ANNE ZIEGLER-WEBSTER BOOTH

Places associated with Webster Booth and Anne Ziegler (1890-1956)

2011-09-25T11:47:00.001+02:00

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A member of the Booth-Ziegler Yahoo Group suggested that it would be interesting to see various places associated with Webster Booth and Anne Ziegler. Here are places they stayed during their lifetimes, and photographs of the buildings.

Arbury Road, Nuneaton

Webster Booth's parents, Edwin Booth and Sarah Webster were married in 1889. Sarah came from Chilvers Coton, Nuneaton and the address on the wedding certificate was Arbury Road, Nuneaton.

Their first home as a married couple was at 33 Nineveh Road, Handsworth, and it was there that their eldest son, Edgar John Booth was born in 1890.

It is the house with the blue door and is situated round the corner from Soho Road, Handsworth, where Edwin Booth ran a Ladies and Girls hairdressers at 157 Soho Road. The family moved to 157 Soho Road about 1895 and it was there that Webster Booth was born in 1902. It is now the site of a multi-purpose store.

33 Nineveh Road, Handsworth

Below: 157 Soho Road, Handsworth

Anne Ziegler was born Irene Frances Eastwood of 22 June 1910 at Marmion Road, Sefton Park, Liverpool.

Marmion Road, Sefton Park

When Webster Booth was 9 years old he was accepted as a chorister at Lincoln Cathedral.

Lincoln Cathedral, Lincoln (below)

Collage and photos: Charles S.P. Jenkins

After Webster's voice broke, he returned home to Handsworth and attended Aston Commercial School which had opened in 1915, with the idea of becoming an accountant like his older brother, Edwin Norman. Edgar Keey, the father of his first wife, Winifred, was the headmaster there.

Webster Booth married Winifred Keey at the Fulham Registry Office in 1924. They made their home in Prospect Road Moseley, where their son Keith was born on 12th June 1925. In 1927, after Webster's return from a tour of Canada with D'Oyly Carte, Winifred deserted Webster and they were divorced in 1931.

43 Prospect Road, Moseley, Birmingham (below) Photo: Michael Collen

Webster Booth left the D'Oyly Carte after the tour of Canada, changed his name from Leslie W. Booth, as he had been known in the D'oyly Carte Company to Webster Booth and went to live in London to try his luck as a freelance singer.

He lived in Streatham Hill, the old home of Tom Howell, leader of the Opieros Concert Party with whom he sang for several seasons, and - at the time of his divorce from Winifred Keey - he was living in Biggin Hill.

Streatham Hill (1927 on)

Biggin Hill, 1931 (below)

5 Crescent Court, Golders Green Crescent NW11

In 1932 Webster Booth married his second wife, Dorothy Annie Alice Prior, stage name Paddy Prior. Paddy Prior was a soubrette, dancer and comedienne who had been on the stage since her late teens. She was born in Chandos Road, Fulham on 4 December 1904. During their marriage - 1932-1938 they lived at 5 Crescent Court, Golders Green Crescent.

In 1934 Irene Frances Eastwood moved to London and changed her name to Anne Ziegler to appear as the top voice in the octet of By Appointment, starring Maggie Teyte. She lived at 72 Lauderdale Mansions, Lauderdale Road, Maida Vale.

Anne and Webster were married on 5 November 1938, first at Paddington Registry Office, then had their wedding blessed in a special service for divorced persons at St Ethelburga's Church, Bishopsgate.

Photo: Charles S.P Jenkins

Anne and Webster lived at the same address before and after his divorce from Paddy Prior in 1938 and in 1939 they moved into a bigger flat in the same building.

In 1941 they purchased a big house with a big garden from the theatrical couple, Ernest Butcher and Muriel George. This house was called Crowhurst at 98 Torrington Park, Friern Barnet N12.

Anne and Webster in the garden at Crowhurst, early 1940s.

Photos of Crowhurst today: Pamela Davies

Crowhurst sitting room today.

When they returned from their concert tour to New Zealand, Australia and South Africa in 1948, they realised that Crowhurst was too big for them to manage at a time when it was difficult to find suitable domestic staff. They decided to buy a smaller house at Frognal Cottage, 102 Frognal, Hampstead NW3.

Listening to one of their new recordings in the sitting room at Frognal Cottage, with Smokey (1950)

Photos of Frognal Cottage today: Pamela Davies.

Music room at Frognal Cottage (1950)

Anne and Webster listening to a new recording in Frognal Cottage.

They sold Frognal Cottage in 1952 and moved to a house nearby at 9 Ellerdale Road, Hampstead, where they remained until they left to settle in South Africa in 1956.

I have created a similar post of the South African and UK residences where Anne and Webster lived from 1956 to 1978.

Jeannie C July 2010.

Places associated with Webster Booth and Anne Ziegler (1956-2003)

2011-09-23T11:31:00.000+02:00

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Webster Booth & Anne Ziegler emigrated to South Africa in July 1956. While they were looking for a suitable home they lived at Dawson's Hotel, Johannesburg. This photograph shows the hotel at the corner of Von Brandis and President Street as it is today. I believe that the building has been abandoned, hence the poor state of the exterior. It was considered one of the best hotels in Johannesburg after the Carlton and the Langham hotels in 1956.

The found a flat at Waverley, Highlands North, just off Louis Botha Avenue, where they lived for several years. They also rented a studio in the centre of the city on the eighth floor of Polliacks Building, corner of Eloff and Pritchard Street. It was advertised as the Anne Ziegler & Webster Booth School of Singing and Stagecraft.

The studio was on the eighth floor above Record Corner, which was Polliacks Corner in the days when Anne and Webster were there. It had a large balcony facing the OK Bazaars (now called Shoprite). On the OK Bazaars corner of Eloff and Pritchard Street, little 12-year old boys gathered each morning to play melodious Kwela music, using a penny whistle, and a bass made of a tea-chest. The studio was beyond John Orr's, the upmarket department store in Pritchard Street. This store was closed many years ago.

About 1958 Anne and Webster bought a house at 121 Buckingham Avenue, Craighall Park in the northern suburbs of Johannesburg. Anne said they paid R4000 (GBP2000) for the house and thought they did very well when they sold it for R8000 (GBP4000) five years later.

On Wednesday afternoons Webster went to Zoo Lake Bowling Club where he played bowls in "the most beautiful setting in the world". I was sorry to hear that this bowling club's lease has not been renewed and is to be closed in February 2011. I hope that it may be saved as it has been on this site for over fifty years.

Their second home in Johannesburg was at 31 Second Avenue, Parktown North, where they lived until 1967 when they moved to Knysna in the Cape.

The first house in Knysna was at 4 Azalea Street, Paradise, Knysna. They planned to leave Knysna and move to Port Elizabeth when they discovered their second home in Knysna and stayed on until 1974 at a Settler Cottage at 18 Graham Street.

The Beacon Isle Hotel was built at Plettenberg Bay, the adjoining town to Knysna and attracted visitors from other parts of the country. Anne and Webster sang at its opening around 1970.

The new Crowhurst in Picardy Avenue, Somerset West. Anne is standing next to the cars. (1975) Photo: Dudley Holmes

In 1974 they moved to Somerset West near Cape Town where the cost of living was less than in Knysna, hoping to obtain more work in broadcasting and teaching but there were few pupils and few broadcasting engagements. Webster conducted the Somerset and District Choral Society but he was not offered a fee for doing this! After a time they moved into a maisonette and prepared to return to the United Kingdom in 1978 as Anne's friend, Babs Wilson-Hill (Marie Thompson) offered to purchase a small bungalow in Penrhyn Bay, Llandudno, North Wales and agreed that they could live there rent-free for the rest of their lives. Webster died on 21 June 1984 after a long illness at the age of 82. Anne lived on in the bungalow until her death on 13 October 2003 at the age of 93.

The bungalow in Penrhyn Bay.

Jeannie C

July 2010

TOUR OF NEW ZEALAND & AUSTRALIA (1948)

2011-08-30T18:56:00.001+02:00

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Pamela Davies, who collaborated with me in writing Do You Remember Anne Ziegler and Webster Booth? at the same time as my own book, Sweethearts of Song: A Personal Memoir of Anne Ziegler & Webster Booth was published by LULU ) was given a scrapbook of Australian and New Zealand press cuttings related to Anne and Webster's tour there in 1948. Here is the list she compiled for Clare Gleeson, who wrote a book about the Charles Begg company that arranged their tour of New Zealand. With the aid of this list Clare was able to find some of the
original articles in the New Zealand Newspaper Archive and kindly
sent me copies of a few of these.

New Zealand list compiled by

Mrs Pamela Davies,

Pershore,

England.

On the trip to Australia aboard the maiden voyage of the Imperial Star the ship called at various South African ports, so Anne and Webster managed to do two broadcasts each in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban. They picked up the ship again in Durban to sail on to Melbourne to meet their Australian accompanist from Adelaide, Clarence Black. Unfortunately their regular accompanist, Charles Forwood, was not in the best of health at this time, so chose not to travel with them on the tour.

Clarence Black studied piano and organ at the Elder Conservatorium of Music, Adelaide. When he graduated he became the organist at the Regent Theatre and gave organ recitals each Sunday afternoon. In 1951 he accompanied Peter Dawson (aged 69, but undiminished in voice and personality by advancing age) on his concert tour of Australia.

Broadcasting in Johannesburg.

Arrival in New Zealand 1948

Preliminary articles,
some excessively laudatory (and not always accurate) designed to whet NZ audiences' appetites

Timaru Herald/10/2/48

Wanganui Herald/11/2/48

NZ Truth 5/5/48 + photo, leaving Liverpool

New
Zealand

Truth

5 May
1948

WORLD
FAME: Attractive looking pair Ann Ziegler and her
husband Webster Booth are known by their voices in every home possessing a
radio. New Zealanders will shortly have the opportunity of seeing them in the
flesh, for they are already headed for a tour of the Dominion. They are about
to set sail from Liverpool with South Africa as
their first port of call.

Dominion (Wellington)/19/5/48

The Dominion

19 May
1948

TWO
ENGLISH SINGERS DUE NEXT MONTH

Webster Booth and Anne Ziegler shortly due in

New Zealand

will make their first appearance at the Town Hall on June 1 and 2. These two
stars who have achieved popularity through their contributions to light opera, musical
comedy, screen and radio entertainment are assured of a warm welcome in this
country as apart from their value as entertainers there is always a certain
curiosity as to their personalities.

Booth after leaving school was a clerk in a firm of Birmingham accountants. Before this he had sung in the choir of
Lincoln Cathedral. His pleasing alto
voice changed to tenor and after seeing the possibilities at the professional
stage he applied for an audition, was given one and passed through the ranks as
a tenor in England
and Canada.

Miss Ziegler has been known to the public since
early childhood. She actually gave a
recital in London
while still in her teens*. At one stage she was one of the best known of
principal “boys” in pantomime in the provinces and crossed the Atlantic to play a leading part in the musical comedy Virginia.

*This section is completely inaccurate. She was not known to the public in her childhood and gave a singing recital at the Wigmore Hall, London when she was twenty-three years of age.

Webster went on to oratorio
under Dr Malcolm Sargent with the Huddersfield Choir and the Liverpool
Philharmonic Orchestra. His career has been almost meteoric.

NZ Tablet 26/5/48 + Laughing
Lady photo

Otago Daily Times/26/5/48 + Laughing Lady photo

Otago Daily Times

26 May
1948

SINGING
DUO

TOUR OF
NEW ZEALAND

ANNE
ZIEGLER AND WEBSTER BOOTH

Two of the most popular British singers, Anne
Ziegler and Webster Booth, are to make a tour of New Zealand in the near future.
Established favourites with a world audience through the medium of their
broadcasts and recordings, they are also well known on the British stage and
have made appearances in several films, the most recent of which The Laughing Lady has still to be
released in this country. Although ranked high as singers of more serious
musical forms both artists are equally well known in the realm of musical
comedy.

Their partnership
commenced with the film version of Faust and
their recent stage successes have included a revival of The Vagabond King and a new musical Sweet Yesterday. Oratorio, opera and the concert platform have all
been covered by this versatile duo.

