Charles Courtice Pounds (30 May 1861[1] – 21 December 1927), better known by the stage nameCourtice Pounds, was an English singer and actor known for his performances in thetenor roles of theSavoy Operas with theD'Oyly Carte Opera Company and his later roles inShakespeare plays andEdwardian musical comedies.
As a young member of D'Oyly Carte, Pounds played tenor leads in theGilbert and Sullivan operas in New York and on tour in Britain and continental Europe from 1881 to 1887. After being promoted to principal tenor at theSavoy Theatre, he created the principal tenor roles inThe Yeomen of the Guard (1888),The Gondoliers (1889),The Nautch Girl (1891) andHaddon Hall (1892), and played other principal roles.
After leaving D'Oyly Carte in 1895, Pounds became a prominent performer during the transition of musical theatre fromcomic opera tomusical comedy, creating roles in theWest End in both genres from the late 1890s to the 1920s. The operettas and musical comedies in which he starred includedLa poupée,The Duchess of Dantzic,The Belle of Mayfair,Princess Caprice, and the long-running hitsChu Chin Chow andLilac Time. He also played invariety and was well received in comedy roles in Shakespeare plays during the same period.
Pounds was born inPimlico, London,[2] the only son and eldest child of five, of Charles Pounds (1833–1903), a builder,[3] and his wife Mary Ann Jane,née Curtice (1833–1877), a well-known singer. After his mother died, his father remarried and had four more sons.[4][5] He was educated atSt. Mark's College, Chelsea.[3] Pounds was a choirboy atSt. Saviour's church, Pimlico, and also sang atSt. Stephen's church,Kensington, and the Italian Church,Hatton Garden.[3] When his voice broke, he went to work for his father, but continued to study music.[4] He studied at theRoyal Academy of Music and returned to St. Stephen's as tenor soloist. He sang invariety[2] at theRoyal Aquarium theatre for six months while working as a builder.[5]
Pounds joined theD'Oyly Carte Opera Company in 1881 in the chorus of the original production ofGilbert and Sullivan'sPatience, understudying the company's principal tenor,Durward Lely, for whom he went on in November 1881 at the newSavoy Theatre. The theatrical newspaperThe Era, andThe Morning Post both singled him out as "a young tenor of high promise."[6] He soon played the role of Mr. Wranglebury in the curtain raiserMock Turtles.[7]Arthur Sullivan recognised Pounds's talent and persuaded him to remain with D'Oyly Carte rather than joinChristy's Minstrels, from whom he had received an offer.[4] At the end of 1882, Pounds began touring inIolanthe in the leading tenor role of Earl Tolloller.[8] In 1884, he toured as Prince Hilarion in the first provincial production ofPrincess Ida,[9]
In 1885 Pounds toured as the Defendant inTrial by Jury,[10] a role he later played in numerous benefit performances in London and elsewhere.[11] He also toured in the role of Ralph inH.M.S. Pinafore.[12] Later that year, he travelled to New York to play Nanki-Poo, in D'Oyly Carte's first American production ofThe Mikado.[13] After that, he toured in Germany and Austria as Nanki-Poo.[14] In 1886, he returned to the Savoy to fill in for Lely for two weeks as Nanki-Poo, then rejoined the European touring company in Vienna.[12][15]
In late 1886, Pounds joined the company of John Stetson, the American manager, playing Hilarion and Nanki-Poo in authorised productions in New York.The Era wrote, "Mr Courtice Pounds sang the part of Hilarion in a very nice voice, acted it in a very nice way, looked nice enough to capture all the girls' hearts and was a very nice young man altogether."[16] In 1887 he played Grosvenor inPatience in Boston.[12] He then returned to England to rehearse Gilbert and Sullivan's new opera,Ruddygore, performing in two matinee performances as Richard Dauntless, before sailing for New York again to play Richard there.[17] Pounds stayed in New York to appear inPaul Lacome'sThe Marquis[18] andCharles Lecocq'sMadelon.[19]
