Greatest Opera Singers

Greatest Opera Singers

Monday, June 22, 2020

Sara Melita (Soprano)


She came from Trecastle (South Wales).  Her real name was Sara Davies   [ Davies is a very common family name in Wales. ]

From the BBC Archives:  She was the soprano at the Weds 25 Sep 1912 Queen's Hall   "Proms"
[ I've copied details of the programme below ]

From newspaper archives:

London Standard (Newspaper) – Weds July 8, 1914,
SARA MELITA, RINALDO , DELPHI THEATRE

 Advert in “The  Stars and Stripes”,  France  Friday   July 5th, 1918
for the London Coliseum (described as "Europe's Principal Variety Theatre" )
"Present attractions include.. " (amongst others) ".. Sara Melita.. "

A review  dated  July 28th, 1923 relating to the "Welsh concert at Queen's Hall, London, on Wednesday evening" reports:
"Miss Sara Melita has clearly under-gone a long and careful training ; she showed an astonishing mastery of technique, especially in the difficult aria of Verdi's, " Ah ! Fors e lui,"  .
[Other artistes were Miss Elsie Owen (violin), Walter Glynne (tenor) ]

Kindest Regards  Trevor  (Davies.  Almost certainly no relation to Sara )
.................................................................................................................................................
1912 Programme & Artistes
[ Conductor, Henry Wood; Robert Burnett, base-baritone; The New Queen’s Hall Orchestra]
Programme:
Felix Mendelssohn:      Overture 'The Hebrides' ('Fingal's Cave')
Edward Elgar:           The Light of Life, Op 29
Giuseppe Verdi: La Traviata - 'È strano! è strano!'
Claude Debussy: Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker, Suite, Op 71a
Benjamin Dale:          Concertstück  (premiere)
Charles‐François Gounod:        Le Vallon (arr. Henry Wood)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart:        Symphony No 39 in E flat major, K543
Frederic Hymen Cowen:   4 English Dances in the Olden Style Set 1
Sir Henry Rowley Bishop:        The Comedy of Errors: "Lo! Here the Gentle Lark"
Sir Arthur Somervell:           Maud. No. 4 O let the solid ground   (Proms premiere)
                                Maud. No. 5 Birds in the high hall garden (Proms premiere)
Richard Wagner: Lohengrin. No. 17 Prelude Act 3


I wish to thank Trevor Davies for providing me information

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