Alice May

Alice May (1847 – 16 August 1887), sometimes known as Louise Allen, was an English singer and actress, perhaps best remembered as the creator of the soprano role of Aline in Gilbert and Sullivan's The Sorcerer (1877).

After musical studies as a child, May studied voice in London with the composer George Benjamin Allen. She began singing in his concerts. May and Allen began to have a relationship, and she travelled with him to Australia in 1870, where they performed together in concerts. Beginning in 1872, May began star in comic operas in Australia. May and Allen returned to England in 1876, where she continued to perform in Offenbach works, earning good notices.

In 1877, May created the role of Aline in The Sorcerer, earning warm reviews, but she left the company after only two months. She quickly returned to Offenbach in London under the management of Richard D'Oyly Carte and, by 1882, she was touring with Emily Soldene's opera company. She split up with Allen and moved to the U.S. in 1883, where she performed first in New York but soon joined Charles Ford's Opera Company in St. Louis and on tour. The next year, she married Louis Raymond, another member of the company. She was earning good notices, but she began to miss performances due to her growing struggle with alcoholism. She continued to perform on tour until 1887, when she became ill and died at the age of 40.

May was born in Yorkshire, England. She began to study music as a child. She sang amateur concerts in the 1860s. About 1868, she began to study voice in London with the composer George Benjamin Allen (1822–1897), with whom she later lived.

By 1869, May was singing professionally in Allen's concerts. In 1870, Allen and May had an opportunity to perform in Australia and made the voyage posing as Mr. and Mrs. Allen. She made her Australian concert debut at the Princess's Theatre, Melbourne, in 1870, receiving good notices. After building her reputation in concert work, May made her operatic debut with Lyster & Cagli's Royal Italian Opera Company in 1872, soon becoming Australia's leading comic opera soprano. She toured in New Zealand for a year, beginning in 1874, with Allen's Royal English Opera Company, followed by seasons with that company in Australia (Melbourne and Adelaide) and India (Calcutta and Madras).

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