THE D'OYLY CARTE OPERA COMPANY

Beatrice Boarer as Peep-Bo in The Mikado

Beatrice Boarer (1906-07, 1908-14)

[Born Stambridge, Essex c.1888, died London 5 Oct 1954]

Beatrice Hannah Boarer joined the D'Oyly Carte chorus at the Savoy in December 1906 for the First London Repertory Season, which ran to August 1907. She filled in on occasion, in February 1907, as Giulia in The Gondoliers and, in May, as Patience in Patience.

She returned for the Second London Repertory Season (April 1908-March 1909) and held down several smaller roles:Peep-Bo in The Mikado, Leila in Iolanthe, Kate in The Pirates of Penzance, Vittoria in The Gondoliers, Kate in The Yeomen of the Guard, and Nancy Raine in the curtain-raiser A Welsh Sunset. She also filled in for a time as Yum-Yum in The Mikado and Josephine in H.M.S. Pinafore, and did emergency duty as Elsie Maynard in The Yeomen of the Guard on one occasion.

When the London Repertory Season ended, Miss Boarer joined the D'Oyly Carte Principal Repertory Opera Company on tour as Fleta in Iolanthe and Chloe in Princess Ida, and shared Phoebe in The Yeomen of the Guard with Jessie Rose.

Jessie Rose left the Company in June 1909, and Beatrice Boarer became the principal soubrette, assuming the roles of Hebe in H.M.S. Pinafore, Edith in The Pirates of Penzance, the Lady Angela in Patience, Iolanthe in Iolanthe, Melissa in Princess Ida, Pitti-Sing in The Mikado, Phoebe in The Yeomen of the Guard, and Tessa in The Gondoliers. Except for a portion of the 1909-10 season in which she played Peep-Bo rather than Pitti-Sing, she held these roles until she left the Company in October 1914.

Miss Boarer did not, however, leave the stage, appearing in many plays over the next forty years in London and the provinces. On October 5, 1954, she was taken ill at the "Q" Theatre, London, during the opening performance of The Case of Dr. Ambrose. She died shortly after admission to a London hospital.

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