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In July 1914, she sailed for
Australia, but the outbreak of war curtailed her tour. Returning to England in 1915 she toured in variety theatres and played pantomime seasons in London. Australian and South African tours followed in the 1920s, and she returned to England in 1927. One of her last
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She had a singing voice of great purity, and audiences waited expectantly for her trademark pianissimo high notes. The operatic star
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Smithson was the first wife of the actor Dan Rolyat. She died after an operation in
Cardiff at the age of 51.
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in the heart of
England, but was raised in south Wales, where her father owned and ran the Theatre Royal,
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81:. Various singing engagements followed, and while she was touring with a small opera company in
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She was the daughter of Will
Smithson, a well-known provincial theatre manager. She was born in
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and making an immediate success. From then until the First World War she made occasional
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39:. In her early career she was an opera singer. She was spotted by the impresario
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appearances and played in a series of musical comedies. The latter included
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35:(13 March 1884 – 11 February 1936) was an actress and singer celebrated in
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91:. Under his management she toured in 1904–05 as Nanoya in
242:(fifth ed.). London: Sir Isaac Pitman and Sons.
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In August 1905, she made her first appearance in the
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of London and on tour, most notably the hit musical
73:. She made her stage debut at the age of three in
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134:(in which she created the role of Sombra),
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43:and recruited for his productions in the
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164:dubbed her "the Nightingale of Wales".
151:engagements was in a national tour of
53:. She was known for the purity of her
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87:, she was spotted by the impresario
200:"Death of Miss Florence Smithson",
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280:20th-century Welsh women singers
148:The Sleeping Beauty Re-Awakened.
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310:19th-century Welsh actresses
285:20th-century Welsh actresses
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300:People from Merthyr Tydfil
204:, 13 February 1936, p. 10
295:Actresses from Leicester
290:Musicians from Leicester
240:Who's Who in the Theatre
37:Edwardian musical comedy
79:London College of Music
110:repeating her role in
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275:Welsh stage actresses
238:Parker, John (1925).
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84:La fille du régiment
140:The Sleeping Beauty
97:and Chandra Nil in
154:The Gipsy Princess
89:Robert Courtneidge
41:Robert Courtneidge
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144:An Indian Romance
33:Florence Smithson
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61:Life and career
57:singing voice.
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305:Welsh sopranos
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224:Parker, p. 790
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120:The Dairymaids
71:Merthyr Tydfil
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162:Adelina Patti
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131:The Arcadians
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100:The Blue Moon
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94:The Cingalee
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22:Smithson in
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270:1936 deaths
265:1884 births
259:Categories
232:References
136:The Mousmé
202:The Times
125:Tom Jones
75:pantomime
67:Leicester
248:10013159
108:West End
45:West End
116:variety
55:soprano
246:
28:, 1909
171:Notes
244:OCLC
146:and
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209:^
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250:.
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