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Darrell Fancourt

Darrell Louis Fancourt Leverson (8 March 1886 – 29 August 1953), known as Darrell Fancourt, was an English bass-baritone and actor, known for his performances and recordings of the Savoy operas.

After a brief concert career, Fancourt joined the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, where he starred in more than 10,000 performances over a 33-year period until his death. He regularly played about ten different roles for the company over these years, including the Pirate King in The Pirates of Penzance, Dick Deadeye in H.M.S. Pinafore, and the title character in The Mikado, which he played more than 3,000 times. Fancourt was famous for his melodramatic style, creating the controversial Mikado laugh that was later adopted by some of his successors. His performances are preserved in nineteen of the company's recordings made between 1923 and 1950.

Birth and Death Data: Born March 8, 1888, Died August 29, 1953

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1926 - 1930

Roles Represented in DAHR: baritone vocal

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

Recordings

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Gramophone Cc9463 12-in. 11/19/1926 The Mikado D'Oyly Carte Opera Company ; Darrell Fancourt ; Harry Norris Male vocal chorus and soloist, with orchestra vocalist, baritone vocal  
Gramophone Cc9464 12-in. 11/19/1926 The Mikado D'Oyly Carte Opera Company ; Aileen Davies ; Darrell Fancourt ; Elsie Griffin ; Bertha Lewis ; Henry A. Lytton ; Harry Norris ; Derek Oldham Mixed vocal chorus and soloists, with orchestra vocalist, baritone vocal  
Gramophone Cc9470 12-in. 11/22/1926 The Mikado D'Oyly Carte Opera Company ; Elsie Griffin ; Harry Norris ; Derek Oldham Female vocal solo, with orchestra vocalist, baritone vocal  
Gramophone Cc9488 12-in. 11/26/1926 The Mikado D'Oyly Carte Opera Company ; Darrell Fancourt ; Elsie Griffin ; Bertha Lewis ; Henry A. Lytton ; Harry Norris ; Derek Oldham Mixed vocal chorus and soloists, with orchestra vocalist, baritone vocal  
Gramophone Cc18640 12-in. 2/4/1930 H.M.S. Pinafore George Baker ; D'Oyly Carte Opera Company ; Darrell Fancourt ; Charles Goulding ; Sydney Granville ; Elsie Griffin Vocal soloists, chorus, and orchestra vocalist, baritone vocal  
Gramophone Cc18647 12-in. 2/6/1930 H.M.S. Pinafore Nellie Briercliffe ; D'Oyly Carte Opera Company ; Darrell Fancourt ; Charles Goulding ; Sydney Granville ; Elsie Griffin ; Bertha Lewis ; Stuart Robertson Vocal soloists, chorus, and orchestra vocalist, baritone vocal  
Gramophone Cc18648 12-in. 2/6/1930 H.M.S. Pinafore George Baker ; Nellie Briercliffe ; D'Oyly Carte Opera Company ; Darrell Fancourt ; Charles Goulding ; Sydney Granville ; Elsie Griffin ; Bertha Lewis ; Henry A. Lytton ; Stuart Robertson Vocal soloists, chorus, and orchestra vocalist, baritone vocal  
Gramophone Cc18649 12-in. 2/6/1930 H.M.S. Pinafore Nellie Briercliffe ; D'Oyly Carte Opera Company ; Darrell Fancourt ; Charles Goulding ; Sydney Granville ; Elsie Griffin Vocal soloists, chorus, and orchestra vocalist, baritone vocal  
Gramophone Cc18705 12-in. 3/14/1930 H.M.S. Pinafore George Baker ; Nellie Briercliffe ; D'Oyly Carte Opera Company ; Darrell Fancourt ; Charles Goulding ; Elsie Griffin ; Bertha Lewis ; Henry A. Lytton Vocal soloists, chorus, and orchestra vocalist, baritone vocal  
Gramophone Cc18713 12-in. 3/24/1930 H.M.S. Pinafore George Baker ; D'Oyly Carte Opera Company ; Darrell Fancourt ; Elsie Griffin ; Henry A. Lytton Vocal soloists, chorus, and orchestra vocalist, baritone vocal  

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Fancourt, Darrell," accessed April 29, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102214.

Fancourt, Darrell. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved April 29, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102214.

"Fancourt, Darrell." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 29 April 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102214

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