Wallace Brownlow

rdf:langString Wallace Brownlow

rdf:langString Brownlow on Music Australia

rdf:langString Wallace Brownlow (1861 – 7 September 1919) was an opera singer and actor of the Victorian era best known for baritone roles in the operas of Gilbert and Sullivan, first with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in the UK and on tour, and later with J. C. Williamson in Australia. He also appeared in other stage roles in London, New York, and elsewhere, and made some silent films in America. Brownlow's adventures as a youth included an apprenticeship at sea, service with the Cape Mounted Rifles in South Africa, brief stints as a journalist, a banker and a gold miner, before being attracted to the stage. He performed with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company from 1884 to 1891. There he had the opportunity to create the roles of Harrington Jarramie in Mrs. Jarramie's Genie, Lieutenant Colmondeley in The Yeomen of the Guard (both in 1888) and Luiz in The Gondoliers (1889). He left the company to create the roles of Prince John in Arthur Sullivan's grand opera Ivanhoe and the Duc de Longueville in La Basoche (both in 1891). He next played in a number of comic operas in London through 1893, the year that he petitioned for divorce from his first wife, another member of the D'Oyly Carte. With J. C. Williamson in Australia, Brownlow appeared in Ma mie Rosette (1894) and in a revival of H.M.S. Pinafore (1895). In Australia in 1897 he re-married. In 1900 he appeared in more Gilbert and Sullivan roles in Australia, and as The Sultan in The Rose of Persia, Abercoed in Florodora, and in A Trip to Chinatown. In 1902 he was injured by falling through a door and recovered substantial damages. Still in Australia, he wrote the lyrics for several songs, but his alcoholism contributed to his failure in a venture managing a hotel. He took his family to the United States by 1904, where he appeared in several Broadway productions of comic operas and in some silent films. He returned to Australia, but his alcoholism soon ended his career, and he committed suicide there in 1919.