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Rupert D’Oyly Carte

Rupert D'Oyly Carte (3 November 1876 – 12 September 1948) was an English hotelier, theatre owner and impresario, best known as proprietor of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company and Savoy Hotel from 1913 to 1948.

Son of the impresario and hotelier Richard D'Oyly Carte, Rupert inherited the family businesses from his stepmother Helen. After serving in the First World War, he took steps to revitalise the opera company, which had not appeared in central London since 1909, hiring new designers and conductors to present fresh productions of the Gilbert and Sullivan operas in seasons in the West End. The new productions generally retained the original text and music of the operas. Carte launched international and provincial tours, as well as the London seasons, and he released the first complete recordings of the operas. He also rebuilt the half-century-old Savoy Theatre in 1929, opening the house with a season of Gilbert and Sullivan.

As an hotelier, Carte built on his father's legacy, expanding the Savoy Hotel, refreshing the other hotels and restaurants in the Savoy group, including Claridge's and the Berkeley Hotel, and introducing cabaret and dance bands that became internationally famous. He also increased marketing activities, including foreign marketing, of the hotels.

P. G. Wodehouse based a character in his novels, Psmith, on a Wykehamist schoolboy whom he identified as Rupert D'Oyly Carte. At his death, Carte passed the opera company and hotels to his only surviving child, Bridget D'Oyly Carte. The Gilbert and Sullivan operas, nurtured by Carte and his family for over a century, continue to be produced frequently today throughout the English-speaking world and beyond.

Birth and Death Data: Born November 3, 1876 (London), Died September 12, 1948 (London)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1917 - 1930

Roles Represented in DAHR: session supervisor, director, conductor

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings (Results 1-25 of 69 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Gramophone HO2769af 12-in. 7/30/1917 The Mikado D'Oyly Carte Opera Company ; John Harrison ; Violet Oppenshaw ; Edna Thornton Operetta : Vocal soloist(s), and/or chorus/orchestra director  
Gramophone HO2771af 12-in. 7/30/1917 The Mikado D'Oyly Carte Opera Company ; Violet Essex ; John Harrison ; Edna Thornton Operetta : Vocal soloist(s), and/or chorus/orchestra director  
Gramophone HO2773af 12-in. 7/30/1917 The Mikado D'Oyly Carte Opera Company ; John Harrison Operetta : Vocal soloist(s), and/or chorus/orchestra director  
Gramophone HO2775af 12-in. 7/30/1917 The Mikado D'Oyly Carte Opera Company ; Violet Essex ; Violet Oppenshaw ; Edna Thornton Operetta : Vocal soloist(s), and/or chorus/orchestra director  
Gramophone HO2777af 12-in. 7/30/1917 The Mikado D'Oyly Carte Opera Company ; Violet Oppenshaw Operetta : Vocal soloist(s), and/or chorus/orchestra director  
Gramophone HO2779af 12-in. 8/2/1917 The Mikado D'Oyly Carte Opera Company ; John Harrison Operetta : Vocal soloist(s), and/or chorus/orchestra director  
Gramophone HO2781af 12-in. 7/30/1917 The Mikado D'Oyly Carte Opera Company ; Violet Essex Operetta : Vocal soloist(s), and/or chorus/orchestra director  
Gramophone HO2782af 12-in. 7/30/1917 The Mikado George Baker ; D'Oyly Carte Opera Company ; Edna Thornton Operetta : Vocal soloist(s), and/or chorus/orchestra director  
Gramophone HO2790af 12-in. 8/2/1917 The Mikado George Baker ; D'Oyly Carte Opera Company Operetta : Vocal soloist(s), and/or chorus/orchestra director  
Gramophone HO2792af 12-in. 8/2/1917 The Mikado D'Oyly Carte Opera Company Operetta : Vocal soloist(s), and/or chorus/orchestra director  
Gramophone HO2798af 12-in. 8/2/1917 The Mikado D'Oyly Carte Opera Company Operetta : Vocal soloist(s), and/or chorus/orchestra director  
Gramophone HO2800af 12-in. 8/2/1917 The Mikado D'Oyly Carte Opera Company ; Robert Radford Operetta : Vocal soloist(s), and/or chorus/orchestra director  
Gramophone HO2802af 12-in. 8/2/1917 The Mikado George Baker ; D'Oyly Carte Opera Company ; Robert Radford ; Edna Thornton Operetta : Vocal soloist(s), and/or chorus/orchestra director  
Gramophone HO2803af 12-in. 8/2/1917 The Mikado D'Oyly Carte Opera Company Operetta : Vocal soloist(s), and/or chorus/orchestra director  
Gramophone HO2806af 12-in. 8/2/1917 The Mikado George Baker ; D'Oyly Carte Opera Company ; Edna Thornton Operetta : Vocal soloist(s), and/or chorus/orchestra director  
Gramophone HO2807af 12-in. 8/2/1917 The Mikado George Baker ; D'Oyly Carte Opera Company ; Violet Essex ; John Harrison ; Robert Radford Operetta : Vocal soloist(s), and/or chorus/orchestra director  
Gramophone HO2809af 12-in. 8/2/1917 The Mikado George Baker ; D'Oyly Carte Opera Company ; John Harrison ; Robert Radford Operetta : Vocal soloist(s), and/or chorus/orchestra director  
Gramophone HO2812af 12-in. 8/3/1917 The Mikado George Baker ; D'Oyly Carte Opera Company ; Robert Radford Operetta : Vocal soloist(s), and/or chorus/orchestra director  
Gramophone HO2814af 12-in. 8/15/1917 The Mikado George Baker ; D'Oyly Carte Opera Company ; Ernest Pike ; Robert Radford Operetta : Vocal soloist(s), and/or chorus/orchestra director  
Gramophone HO2815af 12-in. 8/3/1917 The Mikado D'Oyly Carte Opera Company ; Arthur Wood Operetta : Vocal soloist(s), and/or chorus/orchestra director  
Gramophone HO2817af 12-in. 8/15/1917 The Mikado D'Oyly Carte Opera Company ; Arthur Wood Operetta : Vocal soloist(s), and/or chorus/orchestra director  
Gramophone HO2915af 12-in. 10/16/1917 The Mikado D'Oyly Carte Opera Company ; Bessie Jones ; Ernest Pike ; Robert Radford ; Edna Thornton Operetta : Vocal soloist(s), and/or chorus/orchestra director  
Gramophone Cc9408 12-in. 11/8/1926 The Mikado D'Oyly Carte Opera Company ; Harry Norris Orchestra session supervisor  
Gramophone Cc9409 12-in. 11/8/1926 The Mikado D'Oyly Carte Opera Company ; Harry Norris Orchestra session supervisor  
Gramophone Cc9410 12-in. 11/8/1926 The Mikado D'Oyly Carte Opera Company ; Harry Norris ; Derek Oldham Male vocal chorus and soloist, with orchestra session supervisor  
(Results 1-25 of 69 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "D’Oyly Carte, Rupert," accessed March 28, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/100803.

D’Oyly Carte, Rupert. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved March 28, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/100803.

"D’Oyly Carte, Rupert." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 28 March 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/100803

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