NZ Listener 28.5.48 +photo

Nelson Mail 29.5.48+Laughing Lady photo

Oamaru Mail/31.5.48 +Laughing Lady photo

Auckland Herald/29/5/48
Arrival from Sydney

Weekly News/2/6/48+Photo of arrival in
Auckland, + list of towns to be visited: Nelson, New Plymouth, Palmerston
North, Wanganui, Hastings, Napier, Gisborne, Rotorua, Hamilton, Whangarei,
Timaru, Dunedin, Invercargill, Gore, Oamaru, Christchurch, Blenheim, Cold Lakes
district

B Articles and crits
on their concerts

Newspaper	Dated	Date and place of concert
Southern Cross (Wellington)	2/6/48	Concert in Town Hall the previous night, and another that night (1st,2nd June)
Dominion (Wellington) Wellington Town Hall	2/6/48	Concert in Town Hall the previous night, and another that night (1st, 2nd June) *The Dominion* 2 June 1948 Last Night’s Audience Were Enthralled Finally Tonight TOWN HALL 8PM THIS IS YOUR LAST OPPORTUNITY TO HEAR WEBSTER BOOTH (Tenor) And ANNE ZIEGLER (Soprano) England’s King and Queen OF SONG With CLARENCE BLACK At the Piano Ballads and Operatic Arias blend- Ed with Gems from Musical Comedy by Artists who “sing and act superbly” and who bring to the Concert Platform the romance and glamour of the Stage and Screen. RESERVES STILL AVAILABLE At Begg’s Today, 8/- and 6/- plus Tax Also DAY SALES AT 8/- plus Tax, And at the Town Hall tonight From 7pm Direction: Begg’s Celebrity Artists Co.
Evening Post	2/6/48	Concert in Town Hall the previous night, and another that night (1st,2nd June) (1st,2nd June) *Evening Post* 2 June 1948 ENGLISH SINGERS DOMINION OPENING CONCERT A reception as enthusiastic as any seen recently in the Town Hall was accorded the English singers Anne Ziegler and Webster Booth, and the Australian pianist Clarence Black when they opened a tour of the Dominion last night. A large audience was present. The programme, though light in its nature, took added significance and depth from the high standard of the singers, who showed that they have not been acknowledged as experts in the field of musical comedy and light opera for nothing. Their performance was superb, and owed its quality as much to the personality of the artists as to their singing. Mr Booth has a voice with a range and power which is a rarity indeed for tenors. His control and inflexion were perfect, even in the extreme registers of his range. Miss Ziegler revealed herself to be a soprano of high quality. Her voice was not that of the usual operatic soprano. At no time did she lose any control over her voice, even in the highest registers, and just as important, at no time did her articulation appear to be any effort to her. Although good individually, the singers reached the heights of achievement in their duets. Their perfect co-operation is perhaps the secret of their success. This co-operation extended further than time or tone into the more difficult field of mood. There was always a sympathy which led to a most entrancing result in the music. This quality was most noticeable in the singers’ signature tune Only a Rose from The Vagabond King a lovely melody which was perhaps as well known as anything else on the programme. The traditional duet The Keys of Heaven was a remarkably good performance and gained its success from the charm and personality of Miss Ziegler and the insouciant humour of Mr Booth. Other singers might have managed the rest of the programme but it was The Keys of Heaven which showed that these came from the top rank of entertainers. Miss Ziegler’s best solo was Huntingdon Woodman’s song A Birthday. Mr Booth’s solos served to impress one further with the quality of his voice and his powers of expression. Mr Black, who showed himself to be a very good accompanist, also played a number of piano items. A further concert will be given tonight.
Dominion (Wellington)	3/6/48	Re cocktail party the previous day, given at 33 Club in their honour attended by WB alone; AZ “indisposed”. *The Dominion* 3 June 1948 Anne Ziegler Taken Ill : Last Night’s Concert Postponed Because of the sudden illness of Anne Ziegler the Webster Booth-Anne Ziegler concert did not take place last night. Practically every seat in the Town Hall was filled when Mr C A Rendle representing the promoters announced the postponement. Miss Ziegler became ill between 5 and 6 pm. At first it was hoped that the sickness would prove to be a passing one and even the doctor in attendance thought that such might be the case, but after 7pm it was seen that Miss Ziegler was still suffering, and in no condition to make a public appearance. In these circumstances there was no option but to cancel the concert. Those present were informed that it was hoped the concert would be held on Saturday night next, and all tickets and reserves would be good for that date. The audience took the announcement in good part. This arrangement has been made possible by the cancellation of the Nelson concert.
Southland Daily News Southland Daily Times	5/6/48	An introductory article.
Evening Post (Wellington)	7/6/48	Re second Wellington concert on Saturday night in the Town Hall. *Evening Post* 7 June 1948 CAPTIVATING PAIR Anne Ziegler and Webster Booth Of all the celebrity artists to visit New Zealand over the past few years possibly none have had the captivating stage manner so typical of the English singers Anne Ziegler and Webster Booth. At their second Wellington concert presented in the Town Hall on Saturday night, this popular couple shared all their songs with the audience rather than sung to them. Their unselfconscious miming and acting throughout both solos and duets won for them a staunch following among even the more staid concertgoers accustomed to the dignified impersonality of other artists. They opened the programme with the duet Stay, Frederick Stay from The Pirates of Penzance (Sullivan) in which their voices blended perfectly. There was not one false note among their choice of numbers, every item being of the type for which they are best known. Solos and duets were both received enthusiastically by the audience, but it was in the duets that they were accorded the greatest storm of applause. One of the most popular duets was Deep in My Heart (from The Student Prince) and We’ll Gather Lilacs (from Novello’s Perchance to Dream) as an encore was another success. Their duo programme included The Love Duet (Madame Butterfly), Coward’s I’ll See You Again, Life Begins Anew (Sweet Yesterday) and Laugh at Life from their latest film The Laughing Lady. A medley of ballads which warmed the hearts of older members of the audience comprised Until (Sanderson), Love’s Old Sweet Song (Molloy) I Hear You Calling Me (Marshall) and Two Little Words (Brahe). Miss Ziegler’s first solo was her own arrangement Strauss’s Tales from the Vienna Woods which was superbly sung and she also sang One Fine Day from Puccini’s Madame Butterfly. Webster Booth sang The English Rose (German) his recording of which is considered one of his best, The Lord’s Prayer and Break of Day from the film Waltz Time. As a climax to their programme and by popular request the two artists presented their own arrangement of the traditional Keys of Heaven. They burlesqued it delightfully and the audience loved it. As accompanist Clarence Black was sympathetic and never intrusive and his solo items proved so popular that he was recalled to play several encores.
Nelson Evening Mail Nelson School of Music	8/6/48	At the School of Music, last night.
Wanganui Chronicle	10/6/48	Re booking for the forthcoming concert.
Taranaki Daily News Taranaki Herald	11/6/48 11/6/48	Opera House, New Plymouth last night. Opera House, New Plymouth last night.
Manawatu Evening Standard Palmerston North Opera House	14/6/48	Palmerston North Opera House on Saturday night. Their second and final concert in Palmerston North to be on Tuesday evening.
Manawatu Daily Times	14/6/48	*PN Opera House on Saturday night. Their second and final concert in PN to be on Tuesday evening.*
Wanganui Herald Wanganui Chronicle Wanganui Opera House	15/6/48 15/6/48	*Wanganui Opera House last night.* *Wanganui Opera House last night.*
Hawkes Bay Herald Tribune, Hastings	18/6/48	Municipal Theatre, Hastings last night. To appear in Napier tomorrow night.
Daily Telegraph, Napier Napier Municipal Theatre	21/6/48	Napier Municipal Theatre on Saturday night.
Gisborne Herald	21/6/48	Re talk given today by WB to members of Gisborne Rotary Club, where he complained about the lack of back-stage heating in NZ theatres.
Gisborne Herald	22/6/48	Gisborne Opera House last night.
Rotorua Post Rotorua Post	24/6/48 24/6/48	*Municipal Theatre, Rotorua last night.* Interview given by WB today. The eleventh concert of their tour, the first concert with back-stage heating at Municipal Theatre, Rotorua.
Waikatu Times, Hamilton	25/6/48	Theatre Royal, Hamilton, last night.
Northern Advocate, Whangarei Town Hall	29/6/48	*Whangarei Town Hall, last night.*
Auckland Star	30/6/48	Town Hall, last evening.
Auckland Herald AucklandTown Hall	30/6/48	Town Hall last night, the first of two Auckland concerts.
Auckland Star	2/7/48	*Town Hall last evening.*
Timaru Herald Theatre Royal, Timaru	6/7/48	*Theatre Royal, Timaru, last night.*
Invercargill Civic Theatre, Invercargill	6/7/48	Re great demand for tickets for recital on Wednesday, July 14th at Civic Theatre: followed by one at St James Theatre, Gore on Thursday July 15th.
Otago Daily Times	7/7/48	Arrived Dunedin yesterday, an interview on their arrival, and photo of AZ&WB in their hotel lounge.

Evening Star, Dunedin Town Hall, Dunedin	7/7/48	Another interview this morning apparently when WB&AZ were at the Town Hall, inspecting the stage.
Otago Daily Times	8/7/48	*Otago Daily Times* 8 July 1948 COMMUNITY SING A special attraction at the Sing to be held tomorrow in the Strand Theatre in aid of the Food for Britain campaign will be Mr Clarence Black, pianist and accompanist for Anne Ziegler and Webster Booth. Donations may be sent to Mr J F Himburg, Charles Begg, who with Mr A J Pettitt will assist Mr M P Desmoulins to lead the singing. Town Hall last night (Dunedin) *Otago Daily Times* 8 July 1948 CHARMING VOICES ANNE ZIEGLER AND WEBSTER BOOTH EXCELLENT COLLABORATION On the concert stage Anne Ziegler and Webster Booth are a law unto themselves. Their programme at the Town Hall last night could hardly be described as a vocal recital for their stage technique was a combination of musical comedy and film art. That it had charm and musical qualities was undeniable, for the large audience was attentive and enthusiastic throughout. Anne Ziegler has a pleasant soprano voice which she used without effort, or forcing and she moves about the stage with an easy grace and charm born of habit. Webster Booth has a fine tenor voice with excellent quality and carrying power in his high register and in his singing of The Flower Song from Carmen and The English Rose from Merrie England: *FLOWER SONG (CARMEN)* he gave a glimpse of what he might do with such a voice had he chosen a more serious musical career. Anne Ziegler’s most serious contribution was They Call Me Mimi from La Bohème. It was, however in the duets that the audience found their greatest pleasure. The collaboration was excellent and though I found their gestures and movements on the stage somewhat meaningless there was a sophisticated charm about their deportment that disarmed criticism. They chatted informally, made jokes with a local flavor and took the audience into their confidence. The response was all that could be expected and the artists frequently expressed their gratitude for the reception they received. The pianist, Mr Clarence Black, was a sympathetic accompanist even to lending a hand with dramatic gestures in the duet The Keys of Heaven: KEYS OF HEAVEN He also played two groups of solos with competence and musical feeling.
Evening Star, Dunedin	8.7.48	*Town Hall last night* (Dunedin)**
Invercargill	7/7/48	Article on demand for tickets for “next Wednesday night’s concert”.
Otago Daily Times	9/7/48	Town Hall (Dunedin) last night *Otago Daily Times* 9 July 1948 FINAL PERFORMANCE OVERSEAS SINGERS AUDIENCE CAPTIVATED Anne Ziegler and Webster Booth captivated the large audience in their appearance at the Town Hall last night. Once again their duets revealed their greatest audience appeal and their musical comedy numbers, in particular, were received with a spontaneous and enthusiastic applause which compelled them to return to the stage again and again. The Love Duet from Puccini’s Butterfly was their most delightful number in the first half of the programme, the pure tenor and pleasing soprano voices blending perfectly. In One Fine Day after the interval Anne Ziegler again thrilled the listeners. To finish their programme the artist sang a medley of popular ballads. This started a clamour for encores which engaged the singers for some 15 minutes longer than the scheduled programme and the audience persisted in its attempts to recall them even after they had prepared to leave. The pianist, Clarence Black, again proved a sympathetic accompanist and a talented solo performer. .
Evening Star, Dunedin	9/7/48	Town Hall (Dunedin) last night.
The Southend Times	15/7/48	Civic Theatre last night
Southland News	15/7/48	Civic Theatre last night (part of concert broadcast by 4YZ)
Nataura Ensign	16/7/48	St James Theatre last night at Gore.
Christchurch Press	22/7/48	Civic Theatre last evening with 2 further concerts “tonight and tomorrow night”.
Dominium, Wellington	29/7/48	at Wellington Town Hall “farewell recital”.
Evening Post	29/7/48	Re signing autographs for a good cause and handing over a sizeable cheque at their final concert last night.

