Book Review: D’Oyly Carte: Inside Out – Roberta Morrell

D’Oyly Carte: Inside Out – Roberta Morrell (Matador Books – ISBN: 978-1-83859-481-7)

Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

This is the second book by the delightful Roberta Morrell on her years with the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company and it is an absolutely enchanting read.

The first book D’Oyly Carte: The Inside Story focused on the working life of the world-famous opera company from the 1950s up to its demise in 1982. This book looks more at the pressures on the artists and company personnel dealing with 48 weeks every year on the road or travelling abroad. The effect it had on families who never saw their husbands, wives or parents except for the occasional free weekend or the four-week break they very much deserved every year. The stresses of dealing with reviews every single week of your life, the difference in life between the well-known principals and the choristers, who could just slip out the stage door without being recognised. Dealing with fans, both good and bad. The book takes us through the good times and the bad times.

As with the previous book, you get a glimpse at the management of the company and how they treated their asset. It wasn’t too well, although Morrell is cautious in not going into too much detail of just how bad it was. I say this as I was around in London and my partner, who was a Gilbert and Sullivan fanatic was also the manager at the Savoy Theatre and had great insight into the running of the company from Savoy Hill. I also met Albert Truelove, Brigit D’Oyly Carte’s ‘ear-to-the-ground and treasurer of the company, and to say his outlook was stuck well in the past is an understatement and his adversity to spending money was legendary. There are few of the management still around but it would be an eye-opener to have one of them write a book.

The original company was wound up in 1982 and they blamed the Arts Council, although it was actually the Board members of the company who refused to go screaming into the 20t century that caused the final blow. I grew up with G&S. It was G&S that made me want to get into theatre. I would go and see the D’Oyly Carte whenever I could, whether at home or on tour. I loved seeing them. I would fight anyone who criticised them.

However, I have to say that during the final five or six years of its life the standards on stage appeared to drop. The blame for this I put fairly and squarely at the feet of the management in London. By the time they saw the curtain was about to come down for good, they could have done something positive to save it but didn’t. A huge shame for a company who were, to all who loved them, a national treasure.

Anyone and I mean anyone who has any interest in Gilbert and Sullivan should be ordering this book right now and if you haven’t already purchased and read the first of Morrell’s books then order them both. A delightful and informative book from an absolutely charming author.

Nick Wakeham