Florence Smithson

She was spotted by the impresario Robert Courtneidge and recruited for his productions in the West End of London and on tour, most notably the hit musical The Arcadians.

[1] She was born in Leicester in the heart of England, but was raised in south Wales, where her father owned and ran the Theatre Royal, Merthyr Tydfil.

[1] Various singing engagements followed, and while she was touring with a small opera company in La fille du régiment, she was spotted by the impresario Robert Courtneidge.

[1] In August 1905, she made her first appearance in the West End repeating her role in The Blue Moon and making an immediate success.

[1] She had a singing voice of great purity, and audiences waited expectantly for her trademark pianissimo high notes.