New Zealand song recorded by Anne and Webster in 1948:

BLUE SMOKE (RURU KARAITIANA)

TOUR OF AUSTRALIA

Anne Ziegler and Webster Booth were received in Australia with just as much enthusiasm as in New Zealand. Clarence Black, the Australian pianist from Adelaide was their accompanist in Australia. They were guests of honour at countless civic and mayoral receptions throughout the country and Tasmania. Unfortunately Anne lost a valuable diamond ring worth £900 in their suite of Hotel Australia, Sydney. The police were called in and someone sifted through the bags of the vacuum cleaners, but I am not sure whether this ring was ever found. There were several newspaper photographs of Anne and Webster looking (in vain) for this ring.

Anne and Webster go through their music for one of their Australian performances.

Sydney Town Hall

One of the criticisms in a Sydney newspaper read as follows:

"CONCERT OF SHY KISSES, RAPT GAZES

Love was comprehensively examined in the second programme given by the English singers, Anne Ziegler and Webster Booth, at the Town Hall on Saturday night.

It was a programme of pretty bon-bons, the musical equivalents of pink ribbons and silver paper and St Valentine cards.

The audience was delighted. One difference between this sort of concert and a concert of serious music is that the audience listening to serious music is always deep in frowns and scowls and anguish of soul. The audience for these singers is all smiles - dreamy smiles, sentimental smiles, bitter-sweet smiles, nostalgic smiles. The singers make love sound as if it is made up entirely of honey and roses.

While most Australian critics agreed that their concerts were well-received and every auditorium was filled to capacity, they felt that the lighter show music was more suitable to their light voices than the operatic excerpts and solos.

Mr Booth and Miss Ziegler, in their duets, gazed raptly upon each other, held hands, dated about in conventional operetta poses, and with all sang so sweetly that it seemed inevitable that a pink little Cupid should leap up from the piano and fire silver arrows at them.

ROSE FOR USHER

Miss Ziegler, who looked as pretty as a portrait, even went to far as to present an usher with a red, red rose and to bless his prosaic life with a shy, shy kiss when he brought her the first beautiful bouquet of flowers. Yet he slunk away from this enviable moment of rapture, as though unaware of a moment in paradise.

The voices are not outstanding, but they are better than most that have been heard in Australian musical comedy and operetta for some years. The singers know how to control the sweet natural tone in a way that will extract the last drop of sentimental unction from it.

Notable illustrations of this were their duets - Stay Frederick, Stay from The Pirate of Penzance, the waggishly comic presentation of The Keys of Heaven and the medley of ballads which included Until, Love's Old Sweet Song and I Hear You Calling Me.

Clarence Black, their accompanist, played several well-worn solos in the certain knowledge that his choice of items would make his audience sigh with pleasure."

Webster and Anne meet the mayor of Adelaide's daughter, Barbara McLeay at a civic reception in their honour:

Webster offers Anne a savoury at another mayoral reception.

A less favourable Sydney criticism.

Anne and Webster arrived back in the UK after seven months away, on board The Strathaird on their tenth wedding anniversary, 5 November, just in time to do a broadcast on In Town Tonight.

Their film The Laughing Lady opened in Australia shortly after they left the country. Unfortunately Australian critics were almost universal in their scathing comments about this film. It occurred to me that after being acclaimed and treated like Royalty on their extended tour of New Zealand and Australia in 1948, only ten years later they were living in South Africa in very much reduced circumstances.

Jeannie C©

May 2011

Bibliography:

Booth, W, Ziegler, A, Duet, Stanley Paul, 1951

Davies, P, List of New Zealand cuttings (1948)

NATIONAL LIBRARY OF AUSTRALIA

New Zealand Newspaper Archive

2011-06-20T19:21:00.000+02:00

LEAVING

At the end of January 1965, I started teaching music at Kingsmead College, a private girls’ school in Melrose, Johannesburg. Some of the schoolgirls were only three years younger than me, but at twenty-one I felt quite worldly wise. I settled down to teaching piano students in my music room at Kingsmead House, and music appreciation and matric music in a rondavel called Etunzi at the top of the sloping lawn overlooking the swimming pool. The classes were small; the girls well-behaved. Everything at Kingsmead was very pleasant indeed.
I still went to singing lessons and had the studio on a Wednesday to teach my private students and to work for my LTCL paper work in piano.
Singing in Nabucco was a wonderful experience. The conductor Leo Quayle had recently returned to South Africa after a time as conductor of the Welsh National Opera. He had dreams of building a similar company in South Africa by nurturing young home-grown singers so that they were capable of taking principal roles. If this could be done it would no longer be necessary to import big names from abroad and South African singers would not have to leave the country because there was not enough quality work for them.
Nabucco is a great chorus opera and Leo Quayle came to rehearsals occasionally to hear us rehearsing with our excellent chorus master Eberhard Künkel. Professor Quayle said that we should always remember that we were the finest singing talent in the province.
The principal roles were taken by South Africans: Emma Renzi (Abigail), who had done well in England and Italy; Norman Bailey (Nabucco), who made his name in England; and Rudi Neitz, (the High Priest) the bass, who remained in South Africa. I can still visualise the Hebrew slaves seated at the feet of the High Priest, casting their eyes into the darkness of the auditorium, homesick for their fatherland, singing The Slaves’ Chorus. The production was sung in English.
Webster was on the film set of King Hendrik, playing the minute part of the British ambassador on the Johannesburg opening night of Nabucco. Anne attended the performance with Dudley Holmes’ mother and Dudley’s old friend, Grace Christison. Dudley was giving me a lift back to the staff residence at Kingsmead from the show that evening. As we were leaving I heard Grace ask, “Are we going straight to Anne’s?”
I was dropped outside the staff residence at Kingsmead, while the others went on to spend the rest of the evening with Anne.
At my lesson the following day I still felt hurt at being excluded. To my horror I found myself having an argument with Anne over some silly triviality. Webster looked on in alarm but did not take sides in the affray.
After this upset, I had to go back to school on the Rosebank bus to supervise the junior boarders’ evening prep. It was all I could do not to cry in front of the girls, but although I controlled myself during the prep, I spent the rest of the night in tears. Next day I sent a bouquet of flowers and a note of apology to Anne. The argument had not been entirely my fault, but I could not bear the thought of never seeing them again.
Before I left for the theatre that afternoon, Anne phoned to thank me for the flowers. She said she had not mentioned our argument to anyone and that we should forget all about it. “We three will always be friends,” she assured me.
After Nabucco ended my spirits were at low ebb. My particular friend at Kingsmead, the domestic science teacher, Joan Wishart, became engaged. Quite a few of my school friends were engaged; some were even married with children. I decided to go to the UK; it seemed the only thing to do. After my argument with Anne I realised how easily everything could fall apart.
I had been living in the sheltered and fairy tale world of the studio and Anne and Webster for nearly five years. Although I was teaching music, singing at concerts, and taking parts in shows, even mixing with people of my own age, Anne and Webster remained the most important and influential people in my life. I cared deeply for both of them, but I realised that I could not depend on them for my happiness for the rest of my life.
They had been asked to go on another tour with the SABC orchestra. After the tour Anne was going to Bloemfontein to produce The Merry Widow. Webster phoned to wish me a happy birthday before going on the orchestral trip. They would be away for two months so I would have a taste of life without them.
While they were away, Robin Paterson, one of the mathematics teachers at Kingsmead, whose husband was headmaster at St John’s Preparatory school, asked me to sing in a madrigal group under the leadership of Jimmy Gordon, the director of music at St John’s College, who had recently arrived in the country from Kenya.
He had been a chorister of the Chapel Royal, King’s scholar at Cambridge, and had taught music at Eton College before moving to Kenya. He was a brilliant musician with a pleasing tenor voice. I was no soprano, but I sang soprano with Robin in this choir. There were ten of us, and every week we went to the College to rehearse the various Fauré, Bairstow and Byrd songs for the concert. Bob Barsby, another music master at St John’s, sang alto and played the organ brilliantly at the concert in St John’s Chapel. It was a great success, and Jimmy decided to work on the Fauré Requiem the following term.
In the meantime, I was still teaching at the studio every Wednesday. One day I went into town, thinking I might go up to the studio to practise, as Anne and Webster were not due back for another few weeks.
The sign Anne had put on the door when they left on the trip was no longer there. I could hear a student singing inside the studio. I could not understand why they had not let me know they were back early so that I too could resume my lessons. I went home without opening the studio door, once again feeling hurt and confused.
The first thing I did when I arrived home was to phone the studio to hear Webster’s voice with his usual gruff, “Hello”. I put down the receiver without speaking.
I assumed that they were back and didn’t want me there for some reason. The next few days passed miserably. I didn’t go near the studio, but the following Wednesday I had to teach my private students there. About 11.00 am the phone rang. It was Webster to tell me he was back. I replied rather dryly that I already knew that.
“So it was you who phoned on Friday, Jeannie. I thought so. Why didn’t you stay on the line and speak to me?”
I told him that I had been too taken aback to say anything. He said that Anne was still in Bloemfontein doing The Merry Widow, so she had decided that I should wait until she returned before I could resume my lessons. But he wanted to see me. Could he pick me up from school on Friday?
After my few days of misery, I felt reassured after my conversation with him. On Friday I waited at the bus stop on Oxford Road, watching Tyrwhitt Avenue for his car to drive down to Oxford Road. They had sold the Ford Anglia and the Hillman Minx convertible, and bought a blue and white Super Minx (TJ9051) to replace them.
We had tea together and talked for ages – the first time we had been alone together in nearly a year. He told me about his son Keith, who now had a baby daughter Jane and was struggling to get his flower farm established. He was desperately sorry he had not been in a position to help him financially. He spoke of his brothers: Edgar had followed their father’s trade as a hairdresser and had retired to Weston-Super-Mare recently. Norman Booth, his eldest brother, an accountant, had been in the navy during the First World War. Norman had retired to Rugby and never went near the sea now that he was retired. Webster’s three sisters had spoilt him as the youngest child of the family, and whenever he was doing a show in Birmingham, the entire family expected him to host a big party for them at the Midland Hotel.
When Anne returned from producing The Merry Widow in Bloemfontein I resumed my singing lessons. She made no mention of Webster being at home on his own; I did not tell her that I had seen him.
One day I arrived to find Anne by herself in the studio. She did not refer to Webster’s absence, but as soon as I arrived home, I phoned him. Hilda had gone on another trip to St Helena. Once again they were alternating the days in the studio, but this time he had nobody to play for him.
During the time Hilda was away, he fetched me from school if he was going to the studio on his own. On one of our journeys he told me he had been a very serious young man and had his first heartbreak when a beloved girlfriend suddenly married a man many years older than herself. His mother told him that he shouldn’t be heart broken, as there were “lots of good fish in the sea”.
After that, he had become a bit of a lady-killer, determined that no woman would ever get the chance to hurt him again. When he was in Concert Party everyone in the company knew that when he went on to sing he’d look out for the prettiest girl in the hall and sing to her alone. Nine times out of ten, the same girl would appear at the stage door to see him after the show.
The term ended and some of the girls gave me farewell presents. Joan Wishart married her fiancé Alan, and made a beautiful bride. The time was drawing in; I would soon be leaving the country.
Anne and Webster did not have a happy Christmas. Webster had received an airmail letter from one of his sisters, who casually mentioned – almost as an afterthought - on the back of the letter that his brother, Edgar had passed away suddenly, without explaining how or why. He was extremely upset about Edgar’s death. On top of that the distinguished critic of The Star, Oliver Walker, whom Webster admired for his astute criticism of theatre and music, had also died suddenly on the golf course. When he spoke to Keith in a long distance Christmas call, Keith’s mother-in-law had also died, so with all the deaths, and the strain of having to cook Christmas dinner all by himself, without Hilda in attendance, it was a miserable start to 1966.
They went to the Kenneth McKellar Show. Kenneth McKellar found out that he was in the audience through the “boys” – Maryon Rawicz and Walter Landauer - who were on the same bill. Kenneth told the audience that Webster and Anne were in the audience, and sang Macushla as a tribute to Webster. After the show they went with Rawicz and Landauer and Kenneth McKellar to the Balalaika night club till 3.00 am. The following day Webster had felt much the worse for wear after his late night, so Anne cancelled all the students for that day.
One morning we took the dogs, Lemmy (Lemon) and Silva (Squillie) in the car to Zoo Lake, with Lemmy sitting on my lap on the journey. We had a pleasant walk round the lake with the dogs. Webster said that if any of the bowlers at his club noticed us, they would be asking what he was doing out with a dark haired young woman. It was all so pleasant and companionable.
Anne gave me a farewell gift of a container with little pouches for tissues and make-up, and we parted seemingly as friends.
She said, “You must keep in touch with us, darling. Let us know how you’re getting on.”

