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George Power (24 December 1846 – 17 October 1928) was an operatic tenor known for his performances in early Gilbert and Sullivan operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, most famously creating the roles in London of Ralph Rackstraw in ''H.M.S. Pinafore'' (1878) and Frederic in ''The Pirates of Penzance'' (1880). He later became a noted voice teacher and continued to perform. On the death of his elder brother, in 1903, he became the seventh baronet of Kilfane. ==Early years== Power was born in Dublin, the fourth son of Sir John Power of Kilfane, Kilkenny, and Frances Elizabeth, née Wade. He was educated at Cheltenham College and Trinity College, Dublin, and studied voice in Milan and Florence, 1873–76.〔("Power, Sir George", ) ''Who Was Who'', A & C Black, 1920–2008; online edition, Oxford University Press, December 2007, accessed 28 June 2010〕 In 1876, Power first appeared on stage at the Teatro Manoel in Malta, singing Count Almaviva in ''The Barber of Seville''. He made his London stage debut in 1877 at Her Majesty's Theatre playing the tenor role in Thomas Haynes Bayly's English version of Adolphe Adam's opera ''The Swiss Cottage''.〔''The Morning Post'', 25 December 1877, p. 4〕 Power joined Richard D'Oyly Carte's Comedy-Opera Company in February 1878 at the Opera Comique in London, succeeding George Bentham in the role of Alexis in Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera ''The Sorcerer''. From March to April 1878 Power played the Defendant in ''Trial by Jury'' when that companion piece was added to the bill at the Opera Comique.〔"The London Theatres", ''The Era'', 31 March 1878, p. 12〕 He created the role of Ralph Rackstraw in the next Gilbert and Sullivan opera, ''H.M.S. Pinafore'', playing the character from May 1878 to February 1880. The ''Daily News'' wrote that Power "displayed a light tenor voice of very agreeable quality, and acted the part of the sentimental lover well", although ''The Times'' found his intonation "a little uncertain".〔Allen, p. 77.〕 When ''The Pirates of Penzance'' premiered in London, Power sang the role of Frederic.〔Stone, David. (George Power ) at ''Who Was Who in the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company (1875–1982)'', The Gilbert and Sullivan Archive, 27 August 2001, accessed 27 July 2010〕〔(Power and ''HMS Pinafore'' ) at the Theatre History website〕 Power received warm reviews for this role from the London press. ''The Times'' said that his "sympathetic tenor voice was heard to great advantage in the sentimental music", and ''The Standard'' wrote that he "acts ... just in that simple-minded way that brings out most strongly the absurdity of the character, and he sings exceedingly well."〔Allen, p. 109.〕 A critic from ''The New York Times'', however, commented: "Temple has been a member of the Gilbert-Sullivan company from the first. Mr George Power has not: and his "thin" style is a material drawback. As an actor, he is weak, as a man he is not interesting, as a tenor he is small. Once or twice he sang sweetly, and he was always in tune. As a concert singer he would probably be very successful in sentimental ballads; as Frederic he is unsatisfactory."〔("''The Pirates'' in London" ). ''The New York Times'', 20 April 1880, p. 2.〕 During the run of ''Pirates'', Power took part in some Sunday matinée performances of new operettas along with Rutland Barrington, and on one occasion acted in a non-musical play, ''L'Aventurière'', given in the original French by a cast headed by Herbert Beerbohm Tree.〔"The Examiner of Plays", ''The Examiner'', 15 May 1880, p. 609〕 Power played Frederic until October 1880, when he left the D'Oyly Carte company. 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「Sir George Power, 7th Baronet」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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