In May 1888, Pounds returned to London to create the part of Colonel Fairfax inThe Yeomen of the Guard at theSavoy Theatre. His notices were excellent.The Times called him "a better actor and a better tenor than any of his predecessors."[20]The Era judged him "the most efficient tenor the Savoy has had … a pure tenor voice, artistic and pleasing … clever acting and a good stage appearance."[21]The Observer called him "thatrara avis, a tenor able to act."[22] He created several more lead roles at the Savoy: Marco inThe Gondoliers in 1889;[23] Indru inThe Nautch Girl in 1891;[24] the Rev. Henry Sandford inThe Vicar of Bray in 1892;[25] and John Manners inHaddon Hall later that year.[26]
Pounds left the D'Oyly Carte company in 1892. He appeared in another West End management, as Vincent inMa mie Rosette, by Lacome andIvan Caryll (1892).[27] In mid-1893, Pounds produced his own company touring an "operatic triple bill" in which he played roles in each piece: Harry Croyland in the operettaThe Lass that Loved a Sailor, byBond Andrews to a libretto by Neville Doone; Harry Hamper in thevaudevilleThe Burglar and the Bishop, by Wellesley Batson to a libretto by J. Jocelyn Coghill; and Charley Dacre inHelen of Troy Up to Date; or, The Statue Shop, by John Crook to a farcical, pantomimic libretto by Wilton Jones. He brought with him on this tour several D'Oyly Carte colleagues, including Pounds's romantic partner, Millicent Pyne.[28][1] Pounds returned to the West End as Ange Pitout inLa fille de Madame Angot (1893);[29] Connor Kennedy in Haydn Parry'sMiami (1893);[30] and Mark Mainstay inHoward Talbot'sWapping Old Stairs (1894).[31]
Returning to D'Oyly Carte in 1894, Pounds played Picorin inMirette[32] and created the role of Count Vasquez de Gonzago inThe Chieftain late in 1894.The Morning Post described him in this role as "thejeune premier par excellence of the operatic stage."[33] In 1895 he went on tour briefly with D'Oyly Carte as Picorin, Vasquez,[34] and the Rev. Henry Sandford[35] before leaving D'Oyly Carte again. He then travelled to Australia, appearing in the first half of 1896 withJ. C. Williamson's opera company inYeomen,The Gondoliers,[36]Miss Decima,[37]The Vicar of Bray andMa Mie Rosette.[38]
In June 1896, Pounds returned to Britain. He toured as Mr. Shepherd in the musical comedyBelinda during the latter part of that year,[39] and briefly played inmusic hall in January 1897, appearing at thePalace Theatre of Varieties.[40] He also sang in concert atSt. James's Hall withMarie Tempest andBen Davies.[41] In February, Pounds returned to the West End, playing Lancelot inEdmond Audran'sLa Poupée, which ran until September 1898.[42] Lancelot, a comic role, marked the beginning of Pounds's transition from juvenile leads to character and comedy parts in both straight and musical theatre.[43] This was succeeded by two more comic operas, both by Justin Clérice:The Royal Star, in which Pounds played Jack Horton,[44] andThe Coquette, in which he played Michele.[45]
Pounds continued to perform in comic opera and operetta. In 1900 he starred in a revival ofDorothy.[46] In 1903 he took the title role inHervé'sopéra bouffeChilpéric,[47] and in 1905 he starred inThe Blue Moon. In 1912, he played the title role inHerbert Beerbohm Tree's production ofJacques Offenbach'sOrpheus in the Underground.[48] In 1916 he appeared as Harry Benn in the premiere ofEthel Smyth's comic operaThe Boatswain's Mate, described byThe Manchester Guardian as "something of a triumph for MissRosina Buckman and Mr. Courtice Pounds as well as for Dr. Ethel Smyth."[49]
In the first quarter of the 20th century, Pounds appeared regularly in London in a range of roles ranging from Shakespeare tovariety. He established himself as a popular Shakespearean character actor with Tree's company, as the clown Feste inTwelfth Night (1901),[50] the preposterous Sir Hugh Evans inThe Merry Wives of Windsor,[4] and Touchstone inAs You Like It (1907), of whichThe Times said he "acts even better than he sings, which is, of course, saying a good deal."[51]The Manchester Guardian wrote of him, "Courtice Pounds had all that Shakespeare asked of his clowns – the gift of song and a robustness of comedy that could change at will to a tender and poignant moment."[52]
