{{Short description|British singer and actress (1898–1981)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} '''Olive Sarah Gilbert''' (22 November 1898 – 19 February 1981) was a British singer and actress, who, in a career spanning seven decades, performed first in opera and then in many of [[Ivor Novello]]'s musicals in London's [[West End theatre|West End]].
After the First World War, Gilbert sang [[contralto]] and [[mezzo-soprano]] roles with the [[Carl Rosa Opera Company]] for more than a decade. She moved into [[musical theatre]] in 1935, appearing in Novello's ''[[Glamorous Night]]''. She also had roles in his ''[[Careless Rapture]]'' (1936), ''[[Crest of the Wave (musical)|Crest of the Wave]]'' (1937), ''[[The Dancing Years]]'' (1939), ''Arc de Triomphe'' (1943), ''[[Perchance to Dream (musical)|Perchance to Dream]]'' (1945) and ''[[King's Rhapsody]]'' (1949).
From 1961 to 1966, she played Sister Margaretta in ''[[The Sound of Music]]'', and she appeared as the housekeeper in ''[[Man of La Mancha]]'' in 1968. She continued to perform into the 1970s.
==Biography== Gilbert was born in [[Carmarthen]], [[Wales]]. By 1919, she began her professional career in [[contralto]] and [[mezzo-soprano]] roles with the [[Carl Rosa Opera Company]], such as Carmen, Delilah, Mignon, Nicklaus and Suzuki.<ref>"Opera", ''[[The Times]]'', 28 August 1919, p. 8, col. E</ref> She performed for many years with that company,<ref name=Timesobit>"Miss Olive Gilbert", ''The Times'', 20 February 1981, p. 16, col. G</ref> receiving warm reviews.<ref>"Carl Rosa Opera, ''Tales of Hoffmann''", ''The Times'', 19 May 1925, p. 14, col. D</ref> Of her Fricka in [[Wagner]]'s ''[[The Valkyrie]]'' in 1929, ''[[The Times]]'' wrote, "The greatest individual performance last night was that of Miss Olive Gilbert, who conveyed the cold fury of Fricka in spirited singing which always remained full-toned".<ref>"Carl Rosa Opera. ''The Valkyrie'' at The Lyceum", ''The Times'', 13 July 1929, p. 12, col. C</ref>
Gilbert debuted in [[musical theatre]] in May 1935, in Ivor Novello's ''[[Glamorous Night]]'' at London's [[Theatre Royal, Drury Lane]]. She remained with Novello, taking featured or starring roles in all of his musicals thereafter until his death in 1951. She also acted as his personal assistant and housekeeper, living in the flat below his.<ref>Wright, Adrian. [https://books.google.com/books?id=UcKIhZ8HiGYC&pg=PA41 Chapter 2: "Delusions of Grandeur"], ''A Tanner's Worth of Tune: Rediscovering the Post-war British Musical'', p. 41, Boydell & Brewer (2010) {{ISBN|1843835428}}</ref> At Drury Lane, she starred in Novello's ''[[Careless Rapture]]'' (1936), ''[[Crest of the Wave (musical)|Crest of the Wave]]'' (1937) and ''[[The Dancing Years]]'' (1939). She was the contralto voice in the unusual female duet from ''The Dancing Years'', "The Wings of Sleep". [[Mary Ellis]] sang the [[soprano]] part. She later repeated the role of Frau Kurt in the [[The Dancing Years (film)|1950 film adaptation]] of ''The Dancing Years''.<ref name=Timesobit/>
Next, Gilbert appeared in his musical ''[[Arc de Triomphe (musical)|Arc de Triomphe]]'' (1943) at the [[Phoenix Theatre (London)|Phoenix Theatre]], ''[[Perchance to Dream (musical)|Perchance to Dream]]'' (1945) at the [[London Hippodrome]], and ''[[King's Rhapsody]]'' (1949) at the [[Palace Theatre, London|Palace Theatre]]. One of her most famous performances was in the long-running ''Perchance to Dream'', in which she sang "[[We'll Gather Lilacs in the Spring]]". She sang the song at Novello's cremation.<ref name=Timesobit/>
In 1961 at the Palace Theatre, she first played Sister Margaretta in ''[[The Sound of Music]]'', remaining in that show for its entire five-year London run. She played the housekeeper in ''[[Man of La Mancha]]'' in 1968 at the [[Piccadilly Theatre]]. In the early 1970s, she toured in ''[[Bless the Bride]]'', as Ernestine in ''Perchance to Dream'', and as Countess Vera in ''King's Rhapsody''.<ref name=Timesobit/>
Gilbert died in 1981, in [[Hove]], [[Sussex]], at the age of 82.
==Notes== {{reflist}}
== References == *Tanitch, Robert. ''London Stage in the 20th Century'', Haus Publishing {{ISBN|978-1-904950-74-5}} *Jackson, Arthur. ''The Book of Musicals'', Mitchell Beazley {{ISBN|0-85533-191-7}}
== External links == *[https://www.nme.com/video/id/SQ8NPGzpII8/search "Wings of Sleep"], a recording of Gilbert *{{IMDb name|0318190}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Gilbert, Olive}} [[Category:Singers from Carmarthenshire]] [[Category:Welsh musical theatre actresses]] [[Category:Welsh film actresses]] [[Category:20th-century Welsh women singers]] [[Category:1898 births]] [[Category:1981 deaths]] [[Category:20th-century British actresses]] [[Category:British mezzo-sopranos]] [[Category:20th-century British women opera singers]]