On 24 January I went into the studio to say goodbye to Webster He had given me a pretty mother of pearl powder compact as a farewell gift, which I still use today. We recalled our lunch in Dawson’s, and how young and unsophisticated I had been when he took me there, although it was only a few years before.

At last it was time to go. I powdered my face violently with his nice compact and tried hard to be cheerful although I felt as though my heart was going to burst. He kissed me and said in as matter-of-fact voice as possible, ‘Well, darling, all the best.”
I tried to smile, but I couldn’t say a word. Despite my resolve, I wept. He said, “You’ve been such a good girl up till now. Please, darling, don’t cry, for my sake?”
Eventually I pulled myself together and he said, “Good girl. I didn’t think you were going to cry, and I don’t want you to.”
I managed to say, “Anyway, we’ll meet again, won’t we?” and he said, “Of course we will.” And we did.

Jeannie C ©

Extract from Sweethearts of Song: A Personal Memoir of Anne Ziegler & Webster Booth (2006) Available at SWEETHEARTS OF SONG: A PERSONAL MEMOIR OF ANNE ZIEGLER AND WEBSTER BOOTH

ANNE ZIEGLER & WEBSTER BOOTH IN HAROLD FIELDING CONCERTS AND BROADCASTS

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HAROLD FIELDING CONCERTS

Isobel Baillie (soprano)

Albert Sammons (violin)

In the summer of 1941, when most London theatres were closed, Jack Hylton, the popular dance band leader put on a week’s series of orchestral concerts at the London Coliseum, with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Malcolm Sargent. Despite constant bombing raids 20,000 people attended these concerts. Top ranking musicians of the day were soloists with the orchestra, including pianists Eileen Joyce, Moura Lympany, Clifford Curzon, violinist Albert Sammons, violist Lionel Tertis, and singers Isobel Baillie, Eva Turner and Webster Booth himself. Interestingly he sang The Prize Song from The Mastersingers and Lohengrin’s Narration in a Wagner programme. During the First World War German music had been shunned in Britain, but apparently this was not the case in the Second World War. Jack Hylton’s concert manager was the young former child-prodigy violinist, Harold Fielding. Harold Fielding's career as a concert violinist was cut short in his early twenties because he began suffering memory lapses and stage fright. It was at this Wagner concert where Webster met Harold Fielding for the first time.

Maryon Rawicz & Walter Landauer (duo pianists)

Mark Hambourg (pianist)

After this series of concerts ended Harold (aged 25) formed the National Philharmonic Orchestra, with Julian Clifford as conductor. The orchestra toured the country for several years. Although this venture did not make any money Harold was persistent in his endeavors to present good music to the British public. Because of Anne Ziegler and Webster Booth's great popularity at that time, he signed them up as guest artistes with the orchestra, along with pianist Mark Hambourg for a four-week tour of Britain in November and December of 1943. They performed in large concert halls and theatres, such as the Belle Vue, Manchester, The Usher Hall in Edinburgh, and the Alhambra, Glasgow. With Mark Hambourg, Anne and Webster as guest artistes the houses were always full. With this change in format Harold Fielding’s fortunes took a turn for the better. He decided to abandon orchestral concert tours in favour of vocal and instrumental ones. Anne and Webster, the duo pianists, Rawicz and Landauer who had been interned as enemy aliens on the Isle of Man earlier in the war, and violinist Albert Sandler, son of a poor Russian immigrant, often took part in these concert tours.

Albert Sandler (violin)

The following year, on 20 May 1944 Harold Fielding presented a concert at the Royal Albert Hall:

Anne and Webster were booked for another tour by Harold Fielding at the beginning of 1946, but Webster was taken ill during a concert in the Town Hall, Sheffield. Despite losing his voice he journeyed on to Edinburgh where the next concert was to take place, but still had no voice and felt worse than ever. A doctor diagnosed bad ‘flu and ordered him to bed immediately. Rather than stay in bed in an Edinburgh hotel by himself he decided to return to London, while Anne continued with the tour on her own. In their joint autobiography, Duet, Anne mentioned that nobody in Dundee or Glasgow asked for their money back because of Webster’s absence, but a minority of people in Newcastle demanded a refund.

Anne and Webster embarked on another concert tour for Harold Fielding from August to November of 1946, and this time Dublin was included in the concert itinerary. On Sunday, 13th October they sang in a celebrity concert at the Palace Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue in aid of the General Jewish Hospital, Shaarezedek, The Ever-Open Door, Jerusalem, under the patronage of the Lady Louis Mountbatten. This concert had a large number of acts, ranging from Cheerful Charlie Chester, Issy Bonn and Anne Shelton to pianist Harriet Cohen and Anne and Webster. Tickets ranged in price from £3.3s to 5s.

From 10 – 22 June 1946, Harold Fielding presented a series of six festival concerts at the Pavilion, Bournemouth and the Davis Theatre, Croydon. These concerts included conductors Dr Malcolm Sargent, Andre Kostelanetz with the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. Soloists were Webster Booth and Anne Ziegler, Moura Lympany, Richard Tauber and the Russian pianist Poulshnoff.

Richard Tauber

This tour culminated in another concert at the Royal Albert Hall on 1 December. After a short break over Christmas the tour continued in 1947. This was the contract which Webster signed for dates in February 1947. Julius Darewski was their agent at the time:

Webster Booth and Anne Ziegler agree to appear for the management at :

Usher Hall, Edinburgh, Wednesday, February 4 at 7.30pm

Caird Hall, Dundee, Thursday, February 5 at 7.30pm

Kelvingrove Hall, Glasgow, Friday, February 6 evening

City Hall, Newcastle, Saturday, February 7 evening

City Hall, Sheffield, Wednesday February 18 evening

Town Hall, Huddersfield, Wednesday February 25 evening

The Management agrees to pay and the Artists agree to accept a fee for the above engagements of £90.0.0 per concert plus expenses of £120.0.0 for the three Scotch dates and £20.0.0 per concert for the other three dates.

The Artists agree to perform the group of not less than thirty minutes at each concert. Programme items to be mutually agreed with the Management.

It is understood and agreed that the Artists will not appear in these locations before the dates of the concerts herein contracted or in any adjoining town(s) within a radius of ten miles, or allow their names to be advertised for any subsequent appearance(s) in the towns concerned until they have performed the above concerts.

The Artists undertake to provide the services of their accompanist, Charles Forwood, without extra charge.

The Management undertakes to forward a copy of the running order in connection with these concerts for the approval of the Artists. If the Artists wish to request any alteration thereto, they undertake to do so within twenty-four hours after receipt of the said running order.

It is understood and agreed that the Management will provide three first-class tickets from London, or nearest point, to Dundee and return covering the three Scotch dates and Newcastle, together with three first-class tickets from London, or nearest point, to Sheffield and return, and three first-class tickets from London, or nearest point, to Huddersfield and return.

The fees for these engagements will be paid on the Friday following each concert.

Webster Booth (signed)

Apart from radio and variety work, it seemed as though the majority of engagements undertaken by Anne and Webster were for Harold Fielding at that time. They were due to go on an extended tour to New Zealand, Australia and South Africa, but they did a Fielding concert at the Usher Hall, Edinburgh with the South African pianist Lionel Bowman and Australian bass baritone, Peter Dawson, who had returned to Britain from Australia after the war.

They returned from their successful tour on their tenth wedding anniversary, 5 November 1948, and in December they were once again singing for Harold Fielding in Sandown on the Isle of Wight.

In 1950 Anne and Webster appeared at various places in a series of Sunday concerts for Harold Fielding. Towards the end of the year Reginald Tate Bickerstaffe, who had been Harold Fielding’s manager and was fondly known as Bicky, died. The funeral was held at Golders Green. Many artistes who had sung in many of Harold Fielding’s concerts attended the funeral, including Rawicz and Landauer, Anne and Webster, Julius Darewski (Anne and Webster’s agent), BC Hilliam (Flotsam, the surviving partner of the duo, Flotsam and Jetsam), Percy Kahn, a composer who had been accompanist to Richard Tauber who had sadly died of lung cancer early in 1948, soprano Gwen Catley and pianist, Lionel Bowman.

1951 was Festival of Britain year during which time Harold Fielding presented a series of celebrity concerts, called Music for the Millions. These concerts were held all over the country and were broadcast from July to September. On the bill for the first concert from Eastbourne were the Kordites, Max Wall and Anne Ziegler and Webster Booth. By the fifties Harold was extending the artistes he used from musical performers to comedians and variety turns and many of his concerts were broadcast and in 1952 he presented Harold Fielding’s Festival of

British Radio, starring Anne and Webster and others.

Harold Fielding speaks about association

While Anne and Webster still appeared occasionally for Harold Fielding in the fifties, they were no longer constantly working for him. Harold Fielding, in turn, employed many more artists in the fifties than he had done in the forties. Richard Tauber and Albert Sandler had died. Webster was singing in a number of more serious concerts, often with Sir Malcolm Sargent as conductor, and he and Anne went on an extended tour of Vivian Ellis’s musical play And So to Bed with Leslie Henson. They became joint presidents of the Concert Artistes Association in 1953 and remained in this position for several years. Anne returned to playing principal boys in Cinderella at Streatham Hill in 1953 and as Dick Whittington at the King’s Hammersmith in 1954.

Bibliography
Booth, W, Ziegler, A, Duet, Stanley Paul, London, 1951
Collen, J, A Scattered Garland: Gleanings from the Lives of Webster Booth & Anne Ziegler, DUETTIST'S STORE FRONT ON LULU, 2008

Jeannie C

June 2011

ACCOMPANYING FOR WEBSTER AGAIN

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Webster,Jeannie C (1963)

ACCOMPANYING FOR WEBSTER AGAIN

I had played for Webster for two weeks while Anne was away and assumed that I would no longer be needed now that she had returned. Anne and Webster insisted that I keep the spare keys to the studio so that I could work there when they were not teaching. I was preparing for the ATCL singing examination in October and Grade 8 piano the following year, so I found the studio, high above the hustle and bustle of downtown Johannesburg, the ideal place to work and practise. In return I answered queries and took messages on the phone, and answered the door to visitors.

Towards the end of May the Johannesburg Operatic Society (JODS) asked Webster to take over the role of Colonel Fairfax in their production of The Yeomen of the Guard at short notice. This was an incongruously youthful role for someone aged sixty-one, but he acquitted himself as well as always and lifted the production with his dynamic stage presence and undiminished vocal gifts. The show opened to mixed reviews, but all the critics had great praise for Webster. Dora Sowden headed her review in one of the Sunday papers:”Webster towers”. He had certainly taken on a remarkable feat as the juvenile lead at sixty.

Later that week we went to see The Yeomen at the old Reps Theatre in Braamfontein, now named the Alexander Theatre after Muriel Alexander. We were very impressed by Webster's performance as the somewhat elderly Colonel Fairfax, who wins Elsie Maynard and breaks poor Jack Point's heart in the process. Anne told me that Webster would be very hurt if I didn't go backstage to see him afterwards, so I did. He was fighting off the 'flu and did not look well, although from the auditorium nobody would have realised that he was ill.

Webster as Colonel Fairfax in "The Yeomen of the Guard" for JODS (1963)

In June, while Webster was still involved with The Yeomen, Anne told me that their housekeeper, Hilda, who was from the island of St Helena, was planning a trip home for six and a half weeks. They had decided to do alternate days in the studio while she was away. Would I care to accompany for Webster again? I did not have to think twice about agreeing to do so.

After Hilda left on her trip I settled into accompanying for Webster once again. Anne came in on alternate teaching days so occasionally I had a lesson with her. One Monday afternoon Ruth phoned me at the studio to ask whether I would like to have dinner with her family before going to the SABC choir meeting afterwards. Webster gladly agreed to take me to Parkwood instead of Kensington, as it was on his direct route home. We drove past Zoo Lake and he pointed out his bowling club, saying it was the loveliest setting in the world in which to play bowls. He had played golf in

England

, but could not afford to do so in

South Africa

I had a pleasant dinner with the Ormonds, and then Mr Ormond transported us to the meeting in his big black Rover. There was a party after the meeting and Ruth and I chatted to Anton Hartman, the chief orchestral conductor at the SABC. Toward the end of June, we sang in the Light Music Festival where we did a number of unaccompanied American, German and Afrikaans folk songs. The Dutch conductor Jos Cleber conducted the orchestra, with Gert Potgieter and Bob Borowsky as soloists. Ruth was working for matric exams, and I for my singing diploma so we decided to take leave of absence from the choir, with the idea of returning when our respective examinations were behind us.