From 1903 onwards, Pounds became especially known for his performances inmusical comedies. The first of these wasThe Cherry Girl (1903), presented bySeymour Hicks, in which Pounds played Starlight.[53] Prominent among his musical comedy roles were Papillon inThe Duchess of Dantzic (1903), which he created in both London (1903) and New York (1905);[3] Hugh Meredith inThe Belle of Mayfair (1906), with his sisterLouie in the cast;[54] the lead inLeo Fall'sThe Merry Farmer (Der fidele Bauer; 1907) and Jasomir in Fall'sPrincess Caprice (1912).[43] He appeared inThe Laughing Husband, the English version of the operettaDer lachende Ehemann byEdmund Eysler, in both London (1913) and New York (1914).[5] He was Ali Baba in the long-runningChu Chin Chow (beginning in 1916, he starred in the role for over 2,000 performances);[2] a similar role inCairo (1921)[5] andFranz Schubert inLilac Time (1922–1924). Of the last,The Times commented, "Pounds is delightful as the moping composer".[55] The musical theatre authorityKurt Gänzl writes that Pounds's performance in these roles proved him "the most complete and versatile singing actor of his age."[43] In 1924, his last London role was in the Spanishzarzuela adaptationThe First Kiss, and before retiring, he toured inLilac Time and the French operetta adaptationJust a Kiss.[5]
Pounds returned occasionally to variety, including a 1905 appearance at theLondon Coliseum.[56] In 1910 he returned briefly to production, mounting a musical comedy,A Modern Othello, inBirmingham.[57] He also appeared in a film,The Broken Melody (1916).[58]
In 1927, Pounds's health gave way, and he was unable to perform. A fund was set up to provide for him, and fellow-artists giving their services in fund-raising included Seymour Hicks and his wifeEllaline Terriss,Evelyn Laye,Huntley Wright,Walter Passmore,Derek Oldham,Gertrude Lawrence, andGeoffrey Toye.[59] More than £3,000 was raised.[60]
Four of Pounds's sisters (Lily,Louie – a successful actress in her own right – Nancy, and Rosy) also appeared with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company. Pounds was married to D'Oyly Carte performer Jessie Louise Murray Wilson (1861–1953) in 1883,[61] They had no children.[5] He never divorced his wife,[1][12] but theW. S. Gilbert scholar Brian Jones states that Pounds "seems to have had a roving eye".[62] He had a long relationship with another former D'Oyly Carte actress, Millicent Pyne (born Millicent Pye, 1873–1965), and in an 1895 divorce case, evidence was introduced that the respondent Mary Hardie Lewis had had an affair with Pounds.[63] Around the turn of the century, he set up home with Irish actress Mary Gertrude Cranfield (1880–1973), with whom he had four children.[64]
Pounds died inSurbiton,Kingston upon Thames, in 1927, aged 66, of bronchitis and endocarditis.[5][4] His funeral at St. Marks Church, Surbiton, was attended by his common-law widow and four children, and representatives of the theatrical profession.[65]
Pounds recorded several discs forHis Master's Voice duringWorld War I. WithRosina Buckman andFrederick Ranalow, he sang the trio "The first thing to do is to get rid of the body", fromThe Boatswain's Mate, accompanied by the composer, DameEthel Smyth (all three singers had appeared in the world premiere performance of the opera).[66] From the same opera, he recorded the ballad "When rocked on the billows".[67] His other recordings of this period wereBalfe's setting ofTennyson's "Come into the garden, Maud",[68] "When a Pullet is Plump", fromChu Chin Chow,[69] "Song of the Bowl", fromMy Lady Frayle,[70] and, with Violet Essex, "Any time's kissing time", fromChu Chin Chow.[71] In 1923 he recorded four numbers fromLilac Time for Vocalion ("Dream Enthralling"; "I want to carve your name"; "The Golden Song"; and "Underneath the lilac bough") with Clara Butterworth and Percy Heming.[72] His only Gilbert and Sullivan recording ("Is Life a Boon?", 1916) was never issued.[12]
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