Fanny Moody

Frances "Fanny" Moody (23 November 1866–21 July 1945) was an operatic soprano of the late Victorian and Edwardian eras, billed as 'The Cornish Nightingale'.

[5] Moody began her operatic career with a three-year engagement in the Carl Rosa Opera Company,[4] with which she made her début in Liverpool on 15 January 1887 as Arline in The Bohemian Girl,[1][6] before appearing in London as Michaela in Bizet's Carmen.

[5] A fellow member of the company was the bass Charles Manners, and the two married at St George's, Hanover Square, on 5 July 1890 with a full choral service, the Rev.

[5] In 1892 she appeared at the Olympic Theatre as Tatyana in the British premiere of Eugene Onegin, conducted by Henry Wood, opposite Eugène Oudin in the title role, with her husband as Gremin.

[11] With limited capital at their disposal (Manners later stated that they founded the company on £1,700 borrowed from friends, and repaid it all within a year),[12] they began with a provincial tour, starting in Manchester in September 1898.

The larger of the two gave London seasons in 1902 and 1903 at Covent Garden, in 1904 at the Drury Lane, and in 1907 and 1908 at the Lyric Theatre, when the repertoire included The Merry Wives of Windsor, The Marriage of Figaro, Tannhäuser, Lohengrin, Tristan and Isolde, Faust, Cavalleria rusticana and Pagliacci, Madama Butterfly,[4] Aida and Il trovatore.

[11] In its final season, playing to capacity audiences, the company offered Il trovatore, The Bohemian Girl, Martha, Faust, The Lily of Killarney, The Daughter of the Regiment, Carmen, and Eugene Onegin, with Moody in the leading roles.