and Sir Marmaduke Pointdextre to his repertoire.〔Rollins and Witts, p. 140〕 He also appeared as the Usher in ''Trial by Jury'' in 1926,〔Rollins and Witts, p. 150〕 but he thought himself "simply bloody" in the role and soon dropped it.〔Joseph, p. 261〕 In 1921, his wife, Eleanor Evans, joined the company as a chorister, also playing some smaller principal soprano roles. She was nicknamed "Snookie" in the company; and, according to fellow D'Oyly Carte performer Derek Oldham, "she was so beautiful, was Snookie! We all fell for her, and we gave Darrell a busy time keeping us 'off'."〔("Derek Oldham Remembers" ) at the ''Memories of the ''D'Oyly Carte'' website, accessed 2 August 2010〕 Later in Fancourt's career, his wife was made the company's stage director and director of productions.〔Rollins and Witts, pp. 138–50, 152–61, 166–69 and v.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Darrell Fancourt」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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