Webster Booth and me, Johannesburg, 1960s.

One evening after we finished work at the studio Webster took me with him to see one of The Three Petersen Brothers in connection with going into partnership in a new film company. Webster introduced me as: “This is Miss Campbell. She plays for me.” The Petersen brother concerned looked mystified. Webster had to explain to him exactly what it was I played! Although they had a long discussion, nothing came of the film company as far as Webster was concerned.

In July Anne had a very bad cold which lingered on for a long time, and Webster had a funny turn one evening. He lost his vision, and his head was spinning even when he went to lie down. Anne told me that she wanted him to see the Doctor about his general health and his general grumpiness, but he refused to do so. She admitted that he hated teaching everyone apart from his few “pets”. She was very worried about him.

From the way he treated Lucille at her lessons, I gathered that she was one of the “pets”. She was having her twenty-first birthday party and had invited them to her party, but they had another engagement and could not attend.

A few days later Webster told me that Anne’s cold was not any better. He wanted her to see the doctor, but instead she had insisted on going to Leslie Green’s draughty house for dinner. She was not pleased when he told her she would be better off staying in bed and trying to get rid of her cold.

One evening I was washing the dishes in the kitchen before we left the studio for the night, when I overheard him telling Gertie, the last pupil of the day, for whom I had just played the accompaniment of Softly Awakes my Heart from Samson and Delilah, what a wonderful musician I was at only nineteen. Praise indeed.

When Hilda returned from her St Helena holiday, the Booths went to sing at a concert in the country with Desmond Wright, who had conducted The Yeomen, as their accompanist. Webster had said that the only reason he had not asked me to play was that he disliked another woman on the stage, as she would draw the audience’s attention away from Anne.

They made a great fuss of my twentieth birthday at the end of August, with Anne singing Happy Birthday to me, and both of them kissing me to wish me a happy day. There was a present of lipstick and matching nail varnish waiting for me on top of the piano when I went in for my lesson. I was very touched that they had remembered my birthday. Ruth had her lesson after mine, so I waited for her, as we were going out for coffee after her lesson.

Webster said, “Don’t drink too much whisky,” as we left. It was another lovely day.

They had acquired a protégé, a talented boy soprano called Robin Lister, whom they were coaching in preparation for his first LP recording. Robin had an exceptional voice, resembling a mature female soprano rather than the typical Ernest Lough boy soprano. He had been having lessons with a teacher in Benoni, but left her to study with Anne and Webster. Before his voice broke he made several recordings supervised by Anne and Webster. He became very well known and sang at a number of concerts. After his voice broke, he continued his lessons with the Booths, changing from singing to piano. The last I heard was that he became an engineer and immigrated to

Australia

Webster phoned me before he left for Michaelhouse School in Natal to sing Elijah to ask whether I would play at an audition for two of their boy sopranos for Amahl and the Night Visitors the following Saturday. I agreed to do so and wished him well for the Elijah performance. “I know you’ll sing beautifully,” I added, and he replied, “Bless you, dear”.

On Saturday morning the two boys, Denis Andrews and Selwyn Lotzoff, together with their parents and I arrived at Gwen Clark’s sumptuous penthouse at the top of Anstey’s Building, where the audition was to be held. The boys acquitted themselves well and we were given a lovely tea afterwards, but neither was chosen to sing the part of Amahl. Instead they decided to import a boy from

Britain

. Webster said that Ruth could have done the part, if suitably disguised, as her voice was like a boy’s, with absolutely no vibrato.

I went back to the studio after the audition to let Anne know how the boys had fared. She had had a tiring morning teaching by herself, as Webster was at Michaelhouse to sing in a performance of Elijah, conducted by Barry Smith, the musical director at Michaelhouse at the time.

Anne in "The Laughing Lady" (1945)

Anne insisted on making us coffee before she left. She spoke of Jo'burg “high” society, who had gone out of its way to cultivate them when they first arrived in

South Africa

as international stars, but soon dropped them when they realised that they were not rolling in money and were obliged to work for a living.

My diploma was pending and I spent a lot of time practising ear tests at Sylvia Sullivan's studio with Edith Sanders, who was working for a piano diploma. She had perfect pitch, so I admired her sense of pitch and she admired my competent sight-reading, which had improved remarkably since the early days of accompanying for Webster.

My Associate diploma, once again with Guy McGrath as examiner and Anne as accompanist, went well in all departments. After the exam, I went with Anne in her pale blue Anglia to Macey's, a store in the city, where she bought a new carpet sweeper. On the way there she told me that she thought I was going to be another Mabel Fenney. By this time Mabel had passed her final exam at the Höchschule. She was divorced from her first husband, Eric Fenney, and had recently married Maurice Perkin in

England

About a week after the exam Webster phoned me at the studio to ask me to look up something about one of his “great voices” for his programme in my musical dictionary. He had seen the heavy tome and always termed it as my Bible.

I met my mother for lunch in Anstey’s that day and was pleased to hear that I had passed the Associate exam with seventy-seven per cent.

When I went to the studio in the afternoon, Webster answered the door. We had our usual shilling bet on passing or failing the exam.

“I owe you a shilling”, I said, handing it to him.

“What’s this for?” he asked as I went into the kitchen-cum-waiting room.

“I've passed my exam!” I announced as I sat down.

“Congratulations, darling,” he cried, bending down to kiss me.

We told Anne the good news when I went into the studio for my lesson.

“Did you know about it when I phoned you this morning?” Webster asked.

Anne asked sharply, ‘Why did you phone Jean?”

“I wanted her to look up something in her Bible for me,” he replied mildly.

“Whatever for? We have four Bibles at home!” she retorted, regarding us both with suspicion.

“It’s not a Bible really. It’s a music dictionary,” he explained faintly.

She obviously did not believe a word he told her. I felt embarrassed to suddenly be the object of Anne's unfounded suspicions, when we had always got on so well together. The episode put a damper on my exam success.

MABEL PERKIN (FENNEY) NEE GREENWOOD 23 April 1919-6 March 2011

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Mabel Fenney (1960) later Perkin, nee

Greenwood

When I was in my final year at Jeppe Girls’ High School in 1960, the permanent music mistress, Miss Diane Heller, went on long leave, and Mrs Mabel Fenney took her place for a term. Mabel was born Mabel Greenwood on Shakespeare’s birthday in Lytham St Anne’s, Lancashire in 1919. Her mother was a true contralto and had sung in several professional productions. They moved to East London, South Africa when Mabel and her sister were children.

She showed singing talent from an early age and did her initial singing diplomas in East London, trained by a gentleman she referred to as “Pop Lee”, and sang and acted in many local musicals, plays and recitals. She married fellow Lancastrian, Eric Fenney and instead of pursuing a singing career, she helped him run his plumbing business in East London. Her favourite role was as Elsie Maynard in The Yeomen of the Guard.

Mabel Fenney (centre) as Elsie Maynard, Jimmy Nicholas (Jack Point) Joy Huggett (extreme left) as Phoebe.

East London (South Africa) production of Yeomen of the Guard. Thanks to Julian Nicholas for this photograph.

The following year the society put on The Gondoliers and she was less than pleased to play the thankless role of Casilda in that production. She also broadcast for the SABC from their studios in Grahamstown.

She and Eric had stood surety for Anne and Webster’s salaries when the Dramatic Society of East London invited them to appear in the 1958 production of Merrie England, and it was in this production where she first met them, playing their roles of Bessie Throckmorton and Sir Walter Raleigh. She played Jill-all-alone in the production. The following year the society put on Waltz Time, again with Anne and Webster in the leading roles, but, for some reason, she did not take part in this production. Instead she came up to Johannesburg to have lessons with Anne and Webster to prepare for several advanced diploma singing examinations. By the time she arrived at Jeppe she had already won the University of South Africa’s overseas teaching bursary and was due to leave for Berlin to study at the Hochschule there for two years.

We all looked on Mabel as a very glamorous figure in comparison with some of our staid academic teachers. She was lively and enthusiastic and took us on various outings to the opera. Most teachers had written off one of the naughtiest classes in the school as impossible to teach, but Mabel developed a good relationship with the girls in that class. She taught them to sing Brother James' Air, which they performed creditably at the final assembly of the term, giving staff and pupils a pleasant surprise.

Towards the end of her term at Jeppe, Mabel gave a memorable recital in the school hall one afternoon. The event had not been widely publicised, so there were not many people present, but I was there with singing school friends, Margaret Masterton and Valerie Figgins. We were impressed by her performance. The Booths had decided that she was a mezzo soprano rather than soprano, so she had sung a mezzo repertoire for her diploma exams. I will always remember her singing of the Habanera and Seguidilla from Carmen. At the end of one of the arias she threw a rose coquettishly to her schoolgirl audience. We were completely captivated. Someone asked me recently whether I went to study with Anne and Webster because of their duet singing, but it had nothing to do with that at all. It was entirely due to Mabel that I decided me to study singing with Anne and Webster and to make music my career.

The cast of Merrie England (1958) Anne and Webster (centre), Mabel Fenney (extreme left), Pam Emslie (extreme right)

In 1963 I sang my Trinity College Associate diploma, with Guy McGrath as examiner and Anne as my accompanist. It went well. After the exam, I went with Anne in her pale blue Anglia to Macey's, a store in the city, where she bought a new carpet sweeper. On the way there she told me that she thought I was going to be another Mabel Fenney. I felt that she had paid me a great compliment in comparing me to Mabel. By this time Mabel had passed her final exam at the Höchschule, although her Professor had disagreed with the Booths’ assessment of her voice and made her revert to her original soprano.

She met her second husband, Maurice Perkin, originally from Bugbroke, Northamptonshire while she was abroad, and after her divorce from Eric Fenney and remarriage to Maurice, she lived and worked in London for a number of years before returning to South Africa with Maurice. During her time there she sang the role of Susannah in a semi-professional production of The Marriage of Figaro.

I met her again when she was living in Florida (South Africa) in 1976 and we became good friends, visiting each other nearly every week. We also sang duets together at a number of concerts until she and Maurice retired to Uvongo on the South Coast of Natal in the early nineties.

We wrote regularly and I spent a happy holiday with them in Uvongo in the late 1990s. Mabel – or Maimie, as we called her – always said that she had so many interests other than singing and these had prevented her from having the driving ambition to establish herself as a professional singer. She read widely, loved animals, was a keen gardener and an authority on herbs, and took great interest in history. She and Maurice made frequent trips to the Kruger National Park, where she was as interested in the birds they spotted there as in the big five group of animals.

When Anne and Webster returned to the UK and did a series of programmes on the BBC called Only a Rose, they singled her out as one of their most talented and hard-working students.

Yesterday I was saddened to learn of her sudden death on 6 March 2011, just over a month short of her ninety-second birthday. She will be sadly missed, but ever remembered.

Jeannie C ©

24 March 2011

FACEBOOK EVENTS COMMEMORATING ANNE ZIEGLER & WEBSTER BOOTH

2011-01-23T12:58:00.005+02:00

I have made a summary of the two events I have held on Facebook. I am posting it here for those who wish to read it and are not members of Facebook. As I have said elsewhere, because of the poor response to these events, I will not be holding any more, but I am very grateful to those who did respond and made heartfelt comments. If anyone reading this would like to pay their own tribute to Anne and Webster, please do so in the comment section below.

TRIBUTE TO ANNE ZIEGLER ON THE CENTENARY OF HER BIRTH : 22 JUNE 2010

I hope that everyone who remembers Anne Ziegler will post a tribute to her here on the occasion of the hundredth anniversary of her birth, the 22nd June 1910.

LATER! I have come to the conclusion that most of Anne & Webster's fans and friends are no longer alive as there was little response to this event on Facebook or the Yahoo Group. I am grateful to those who did take part, particularly Dudley, Catherine and Ronald. I'll hold the next event in a hundred years!

A copy of a charming painting of Anne's great-greatgrandmother, Mary Fish (born in 1796) from Catherine Connor (Anne's 1st cousin once removed) to commemorate the 100th anniversary.

