Gita Denise's Independent Obituary
Bill Schenley
Gita Denise, singer, actress and teacher: born Kutna Hora,
Czechoslovakia 8 October 1924; married 1947 Wing Cdr Thomas
Vybaral (died 1981; one daughter); died London 24 January
2004.
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Gita Denise, the possessor of a strong, vibrant
mezzo-soprano voice and an ebullient personality, had
several careers, some of which overlapped. She was an opera
singer, one of the most voluptuous Carmens of the 1950s; she
sang in musicals, she appeared in straight plays and in
television shows and series; and she was a very fine teacher
of singing with a string of well-known pupils.
She made her mark in the annals of opera in May 1951, when
she sang in the premiere of George Lloyd's opera John
Socman, commissioned by the Festival of Britain, and given
its first performance by the Carl Rosa Company at the
Bristol Hippodrome. Denise took the role of the Gleemaiden,
a character who has lost her memory, but regains it before
the end of the opera.
Born in Czechoslovakia, as it then was, near Prague, in
1924, Gita Denise studied at the Prague Conservatory and
then joined the chorus of the National Theatre, Prague,
shortly becoming a soloist. She appeared in Dvorák's
Rusalka, his The Devil and Kate and other Czech operas. She
met her husband, Wing Commander Thomas Vybaral, a
much-decorated fighter pilot who had flown with the RAF
since May 1940, when he returned to Prague after the Second
World War. They were married in 1947, but had to escape when
the Communist regime began arresting servicemen who had
fought with Britain during the war. The couple came to
London via the American zone of Germany.
Denise joined the Carl Rosa Opera Company, with whom she
appeared in Lloyd's John Socman and sang the first of 500
performances of Carmen in Glasgow. During the Fifties she
went to Rome to study with Gabriella Besanzoni, another
famous Carmen. She sang Schwertleite in Die Walküre at
Covent Garden in 1954 and later Carmen with the company on
tour. For Sadler's Wells Opera, she sang Carmen and the
Witch in Rusalka. Her other operatic roles included Rosina
in The Barber of Seville, Amneris in Aida, Venus in
Tannhäuser, Dalila in Samson et Dalila, and the Hostess of
the Inn in Boris Godunov, which she sang for Scottish Opera
in 1968.
Meanwhile, Denise had begun to appear in West End musicals
and plays. In 1962 she sang in Little Mary Sunshine at the
Comedy Theatre; other plays in which she took part were an
adaptation of E.M. Forster's Where Angels Fear to Tread (St
Martin's) and House of Cards (Players' Theatre/Phoenix). She
also appeared on television in The Human Jungle, No Hiding
Place and Coronation Street, as well as episodes of The
Saint and Danger Man. She sang in cabaret at the Embassy
Club, the Mayfair and Ciro's. In 1977 she appeared in a
revival of the Jerome Kern musical Very Good Eddie at the
Piccadilly Theatre.
The best-known television series in which she appeared was
Smiley's People (1982), adapted from John le Carré's novel
and starring Alec Guinness as George Smiley. She played a
Russian embassy official. Earlier she played Madam Kristoff
in Dracula (1973) and Marie in Nightmare for a Nightingale
(1976), both television films.
In the Eighties she became a teacher, first at the Royal
Northern College of Music in Manchester, then privately. Her
pupils included many successful singers, notably Elizabeth
Connell, Rosalind Plowright, Eva Randova and Mark Padmore.
joanb...@gmail.com
Would you have any way of tracking her down?
Joan Bigwood
Palo Alto, CA
franks...@gmail.com
My name is Elliot Franks, and I also live in the Bay Area. I studied with Gita Denise in the UK, and she was the most beloved and most important voice teacher of my life. I loved her dearly, and was heartbroken when I heard that she had died. We had lost touch in the last few years of her life due to geographical distance, and my inability to be a good correspondent. :-(
I had also tried to track down Rosanna in the hopes of maybe being able to get a photo of Miss Denise to keep and cherish. I was unable to do so, however, and later discovered that Rosanna passed away herself a short time after her mother (appx 18 months later, I think). Terribly sad. She had been unwell for many years, and I think, once her mother died, she probably just gave up.
They are both buried with Wing Cmdr Vybiral ("My darling Tommy", as Miss Denise always referred to her husband) in the Czech air force cemetery in/just outside London. I intend to make a pilgrimage there next year to pay my respects.
I do not know if this will reach you or not. I was just looking for images of Miss Denise online when I noticed your post from last year. However, if you DO see this, and would like to be in touch, please feel free to contact me. My email is: Franks...@gmail.com
Best wishes,
Elliot