Angela was hooked on music theatre from the first time she saw the D’Oyly Carte company on their annual tour to Manchester, still (just) in the days when the gestures and movements were all copyright. Seeing Donald Smith as Don José singing sublimely in a dead white suit and scarlet cummerbund around his ample middle added to the fascination, and later Don Smith in Turandot standing ON Turandot’s pure silk peacock train – and rucking it up by swiveling between the princess (upstage) and the conductor (downstage) – showed Angela just how much fun opera can be, if not always on purpose.
She studied Theatre Arts for an MA at Birmingham University, where one – may be two – music department boyfriends involved her in singing, as well as introducing her to the wider ranges of classical music.
On emigrating to Australia she combined her singing voice and her acting training to play the funny ladies in a range of Pro-Am musicals and operettas, as well as performing as a church music soloist. Her latest role was the Duchess of Plaza Toro in Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Gondoliers, bringing the story (almost) full circle.
For 2MBS she has presented her own series on the musicals, and currently presents some Saturday afternoon operettas and cabaret for Stage and Screen every fourth Saturday.