Dudley E.B. Holmes
We shared 43 years of friendship, and doors were opened for me to Music and Theatre. Her wonderful laugh and sense of humour are an enduring memory.
A life well lived!!
Anne Ziegler and me, in their garden in Knysna while I was there to do a concert. If I remember correctly it was 1969. Of course, I was VERY YOUNG then!

Jean Campbell Collen
Sad to see that only 6 people are taking part in the centenary of the birth of Anne Ziegler. Fame is certainly fleeting.
Jean Campbell Collen
‎22 June 2010 is the hundredth anniversary of the birth of Anne
Ziegler. On that day I hope to upload my hundredth Anne Ziegler-Webster
Booth recording to YouTube. Have you any suggestions for this recording? Look
at the following link to see which recordings have been uploaded
already. The most requested recording will be uploaded on that day. The recording chosen was "Wanting You" : ZIEGLER-BOOTH - WANTING YOU (THE NEW MOON)
Jean Campbell Collen Anne was born Irené Frances Eastwood in Liverpool on 22 June 1910. Her sister, Phyllis, and brother, Cyril, were many years older than her, so Irene was almost an only child. At the time of her birth her father was in Houston, Texas, buying cotton, so he did not see her until she was three months old.

Her father did not want her to risk the might of the Zeppelins, so she had a Scottish nursery governess to teach her reading, writing and basic arithmetic. Later she attended Belvedere School. Her sister, Phyll, had done well there, but Anne was only interested in music and dancing, so the staff compared her unfavourably to her studious elder sister.

When Anne left school, she continued the piano up to Grade VIII of the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music and began to study singing with the eminent teacher, John Tobin.

Grham Plimbley I only managed to see Anne and Webster once, and that was enough to make me a lifetime fan. We will never again see their like, and should do all we can to preserve their
memory. A very happy birthday Anne .

Ronald Walter Kane I am definitely on the list. You do not get to their status in the profession without hard work,but mainly God given natural talent. Happy memories seeing them at the London Palladiium and other Theatres .Keep the thoughts going Jean

Anniversary of birth of Webster Booth, born 21 January 1902.
Pay your tribute to Webster Booth on the 109th anniversary of his birth, or simply look at the page to see what others have written.

Michelle Dudson
Thank you Jean for your devotion to keep the memories alive xx
John Rogers
My mother and grandmother were great fans of Anne & Webster and we often listened together to their records on the wireless. Thanks for reviving the memories.
Colleen Vermeulen
Well, we grew up with the music of Webster Booth and really feel he gave us a lot of joy.
Jean Campbell Collen
Thanks to everyone who took part in today's event. I appreciate the beautiful and heartfelt comments made on the site in tribute to one of Britain's finest tenors on the anniversary of his birth.
Ronald Walter Kane
Jean.Having had the pleasure of seeing them in London in the forties, both at the London Palladium,and separately in musicals. As an Epitaph for our much missed Artistes, may I use the the words of the entertainer Bruce Forsyth "Didnt They Do Well " Much missed RIP Thank you Jean
Charles Jenkins
I am remembering Webster Booth today with great fondness. He and Anne Zigler are very much a part of my 'informative years'. I shall be spending this evening with a few friends and will be playing them some of their recordings. During our celebration, we shall raise our glasses in a toast of thanks to them both for the glorious music that we mercifully have to remind us of them. Many thanks Jean for organizing this event and for the opportunity to share our thoughts, thanks and pleasure with others also appreciative of them both. Charles.
Jean Campbell Collen Thank you, Charles for your lovely comment. I am so glad that some people have looked at the event and made comments. I am happy that Webster is remembered on the anniversary of his birth. Not only was he a great singer, but a very special person.
Emma Dean

Just thought I'd pop in to say I was here. Great job Jean!
Peter Wallace
This is a fine way of remembering a wonderful singer and star whose recordings will always be a testament to his great talent. Although he has been out of the spotlight for decades, his memory lives on.
Elias Lien
I will spend the day listening to many of the wonderful songs and arias Jean has made available to the world of the great artistry of Webster Booth. I first heard him on the Dutton Handel cd and was blown away by the man! The freshness of voice -- the freedom with which he sang has yet to be equalled by anyone I have heard. What a fine musician! I envy the opportunities you had, Jean, to know the man personally! Thank you again for sharing the gift of Booth to so many!
Jean Campbell Collen Thank you for your beautiful tribute to Webster Booth, Elias. Even though few people responded to this event, it was worthwhile creating it to read your comment here.
Yuko Iiyama
Dear Jean,
Your contribution to this event has been highly appreciated among the attendance. Through this event, I have learnt that you are an excellent writer and organizer. How come this will be the last event? Could you keep doing this kind of event?
Jean Campbell Collen Hello Yuko, Thank you for your message. This event celebrates the life of famous tenor, Webster Booth, my singing teacher and friend. I was lucky enough to be his studio accompanist when I was still in my teens. It is the last event as very few people have responded to it.
Charles Jenkins
Many thanks Jean for organizing 'the event' - it is much appreciated by those that admired AZ & WB and by those wishing to remember WB on his birthday. And thank you for producing this site. I think that the addition of the pieces on the theatres where the couple appeared is a great addition to the site. I am only too pleased to help in any way that I can. I hope that your subscribers find the pieces interesting too. Charles.
John Marwood
I've put a note on my Facebook page to mark the day - and hope at least one of my friends might listen to the songs.
I wonder what my Thai students will make of 'The Lost Chord' and/or 'We'll gather Lilacs'!
I've downloaded some songs [from Jean's Skydrive] to listen to during the day. I will, of course, listen to my favourite, 'The Lost Chord'; and also one of my favourite duets, 'Deep In My Heart, Dear' (From 'The Student Prince').
A big 'thank you' to Jean for all the rare recordings - and for keeping so many good songs, recordings and memories alive.
Jean Campbell Collen The rare recordings mentioned are available to all members of the Webster Booth-Anne Ziegler Yahoo Group. You can find out more about this group at: /BOOTH ZIEGLER YAHOO GROUP
Jean Campbell Collen
There is a possibility that "Wonderful Moment" in the NBC broadcast featured below comes from "The Puritan Lullaby" by James Dyrenforth and Kenneth Leslie Smith. Webster sang in a broadcast of this operetta in 1934. "Always" was the favourite song from this work.
Just in time for the WB event on Friday, someone on You Tube posted this rare broadcast from 1935. Thanks to Elias Lien for pointing it out to the WB-AZ Yahoo Group. I'd like to know more about "Wonderful Moment". It's the first time I've heard this song.
WEBSTER BOOTH SINGS - WONDERFUL MOMENT - LIVE 1935 -SHORTWAVE.wmv
Anne Cook
I shall be away from home on the day, and won't have access to a computer, but I would certainly like to pay my tribute in advance to a very fine singer.
Pearl Harris
Hi Jean, I am attending -- albeit very briefly --and hope to find time one day to listen to your wonderful collection of recordings - and to read more.
Ronald Walter Kane
Thanks for keeping the memory of Webster & Anne alive. I had the pleasure of seeing them many times together and individually in London Theatres going back to the 40s.As long as we have a means of listening to them they will not be forgotten.
Charles Jenkins
Thank you for the invitation to celebrate the birth of Webster Booth. I hope to attend.
Charles.
Carol Lewis Thank you for the invitation, which I accept x
17 January at 00:43 •
Anne and Webster at their home in Penrhyn Bay, Llandudno (circa 1980)

Jeannie C 23 January 2011

LONDON THEATRES WHERE ANNE ZIEGLER & WEBSTER BOOTH APPEARED (PART 2)

2011-01-09T20:32:00.006+02:00

Thanks to Charles S.P. Jenkins for compiling the articles about the theatres. I have written about Anne Ziegler and Webster Booth's appearances in italics. Thanks also to Charles for his theatre photographs and collages.

NEW THEATRE – ALBERY – NOEL COWARD

Maggie Teyte, star of By Appointment

I couldn't find a song from By Appointment, but here is a lovely song by Reynaldo Hahn:

MAGGIE TEYTE: SI MES VERS AVAIENT DES AILES

The New Theatre was built by Sir Charles Wyndham on a vacant site behind his Wyndham’s Theatre facing St. Martin’s Lane. The theatre was designed by W.G.R. Sprague and opened in 1903. It has a seating capacity of 877 seats with two circles and a balcony. The theatre’s façade is in the Classical style and leads into a spacious entrance. The interior is in the Rococo style with white and gold décor.

The first production in March 1903 was a revival of Rosemary starring Charles Wyndham and Mary Moore, the then-wife of James Albery. This was followed by a number of productions starring many of the great acting talents of the day including Mrs. Patrick Campbell, Cyril Maude, Fred Terry (younger brother of Ellen Terry) and Julia Neilson. In 1915, Peter Pan was presented at the theatre at Christmas and was to continue at the theatre for four more Christmas seasons. Fay Compton played Peter Pan in the 1917 production. Between 1915 and 1920, plays written by J.M. Barrie, A.A. Milne and Somerset Maugham were produced at the theatre. In 1924, Sybil Thorndike appeared to much acclaim in the title role of Shaw’s St. Joan, which ran for 244 performances.

Sir John Gielgud appeared at the New Theatre on a number of occasions, the first in 1925. when he took over from Noel Coward in The Constant Nymph at the age of twenty-one.

Anne Ziegler in the nineteen-thirties

Anne Ziegler made her West End debut at the New Theatre on October 12^th 1934 in an operetta set in the regency period, entitled By Appointment, with libretto by Frederick Jackson, lyrics by Arthur Stanley and music by Kennedy Russell. The stars were Frederick Ranelow, Maggie Teyte and Charles Mayhew. Anne sang the top line in the female octet.

Despite well-known singers in the cast, and charming music by Kennedy Russell, the Times critic did not view it very favourably. He said, “Nothing very much happens, but when it has gone on not happening for some time, someone is sure to sing a song (with or without chorus) or find partner for a duet…”

He did mention that the octet in the song, Ah Me! I Can’t Remember adds a spice of naughtiness to the play, but generally the entertainment was dull. The show closed after three weeks.

In 1941, following the bombing of the Old Vic and Sadler’s Wells, the companies from these theatres presented a number of their productions at the New Theatre.

The name of the theatre was changed in 1973 to the Albery in memory of Sir Bronson Albery who was the theatre’s manager for a number of years.

In the 1950s, a number of notable actresses appeared here, including Katharine Hepburn in Shaw’s The Millionairess, Dorothy Tutin in I Am A Camera and Leslie Caron in Gigi. In 1960, Oliver, by Lionel Bart, opened at the theatre and ran until 1967 giving 2,618 performances and became the theatre’s biggest box office success.

During the 1970’s, the theatre was home to productions of the National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company, and in 1974, Ingrid Bergman appeared in Somerset Maugham’s The Constant Wife. In the 1980’s, a number of successful Broadway plays were presented, including Children of a Lesser God and Torch Song Trilogy. In the early 1990’s, the musical revue, Five Guys Named Mo, which showcased the music of Louis Jordan, transferred here from the Theatre Royal Stratford.

In 2005, the new owners, Delfont-Mackintosh limited changed the name of the theatre to the Noel Coward Theatre after major renovations. Noel Coward, playwright and actor, had appeared at the theatre in 1920 in the first West End production of one of his own plays, I’ll Leave It To You. This play had been only slightly more successful than By Appointment and closed after five weeks. His famous play, Private Lives, with Lindsay Duncan and Alan Rickman was successfully revived at the theatre in 2005.

THE LONDON PALLADIUM

Theatre Photos: Charles S.P. Jenkins

The London Palladium, designed by Frank Matcham, is the second largest theatre in London, and opened on 26th December, 1910. The exterior is built in Baroque style and resembles a temple with six giant Corinthian columns with statues at the centre and on each side of the roof. The auditorium is richly decorated in gold and red with two cantilevered balconies and a total seating capacity for 2,300 spectators. At one time, each box had a private telephone so that patrons could converse during the show.

The theatre was specifically built for the presentation of Variety, which included farce, ballet, opera, melodrama, song and comedy. Two shows were presented each evening together with two matinee performances during the week. The most successful Music Hall entertainers of the day appeared at the London Palladium during its early years.

In 1928, George Black became the theatre manager and achieved great success with his presentations. His opening bill included Gracie Fields, The Lancashire Lass, making her first appearance at the theatre. In 1930, the first annual Royal Variety Show in aid of the Entertainment Artists’ Benevolent Fund took place at the theatre and has been the venue most often used for further shows over the years. An annual presentation of Peter Pan was produced here until 1938 with Anna Neagle and Elsa Lanchester amongst those playing the title role. At the height of Variety’s popularity, artistes who had played the London Palladium, were considered to have made it! The theatre soon gained a reputation for presenting the most popular and prestigious British and international entertainers and was home to the antics of The Crazy Gang between 1932 and 1938.

