Orville Harrold ( November â€" October ) was an American operatic
tenor and musical theatre actor. He began his career in as a
performer in operettas in New York City, and was also seen during his
early career in cabaret, musical theatre, and vaudeville performances.
With the aid of Oscar Hammerstein I, he branched out into opera in as
a leading tenor with Hammerstein's opera houses in New York City and
Philadelphia. While his career from this point on primarily consisted
of opera performances, he periodically returned to operetta and
musical theatre throughout his career. He notably created the role of
Captain Dick Warrington in the world premiere of Victor Herbert's
operetta Naughty Marietta in November .As an opera singer, Harrold
specialized in the lyric tenor repertoire of the Italian and French
languages. In â€" he performed with Hammerstein's opera house in
London. From â€" he was one of the leading opera tenors in Chicago;
performing with a variety of companies in that city. He spent the last
years of his opera career performing at the Metropolitan Opera in New
York City; giving his last opera performance there in . He continued
to perform in vaudeville entertainments up into the late s. He made
several gramophone records during his career; including recordings for
Edison Records, Columbia Records (â€") and the Victor Talking Machine
Company (â€").Born in Cowan, Indiana, Harrold was the son of John
William Harrold and his wife Emily Harrold (née Chalfant). His
parents were farmers and at the age of he moved with his family to
Lyons, Kansas. They moved again to Newton, Kansas when he was . In
Newton he began taking singing lessons with his school's music
supervisor, Mrs. Gaston Boyd, who was a graduate of the New England
Conservatory. In Kansas he sang with various community and church
choruses and performed in a vocal quartet. He also won a local music
competition. In he performed at the Chicago World's Fair. In he and
his family returned to Cowan, Indiana. He played in a band in Muncie
where he also began taking violin lessons and sang in church choirs.
In he married Euphamia Evelyn “Effie†Kiger with whom he had
three children. They divorced in . His second wife was a fellow
singer, Lydia Locke; they married in and divorced in .After being
encouraged to pursue a singing career by Ernestine Schumann-Heink,
Harrold moved to New York in to pursue studies in opera and acting.
He made his stage debut in the summer of in the light operetta The
Social Whirl at The Shubert Organization's Casino Theatre. The
following year he portrayed Lord Drinkwell in the original production
of Julian Edwards and Stanislaus Stange's The Belle of London Town at
the Lincoln Square Theatre. In he performed in the touring vaudeville
show Wine, Women, & Song.
tenor and musical theatre actor. He began his career in as a
performer in operettas in New York City, and was also seen during his
early career in cabaret, musical theatre, and vaudeville performances.
With the aid of Oscar Hammerstein I, he branched out into opera in as
a leading tenor with Hammerstein's opera houses in New York City and
Philadelphia. While his career from this point on primarily consisted
of opera performances, he periodically returned to operetta and
musical theatre throughout his career. He notably created the role of
Captain Dick Warrington in the world premiere of Victor Herbert's
operetta Naughty Marietta in November .As an opera singer, Harrold
specialized in the lyric tenor repertoire of the Italian and French
languages. In â€" he performed with Hammerstein's opera house in
London. From â€" he was one of the leading opera tenors in Chicago;
performing with a variety of companies in that city. He spent the last
years of his opera career performing at the Metropolitan Opera in New
York City; giving his last opera performance there in . He continued
to perform in vaudeville entertainments up into the late s. He made
several gramophone records during his career; including recordings for
Edison Records, Columbia Records (â€") and the Victor Talking Machine
Company (â€").Born in Cowan, Indiana, Harrold was the son of John
William Harrold and his wife Emily Harrold (née Chalfant). His
parents were farmers and at the age of he moved with his family to
Lyons, Kansas. They moved again to Newton, Kansas when he was . In
Newton he began taking singing lessons with his school's music
supervisor, Mrs. Gaston Boyd, who was a graduate of the New England
Conservatory. In Kansas he sang with various community and church
choruses and performed in a vocal quartet. He also won a local music
competition. In he performed at the Chicago World's Fair. In he and
his family returned to Cowan, Indiana. He played in a band in Muncie
where he also began taking violin lessons and sang in church choirs.
In he married Euphamia Evelyn “Effie†Kiger with whom he had
three children. They divorced in . His second wife was a fellow
singer, Lydia Locke; they married in and divorced in .After being
encouraged to pursue a singing career by Ernestine Schumann-Heink,
Harrold moved to New York in to pursue studies in opera and acting.
He made his stage debut in the summer of in the light operetta The
Social Whirl at The Shubert Organization's Casino Theatre. The
following year he portrayed Lord Drinkwell in the original production
of Julian Edwards and Stanislaus Stange's The Belle of London Town at
the Lincoln Square Theatre. In he performed in the touring vaudeville
show Wine, Women, & Song.
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