Winifred Lawson

rdf:langString Winifred Lawson

rdf:langString Winifred Lawson (15 November 1892 – 30 November 1961) was an English opera and concert singer in the first half of the 20th century. She is particularly remembered for her performances in the soprano roles in the Gilbert and Sullivan operas as a member of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company between 1922 and 1932. She started her career as a concert singer. In 1920, she made her operatic debut as Countess Almaviva in The Marriage of Figaro, appeared in the first performances of Purcell's The Fairy-Queen in more than 200 years, and created the role of Guinevere in The Round Table. Lawson was soon playing a range of roles, from as Marguerite in Faust to Bessie Throckmorton in Merrie England. She was a D'Oyly Carte principal soprano for nearly a decade, playing 10 of the leading Savoy opera roles. The only other role she played during this time was Lili in Lilac Time, although she also began a broadcast career in 1929 on BBC radio. In the mid-1930s, Lawson appeared for two seasons with the Vic Wells Opera in The Marriage of Figaro (as Susanna), Così fan tutte (Fiordiligi), Don Giovanni (Zerlina), The Magic Flute (Genius), Pagliacci (Nedda), Faust (Marguerite), and La bohème. She next toured in Australasia in many of her old Gilbert and Sullivan roles. She retired from opera in 1938 but entertained the troops during the Second World War and continued broadcasting and recording during and after the war.