Anne Ziegler and Webster Booth in "Gangway" (1941)

While Anne Ziegler and Webster Booth appeared together frequently at the London Palladium in the first half of the nineteen-forties, Webster had first sung in the theatre as early as November 1932 when a musical matinee had been held in aid of the League of Mercy and the Royal Free Hospital. Webster was made a life governor of the Royal Free Hospital, Hampstead at an early age. Appearing at the same performance were Harry Hudson’s Melody Men, Louisa Londa, Adela Verne, Desiree Elinger, Esme Beringer, Thorpe Bates, Bratza, the Gresham Singers, Edward Slaughter, Cyril Clency, and Flanagan and Allen (two members of the Crazy Gang). Apart from Harry Hudson, Thorpe Bates, and Flanagan and Allen, I fear the other performers who appeared at this concert are forgotten today.

Anne and Webster joined the Variety Circuit in 1940 and were, almost immediately, invited by George Black to take part in a Gala Performance at the Palladium on 5 May 1940. This performance took the place of the usual Royal Command Performance because of the War and was in aid of the Variety Artistes Benevolent Fund, whose president was George Black himself.

In December of 1941 Anne and Webster were back at the Palladium as stars in George Black’s musical smile, Gangway. Apart from Anne and Webster other leading stars of the show included Bebe Daniels and Ben Lyon, Tommy Trinder, and xylophonist, Teddy Brown. Welsh composer, Harry Parr Davies wrote the duet, My Paradise for the Booths and they also sang a musical arrangement of Chopin’s étude, entitled So deep as the night. Debroy Somers conducted the orchestra.

MY PARADISE: HARRY PARR DAVIES

In 1942 Anne and Webster sang at another charity variety show at the Palladium for the Variety Artistes Benevolent Fund, this time in aid of Brinsworth, the old age home for retired variety artistes. Other artistes at this concert included Gracie Fields, Arthur Askey, Flanagan and Allen, Vic Oliver, Stanley Holloway, Teddy Brown, Florence Desmond, Jack Warner, Bebe and Ben Lyon, Rawicz and Landauer, the Condos Brothers, Maurice Colleano, Max Miller and Frances Day.

Boxing Day of 1943 saw Anne and Webster back in the London Palladium in a fortnight variety bill, which included Max Miller, Ivy Benson and her Ladies’ Band, Rawicz and Landauer, Cairoli Brothers, Jimmy James, and Charles Warren. George Black billed this entertainment as Variety at its Best.

As long as George Black was the manager of the Palladium, Anne and Webster were often on the bill, as they were again in May 1944, with many of the same artistes who had appeared in 1943. But early in 1945, George Black died and was succeeded by the more robust Val Parnell. The war ended in 1945 and, with the return of the forces, big changes were about to take place in British theatres. Although Anne and Webster continued singing in many variety concerts until they left for South Africa in 1956, they did not sing at the Palladium again.

From 1948 the London Palladium began to present top-line American artists such as Danny Kaye, Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Carmen Miranda, Judy Garland and many others.

During the nineteen-fifties television became a popular medium of entertainment, and, with the advent of a second commercial TV channel, the theatre became home to the weekly variety programme, Sunday Night at the London Palladium. It was produced by Associated Television (ATV) for the Independent Television (ITV) channel and ran from 1955 until 1967. Tommy Trinder was the original Master of Ceremonies, followed by Bruce Forsyth, Don Arrol, Norman Vaughn, and Jimmy Tarbuck along with a number of guest compères. At the end of each show, all performers stood on the revolving stage to take their final applause, although The Rolling Stones declined to do this.

Although Variety survived at the London Palladium for some time after it was considered to have died elsewhere, eventually musicals became the staple fare of the theatre. The King and I, with Yul Brynner and Virginia McKenna, was presented in 1979, later followed by Barnum with Michael Crawford, and La Cage , aux Folles, Oliver and Chitty, Chitty Bang Bang and Singin’ in the Rain

In 2000, ownership of the London Palladium passed to Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Really Useful Group. This company has continued to produce lavish musical productions at the theatre, with some going on to tour the world and transfer to Broadway.

SAVOY THEATRE, STRAND

Original facade of Savoy Theatre (1881)

The Savoy Theatre was built by Richard D’Oyly Carte as a venue for the presentation of the Gilbert and Sullivan operas by his D’Oyly Carte Opera Company. These operas had previously been presented at the Opera Comique. The Savoy opened on 10 October 1881 and the design and décor of the theatre received unqualified praise by audiences and press alike. It was the first public building in the world to be lit entirely by electricity using 1,200 Swan Incandescent Lamps. D’Oyly Carte introduced numbered seating, free programmes, a no-tipping policy for cloakrooms, as well as a queuing system for the pit and gallery. At first the main entrance was on the Embankment, but once D’Oyly Carte built the adjoining Savoy Hotel in 1889, this entrance was moved to the courtyard of the hotel.

The Sorcerer, H.M.S Pinafore, Pirates of Penzance and Patience had been presented at the Opera Comique. Patience transferred from that theatre to the Savoy and the final eight Gilbert and Sullivan operas were presented at the Savoy.

Webster Booth, as Leslie W. Booth, made his professional stage debut with the D’Oyly Carte Company on 9 September 1923 as a yeoman in The Yeomen of the Guard. Despite his outstanding voice he did no more than sing in the chorus, occasionally perform small parts, and understudy leading tenor roles. After 4 years he concluded that there was no future with the company and that he would wait forever to fill “dead men’s shoes”. He had the opportunity to work with Malcolm Sargent when he became musical director of the company in 1926. As Webster’s more serious singing career advanced, he became Sargent’s favourite tenor soloist in oratorio. Most of his career with D’Oyly Carte was spent touring with the company and the 1924 London season was presented at the Prince’s Theatre rather than the Savoy.

WEBSTER BOOTH: A WAND'RING MINSTREL (MIKADO)

In June 1929, Rupert, son of Richard D’Oyly Carte, closed the Savoy and rebuilt the interior following the design of Frank A. Tugwell, and the elaborate art deco décor of Basil Ionides. The Savoy reopened on 21 October, 1929, with a new production of The Gondoliers with Sir Malcolm Sargent as conductor.

Webster Booth and Jacqueline Francell in "A Kingdom for a Cow" (1935)

In 1935 Webster was selected to play the role of Juan in Kurt Weill’s A Kingdom for a Cow at the Savoy. The cast included the French star, Jacqueline Francell, Bobbie Comber and George Gee; the conductor was Muir Mathieson. The show opened at the theatre in June of 1935 and received good reviews by the critics, but the public did not appreciate the rather serious political satire and the show closed after three weeks. The Times critic said, “Mr Webster Booth, the Juan, was easily the best singer of the company.”

The D’Oyly Carte Opera Company appeared at the theatre in many revival seasons and the Gilbert and Sullivan operas are known as the Savoy Operas because of their close connection with the theatre built by Richard D’Oyly Carte, whose descendants, Rupert D’Oyly Carte and Bridget D’Oyly Carte directed the original company until its closure in. A special performance of Trial by Jury was given to mark the centenary of its first performance on 25 March 1975. Because of mounting costs, the company closed in 1982, and Bridget D’Oyly Carte, who was childless, died in 1985, bringing to an end the D’Oyly Carte family’s association with Gilbert and Sullivan.

Over the years, a variety of musicals, operettas and plays have been presented at the Savoy including Noel Coward’s Blithe Spirit, Kaufman & Hart’s The Man Who Came to Dinner with Robert Morley, Agatha Christie’s The Spider’s Web with Margaret Lockwood, and Lloyd George Knew My Father by William Douglas Home, starring Ralph Richardson and Peggy Ashcroft. (My husband and I saw the last play in 1972. I was suffering from a heavy bout of ‘flu and had to stifle a constant tickle in my throat during the whole performance!)

In February 1990, during renovations to the theatre, the auditorium was destroyed by fire. Only the stage and backstage remained intact. After extensive renovations the theatre reopened on 19 July 1993 with a Royal Gala performance by the English National Ballet before Diana, Princess of Wales. In 2004, the Savoy Hotel group, which included the theatre was sold to Quinlan Private, which was sold in turn in 2005 to the Ambassador Theatre Group.

WEBSTER BOOTH - MEMORIAL SERVICE AT ST PAUL'S COVENT GARDEN - OCTOBER 1984

2010-11-27T21:45:00.002+02:00

MEMORIAL SERVICE AT ST PAUL'S COVENT GARDEN - OCTOBER 1984.

A memorial service was held at St Paul's Covent Garden for Webster Booth in October 1984. Before the service his ashes were buried in the grounds and a memorial plaque erected in commemoration to him. In 1991 Pamela Davies, who collaborated with me in writing one of the books on Anne Ziegler and Webster Booth, visited the churchyard and found Webster's memorial plaque under a hawthorn tree. The plaque was made of brass and in the seven years since it had been erected it was blackened, although she could still read the plain inscription:

LESLIE

WEBSTER BOOTH

1902-1984

Pamela returned to the churchyard in 2005 only to find that the hawthorn tree had been cut down and Webster's plaque could no longer be seen. She wrote to make enquiries as to what had happened to the plaque. I quote from our book, Do You Remember Anne Ziegler and Webster Booth?

"The administrator, in the rector's absence, kindly instituted another search, equally fruitless. He suggested it could be hidden under a large plant or simply have disintegrated in the adverse weather, as had happened to the plaque to the actor Michael Williams, which had been in place only four years.

"In my letter I had enquired also about the possibility of a plaque to Webster Booth's wife, the singer Anne Ziegler, but I was informed that no more plaques are being accepted. The only answer would be an inscribed garden bench, or obtaining permission for a name in a memorial book in the church...."

It seems a shame that this plaque, which marked the burial place of his ashes, and was erected in memory of a great British tenor who was also dearly beloved by his family, friends and fans, should have vanished without trace.

Apparently no record is kept of those whose memorial services are held at the church.

If these plaques disintegrate and disappear within such a short time, valuable pieces of theatrical history are lost to future generations.

Jeannie C (copyright)

November 2010

ANNE ZIEGLER & WEBSTER BOOTH AT THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL

2010-09-17T20:31:00.008+02:00

ROYAL ALBERT HALL, SOUTH KENSINGTON

The Royal Albert Hall was opened by Queen Victoria in 1871, and dedicated to her late husband, Prince Albert. The Hall is opposite the Albert Memorial in Kensington Gardens. It is in the shape of a huge amphitheatre, with audience seating from floor to the roof. The central section of the hall in front of the stage can accommodate a number of people standing. Although the BBC concerts are termed Promenade concerts, there is not much space for people to promenade in this central space. The hall seats (and stands) over five thousand people, and some singers find singing in the hall rather challenging.

It was designed by Captain Francis Fowke and Major-General Henry Y.D. Scott of the Royal Engineers and built by Lucas Brothers and boasts a grand organ, originally built by the great organ builder, Father Henry Willis, although it has been rebuilt several times, most recently by Mander organs. It is the second largest pipe organ in the British Isles.

Webster Booth sang in many serious performances at the Albert Hall, including several BBC Promenade Concerts, and in a number of concerts of Coleridge-Taylor’s Hiawatha. He sang his first Good Friday Messiah there on 10 April 1936 with the Royal Choral Society under the direction of Malcolm Sargent.

COMFORT YE/EV'RY VALLEY - HANDEL

From 7 – 19 June 1937 a huge production in full costume of Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast was presented there, also conducted by Malcolm Sargent, with the Royal Choral Society, a chorus of 800 and ballet of 200. The leading singers of the day took part in this production, with Webster singing the role of the Monk on 7 and 10 June, and Chihiabos on 18 June.

ONAWAY, AWAKE, BELOVED - COLERIDGE-TAYLOR

Webster Booth in Hiawatha's Wedding Feast.

Jubilee Programme of Hiawatha in 1950

But it was not only as a serious singer that Webster sang at the Albert Hall. He and Anne Ziegler appeared in many lighter concerts there also. In May 1944 they had sung at the Palladium in variety, but on 20 May 1944 Harold Fielding presented them in a concert at the Royal Albert Hall, along with Albert Sandler (violin) and Rawicz and Landauer (duo on two pianos). Ticket prices for this concert ranged from 3/6 to 12/-. I am afraid I do not like many classical cross-over performers today, and, although all the performers at this concert were good musicians, I suppose they could all be described as cross-over performers of the nineteen-forties!

