# Olive Gilbert > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Olive_Gilbert > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Olive_Gilbert.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olive_Gilbert > Source revision: 1281930983 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) British singer and actress (1898–1981) **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](/source/Ivor_Novello)'s musicals in London's [West End](/source/West_End_theatre). After the First World War, Gilbert sang [contralto](/source/Contralto) and [mezzo-soprano](/source/Mezzo-soprano) roles with the [Carl Rosa Opera Company](/source/Carl_Rosa_Opera_Company) for more than a decade. She moved into [musical theatre](/source/Musical_theatre) in 1935, appearing in Novello's *[Glamorous Night](/source/Glamorous_Night)*. She also had roles in his *[Careless Rapture](/source/Careless_Rapture)* (1936), *[Crest of the Wave](/source/Crest_of_the_Wave_(musical))* (1937), *[The Dancing Years](/source/The_Dancing_Years)* (1939), *Arc de Triomphe* (1943), *[Perchance to Dream](/source/Perchance_to_Dream_(musical))* (1945) and *[King's Rhapsody](/source/King's_Rhapsody)* (1949). From 1961 to 1966, she played Sister Margaretta in *[The Sound of Music](/source/The_Sound_of_Music)*, and she appeared as the housekeeper in *[Man of La Mancha](/source/Man_of_La_Mancha)* in 1968. She continued to perform into the 1970s. ## Biography Gilbert was born in [Carmarthen](/source/Carmarthen), [Wales](/source/Wales). By 1919, she began her professional career in [contralto](/source/Contralto) and [mezzo-soprano](/source/Mezzo-soprano) roles with the [Carl Rosa Opera Company](/source/Carl_Rosa_Opera_Company), such as Carmen, Delilah, Mignon, Nicklaus and Suzuki.[1] She performed for many years with that company,[2] receiving warm reviews.[3] Of her Fricka in [Wagner](/source/Wagner)'s *[The Valkyrie](/source/The_Valkyrie)* in 1929, *[The Times](/source/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".[4] Gilbert debuted in [musical theatre](/source/Musical_theatre) in May 1935, in Ivor Novello's *[Glamorous Night](/source/Glamorous_Night)* at London's [Theatre Royal, Drury Lane](/source/Theatre_Royal%2C_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.[5] At Drury Lane, she starred in Novello's *[Careless Rapture](/source/Careless_Rapture)* (1936), *[Crest of the Wave](/source/Crest_of_the_Wave_(musical))* (1937) and *[The Dancing Years](/source/The_Dancing_Years)* (1939). She was the contralto voice in the unusual female duet from *The Dancing Years*, "The Wings of Sleep". [Mary Ellis](/source/Mary_Ellis) sang the [soprano](/source/Soprano) part. She later repeated the role of Frau Kurt in the [1950 film adaptation](/source/The_Dancing_Years_(film)) of *The Dancing Years*.[2] Next, Gilbert appeared in his musical *[Arc de Triomphe](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Arc_de_Triomphe_(musical)&action=edit&redlink=1)* (1943) at the [Phoenix Theatre](/source/Phoenix_Theatre_(London)), *[Perchance to Dream](/source/Perchance_to_Dream_(musical))* (1945) at the [London Hippodrome](/source/London_Hippodrome), and *[King's Rhapsody](/source/King's_Rhapsody)* (1949) at the [Palace Theatre](/source/Palace_Theatre%2C_London). 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](/source/We'll_Gather_Lilacs_in_the_Spring)". She sang the song at Novello's cremation.[2] In 1961 at the Palace Theatre, she first played Sister Margaretta in *[The Sound of Music](/source/The_Sound_of_Music)*, remaining in that show for its entire five-year London run. She played the housekeeper in *[Man of La Mancha](/source/Man_of_La_Mancha)* in 1968 at the [Piccadilly Theatre](/source/Piccadilly_Theatre). In the early 1970s, she toured in *[Bless the Bride](/source/Bless_the_Bride)*, as Ernestine in *Perchance to Dream*, and as Countess Vera in *King's Rhapsody*.[2] Gilbert died in 1981, in [Hove](/source/Hove), [Sussex](/source/Sussex), at the age of 82. ## Notes 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** "Opera", *[The Times](/source/The_Times)*, 28 August 1919, p. 8, col. E 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Timesobit_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Timesobit_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Timesobit_2-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-Timesobit_2-3) "Miss Olive Gilbert", *The Times*, 20 February 1981, p. 16, col. G 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** "Carl Rosa Opera, *Tales of Hoffmann*", *The Times*, 19 May 1925, p. 14, col. D 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** "Carl Rosa Opera. *The Valkyrie* at The Lyceum", *The Times*, 13 July 1929, p. 12, col. C 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Wright, Adrian. [Chapter 2: "Delusions of Grandeur"](https://books.google.com/books?id=UcKIhZ8HiGYC&pg=PA41), *A Tanner's Worth of Tune: Rediscovering the Post-war British Musical*, p. 41, Boydell & Brewer (2010) [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [1843835428](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1843835428) ## References - Tanitch, Robert. *London Stage in the 20th Century*, Haus Publishing [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-904950-74-5](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-904950-74-5) - Jackson, Arthur. *The Book of Musicals*, Mitchell Beazley [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-85533-191-7](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-85533-191-7) ## External links - ["Wings of Sleep"](https://www.nme.com/video/id/SQ8NPGzpII8/search), a recording of Gilbert - [Olive Gilbert](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0318190/) at [IMDb](/source/IMDb_(identifier)) Authority control databases International VIAF National United States Artists MusicBrainz Other Yale LUX --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Olive Gilbert](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olive_Gilbert) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olive_Gilbert?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.