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Frances "Fanny" Moody (23 November 1866–21 July 1945) was an operatic soprano of the lateVictorian andEdwardian eras, billed as 'The Cornish Nightingale'.[1] In 1898 with her husband, thebassCharles Manners, she formed theMoody-Manners Opera Company, dedicated to presenting opera in English. The Moody-Manners company performed in London, the British provinces, North America and South Africa, with Moody often in the leading soprano roles, from 1898 to 1916.
Moody created leading roles in several operas, including the title roles inCorder'sNordisa (1887) andPizzi'sRosalba (1902) and Militza inMcAlpin'sThe Cross and the Crescent (1903). In 1892 she appeared at theOlympic Theatre in London as Tatyana in the British premiere ofEugene Onegin, conducted byHenry Wood, with her husband as Gremin.[2][3][4]
Frances Moody was born inRedruth,Cornwall, in 1866, one of thirteen children of Eliza and James Hawke Moody (1823–1887),[5][6] a photographer. In the 1881 Census aged 16 she was listed as an assistant teacher of music to her older sister, Maria. Her youngest sister,Hilda Moody, also had a successful career as asoprano and actress.[7][8] It was said that her father could play any instrument he had ever seen.[1] Her mother Eliza was a pianist, and the whole Moody family were musical.[5]
As a young girl Moody sang at several local amateur concerts in her native Redruth, as well as inPenzance andFalmouth. Her talent was spotted by Mrs. Mary Basset of Tehidy,[6] who in 1881 paid for the 17 year-old Moody to train in London withCharlotte Sainton-Dolby (1821–1885). Moody made her London début at theSteinway Hall in June 1883. In April 1884 she sang with other students at a concert in Newcastle.[1] In 1885 she took part in a concert in London given byProsper Sainton in memory of his wife, at which Moody sang the soprano part of acantata composed by Madame Sainton-Dolby.[5]
Moody began her operatic career with a three-year engagement in theCarl Rosa Opera Company,[4] with which she made her début inLiverpool on 15 January 1887 as Arline inThe Bohemian Girl,[1][6] before appearing in London as Michaela inBizet'sCarmen. In 1890 she sang Marguerite inGounod'sFaust.[5] A fellow member of the company was thebassCharles Manners, and the two married atSt George's, Hanover Square, on 5 July 1890 with a full choral service, the Rev.H. R. Haweis and the Rev. W. E. B. Barter officiating. The bride was given away by her old friend,Sir Morell Mackenzie, and a reception was afterwards held at Lady Morell Mackenzie's home.[5][9][10]
Much of her career was spent touring in the British provinces and abroad.[4] Her operatic repertoire included Alice inMeyerbeer'sRobert the Devil, and the leading roles inLa Juive,Masaniello,Lohengrin,Nordisa (creating the title role) andL'étoile du nord andLa traviata, Susanna inThe Marriage of Figaro, and Zerlina inDon Giovanni. She performed regularly inoratorio, and her singing at the Lenten series of oratorios given at Covent Garden were greatly admired and applauded.[5] Moody also sang the soprano part inMessiah,The Creation,Judas Maccabaeus, andStabat Mater, among others.[5] In 1892 she appeared at theOlympic Theatre as Tatyana in the British premiere ofEugene Onegin, conducted byHenry Wood, oppositeEugène Oudin in the title role, with her husband as Gremin.[2][3][4] In 1893 she and Manners were engaged to appear withAugustus Harris's opera company.[5] In 1896–97 Moody made a successful and remunerative tour of South Africa with Manners.[9]
When the couple returned to England in 1898, they formed theMoody-Manners Opera Company.[9] Manners's ambition was to found a company to give opera in English that would become a permanent national ensemble based in London.[11] With limited capital at their disposal (Manners later stated that they founded the company on £1,700 borrowed from friends, and repaid it all within a year),[12] they began with a provincial tour, starting inManchester in September 1898. Moody was the company's leading soprano.[13]
By 1902 there were two Moody-Manners touring companies, one with 175 members and the other with 95. The larger of the two gave London seasons in 1902 and 1903 atCovent Garden, in 1904 at theDrury Lane, and in 1907 and 1908 at theLyric Theatre, when the repertoire includedThe Merry Wives of Windsor,The Marriage of Figaro,Tannhäuser,Lohengrin,Tristan and Isolde,Faust,Cavalleria rusticana andPagliacci,Madama Butterfly,[4]Aida andIl trovatore.[14][15] There were Moody-Manners tours not only of Britain but also of North America and South Africa.[16] In 1911 Moody appeared on themusic hall circuit.[2]
By 1910 the company faced financial difficulties and had to disband one of the two companies, and the remaining Moody-Manners Company gave its last performance in May 1916.[11] In its final season, playing to capacity audiences, the company offeredIl trovatore,The Bohemian Girl,Martha,Faust,The Lily of Killarney,The Daughter of the Regiment,Carmen, andEugene Onegin, with Moody in the leading roles.[17]
Moody and Manners retired toDundrum inCounty Dublin, where she died in 1945.
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