LOVE'S GARDEN OF ROSES: HAYDN WOOD

Webster’s last performance at the Albert Hall was on 13 August 1955 when he sang in a performance of Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast, and also sang the song cycle by Roger Quilter (arranged by Sir Malcolm Sargent) To Julia.

Jeannie C

March 2011 ©

BRANCHING OUT

2010-09-17T20:09:00.010+02:00

BRANCHING OUT

Anne and Webster asked me to accompany for some of their students at the eisteddfod, which was held during the Easter holidays. In previous years a few of the more flamboyant singing teachers had made a great show of accompanying their students so that attention was often focused on the mannered accompanist rather than the timid contestant. There was also a concern that the adjudicator might be a personal friend of the teacher and therefore favour the students of Madame X rather than Madame Y. In those days there were still several teachers who styled themselves “Madame” this or that!

In 1964 therefore, accompanists were hidden behind a black curtain so that nobody in the audience would be distracted by their idiosyncratic behaviour at the keyboard, and adjudicators would be unable to recognise their dear friend, Madame X, and feel obliged to mark her students up accordingly.

As an anonymous accompanist I played for Selwyn Lotzof, Heather Cox, Margaret Britt, Yvonne Marais and Reeka, whose surname I do not remember, but I may have played for others whose names and faces I have forgotten after forty years.

One student - who shall remain nameless here - was a very attractive young blonde with a beautiful unforced soprano voice. Unfortunately her musical ability did not match her God-given instrument, and she was inclined to make unforeseen musical errors. To my horror she made such an error at the eisteddfod and I had to use all my wits to cover up her mistake as best I could. From behind the curtain I caught her giving me a sour and disapproving glance, as though it had all been my fault that she had skipped out a chunk of the song. I was grateful to be hidden behind the curtain and, needless to say, she did not win that competition!

Webster had presented a programme on the English Service called Great Voices from the beginning of 1963. The broadcasting critic of The Star, Jon Sylvester, criticised the programme, not for the first time, as follows:

“It is not often that I repeat a criticism of a programme. This week, however, in response to a number of complaints, I must again refer to the habit of the once popular tenor Webster Booth in regularly playing one of his own recordings in a programme entitled Great Voices.

If this programme (Saturday, 7.30 pm English) had been entitled Singers of Yesterday this practice would not be so bad.

I was in a room full of people last Saturday evening when his programme was broadcast and everyone was embarrassed when the Booth record was played – a rather indifferent recording of an operatic quartet.

There must be numbers of superior recordings of this famous quartet.”

I was very cross to read this piece and wrote a letter of complaint to the paper, and part of my reply was included in his column the following week:

“WEBSTER BOOTH PRAISED

A Johannesburg reader, who wishes to be known as Pooh Bah, disagrees with my comments on Webster Booth.

‘“I, for one, appreciate hearing Mr Booth’s own beautiful recordings on the air, and I also enjoy hearing this famous singer’s reminiscences of his professional life in Britain.”’

These things are of course a matter of personal opinion, but I know my opinion is shared by many.”

People expected to hear Webster play his own recordings on the radio. A few days after my reply was published I met Webster outside the studio.

“You were Pooh Bah, weren’t you?” he asked.

“How did you know?”

“There isn’t another person in Johannesburg who would take the trouble to stand up for me like that,” he replied.

Shortly after this Webster and Anne went on a tour with the SABC orchestra, and then Anne went to the Cape to assist Margaret Inglis with the production of Tonight at 8.30 by Noel Coward. Anne was to appear in Family Album, one of the one-act plays making up Tonight at 8.30, opposite Michael Drinn. During rehearsals Michael Drinn realised that he was not up to the singing role, so at the last minute, Webster was asked to take over the part of Jasper.

While Anne was in the Cape working with Margaret Inglis, I played for Webster in the studio. When we had free time I cued him for his part in Family Album and we worked through the musical score together. What appeared difficult to Michael Drinn was very easy for Webster. We were highly amused with the lines of one of Jasper’s songs, “only married two short years and three fat sons already”.

While Anne and Webster were touring the Cape with the play, my old school friend, Margaret Masterton (who studied singing with Sylvia Sullivan) and I auditioned for JODS’ production of The Merry Widow, which was to be produced by Anthony Farmer at the Civic Theatre, with the charming English actress Olga Gwynne as the Widow and American Robert Rounseville as Danillo. Myrna Leach and the late Robin Gordon, also students of the Booths, were in the cast from the beginning, while Dudley Holmes joined the production several weeks after rehearsals started.

Dudley came up to the studio each week to practise his songs to my accompaniment and he usually brought the letters Anne had sent to him. Although I had received several letters from Webster, mainly about the teaching arrangements for his return, I felt rather hurt that Anne had not written to me. I mentioned this grievance in passing to other members of the cast.

I received the results of my LTCL paperwork while Anne and Webster were away. I had passed! Webster wrote me a letter of congratulations from their Port Elizabeth hotel, addressing the envelope with my name followed by all the letters I was now entitled to put after it.

Webster had once pointed out that passing a musical diploma did not automatically turn the holder into a performer. He, who was a supreme singer, musician and performer, had no formal professional musical qualifications at all. I was conscientious and keen, but at best would only be an average performer, despite all the academic qualifications in the world.

Ironically Anne and Webster were refused membership of the South African Society of Music Teachers. The rules of the society stipulated that prospective members should either have a musical qualification or a number of years’ teaching experience. At the time of their application they were excluded because they had neither musical diplomas nor teaching experience! Someone in that organisation should have had the foresight to bend the rules. The society would have benefited from their experience of performing in every kind of musical entertainment at a very high level. Surely the most important reason for studying music is to develop performance skills to the highest possible standard.

After Anne and Webster returned from the tour I sensed that Anne’s attitude towards me had changed. She was perfectly polite to me but she no longer treated me as a friend and confidante. A year later Webster told me that one of their students who appeared in The Merry Widow had passed on a distorted version of my thoughtless remark about her not writing to me.

Ziegler-Booth: MERRY WIDOW WALTZ (LEHAR)

In November Anne and Webster were at the opening night of The Merry Widow and came backstage afterwards to speak to the “four babies”. The following day they left on holiday. While they were away I heard that I had been accepted by the Performing Arts Council of the Transvaal to appear in Verdi's Nabucco the following year. Dudley was also accepted, so we went with Martin Croesser and the late Natie Weinstein, with whom we had become friendly in The Widow, to sign our contracts at the PACT Headquarters at the Queen’s Hall, Johannesburg.

That Christmas, I was surprised and delighted when Anne presented me with an ornate necklace with green and amber stones, while Webster gave me a grey Sheaffer pen with a gold nib and a gold-embossed cover.

Jeannie C

2011 (copyright)

Extract from my book "Sweethearts of Song: A Personal Memoir of Anne Ziegler & Webster Booth" Read more about my book at LULU.

WEBSTER BOOTH'S ASSOCIATION WITH THE QUEEN'S HALL

2010-09-16T20:22:00.001+02:00

QUEENS HALL, LANGHAM PLACE

The Queen’s Hall had seventeen entrances in Langham Place, Riding House Street and Great Portland Street and originally seated 3000 people, although, after alterations in 1919, housed only 2,400. It was considered to have excellent acoustics. There was also the Queen’s Small Hall, seating 500 people. This hall opened in November 1893.

While Webster Booth always considered this hall to be his favourite as a singer, he was associated with it as early as 1935 when the unusual film written and composed by Friedrich Feher in which he appeared as a troubadour, was first shown in the Queen’s Hall. The film was called The Robber Symphony. Not only was Webster required to pull a piano through the snow in the Alps during the making of this film, but he also sang several songs written by Mr Feher, one in creditable Italian.

ROMANCE from THE ROBBER SYMPHONY (FRIEDRICH FEHER)

Webster Booth in The Robber Symphony.

Webster sang many oratorio performances in the Queen’s Hall, including a Messiah, conducted by Sir Thomas Beecham on 17 December 1938. It was at this performance that Australian, Joan Hammond sang the soprano solos in one of her first engagements in England. At that time Joan Hammond had a beautiful lyrical soprano voice, but after further training Webster was surprised to discover that her voice had become very much heavier when he recorded the duet from Madame Butterfly with her in 1943. In order to balance the duet, Miss Hammond had to stand quite a distance behind Webster during the recording, conducted by the (then) Dr Malcolm Sargent.

DUET FROM MADAME BUTTERFLY: JOAN HAMMOND, WEBSTER BOOTH

By the time this recording was made, the Queen’s Hall had been destroyed by an incendiary bomb. On the afternoon of 10 May 1941 Webster had sung the part of the Soul in Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius at the Queen’s Hall. The other soloists were contralto, Muriel Brunskill (the Angel) and baritone, Ronald Stear (The Priest and Angel of Agony). The soloists, the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the Royal Choral Society were conducted by Malcolm Sargent.

Interior of Queen's Hall

I have always regretted that no recording was ever made of Webster singing Gerontius, as he was notable in this role. When he immigrated to South Africa he sang in the first South African performance of The Dream of Gerontius in 1957, conducted by a very young Keith Jewell, who became the Cape Town City Organist. Keith Jewell accompanied Anne and Webster in (what was meant to be) their farewell concert in Somerset West, Cape Province in 1975..

The day in 1941 had been pleasant and sunny, but only a few hours after this performance of The Dream of Gerontius, the Queen’s Hall was destroyed by a German incendiary bomb. Webster Booth always considered the hall to be the finest concert hall in the world for a singer. The Promenade Concerts had been held there, but after the destruction of this beautiful hall they transferred to the Royal Albert Hall. Webster Booth said in his joint autobiography with Anne Ziegler, Duet (1951), that many singers were terrified to sing in the Albert Hall after the warm acoustic of the Queen’s Hall, but although he adored the Albert Hall, the Queen’s Hall would always remain his favourite London Concert Hall.

Jeannie C

March 2011 ©

THE SONG IS ENDED & OTHER STORIES

2010-08-14T17:55:00.001+02:00

Price: £9.00
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Although this collection of fifteen short stories is fictional, it reflects my wide experience of life, as I have always been told to “write about what you know”. Thus there are stories about singers and accompanists, teachers and pupils, and older people trying to adjust to inevitable changes in their lives. Settings are South African or British, and stories take place onboard ship, in schools, homes, studios or theatres. Several stories are loosely based on particular incidents in my life, but are still fiction rather than fact, such as “Dux Scholar”, “Wise Words in the Chippy”, “Michelle”, “By Appointment”, and “The Song is Ended”.

REVIEW

By mjpotenza
Any fan of short stories will enjoy this selection of entertaining tales by Jean Collen. The author presents women's viewpoints, emotions, and experiences accurately and uniquely. The women characters are interesting, complex, and sympathetic (the men are mostly cads). One wonders how much is autobiographical. The writing is descriptive and precise. The style flows nicely, making for easy and pleasant reading. "The Wedding Singer", "Miss Stratton Disappears", and "The Sunset Gleams", to name a few, all have the right combination of humour and sadness. In short, these well written stories are very enjoyable.

THE SONG IS ENDED & OTHER STORIES by JEAN COLLEN

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ANNE ZIEGLER-WEBSTER BOOTH

Places associated with Webster Booth and Anne Ziegler (1890-1956)

Places associated with Webster Booth and Anne Ziegler (1956-2003)

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TOUR OF NEW ZEALAND & AUSTRALIA (1948)

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ANNE ZIEGLER & WEBSTER BOOTH IN HAROLD FIELDING CONCERTS AND BROADCASTS

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ACCOMPANYING FOR WEBSTER AGAIN

MABEL PERKIN (FENNEY) NEE GREENWOOD 23 April 1919-6 March 2011

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FACEBOOK EVENTS COMMEMORATING ANNE ZIEGLER & WEBSTER BOOTH

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LONDON THEATRES WHERE ANNE ZIEGLER & WEBSTER BOOTH APPEARED (PART 2)

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WEBSTER BOOTH - MEMORIAL SERVICE AT ST PAUL'S COVENT GARDEN - OCTOBER 1984

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ANNE ZIEGLER & WEBSTER BOOTH AT THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL

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BRANCHING OUT

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WEBSTER BOOTH'S ASSOCIATION WITH THE QUEEN'S HALL

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THE SONG IS ENDED & OTHER STORIES

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