Part 2

1948 – 1955

The pictures below show the full cast and chorus, along with the programme of Resolven and District Amateur Operatic Society’s production of the Gilbert and Sullivan Operetta, ‘The Pirates of Penzance’ in 1949.

It had been ten long years since the last successful production. This was, of course, mainly due to the horrors and hardships of the war and the effect it had brought to all village life. Rationing of certain items was still in force until 1954.

In September of 1948 the Resolven and District Amateur Operatic Society (R&DAOS) Committee met and made the decision to re-form for the second time. The Society was keen to bring people together to entertain and perform again on the Welfare Stage.

After a general meeting the chosen operetta, as seen above, was ‘The Pirates of Penzance’. There was an invited chorus and rehearsals commenced, sometimes in the Vivian Hall or in Tabernacle Chapel.

Some assistance was given by some members of Briton Ferry Amateur Operatic Society and their Conductor Mr Dillwyn Griffiths at the time, to help with the production.

While rehearsals were taking place, in the early part of 1949 Mr Herbert Thomas was unwell and Mr Glyn Davies was also called upon to assist in the demanding role of Musical Director, even though it was to be his first production for the Society as an Accompanist. Josie Stewart was leaving the village and her replacement was Mr Glyn Davies, who was the son of the newly appointed Chairman, Mr T H Davies, from a well respected Resolven family.

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There was much excitement in the village, and the show was a success, and the enthusiasm given from the public inspired the Society to start rehearsals on the next show, the following year, which was to be ‘The Mikado’.

During that year in 1949, the Society and its members suffered a very sad loss when their well loved Musical Director, Mr Herbert Thomas passed away. He had been a major influence in the formation of the Society and his dedication to it had been truly exceptional in every way. He had always had the Society’s best interests at heart and would be difficult to replace.

Mr Glyn Davies, the new Accompanist, was the natural successor to Mr Herbert Thomas. The Society was proud and indeed very lucky that Mr Glyn Davies was keen, capable and fully accomplished to take on the position. Mr Cledwyn Richards was chosen as the new Accompanist and this partnership was very favourable and flourished for many shows in the future.

The 1950 production of ‘The Mikado’ marked a special year for the Society as it was the first year that Mr Glyn Davies took up the baton and led the orchestra and chorus as Musical Director. It was to be the first of many shows under Glyn’s leadership.

Glyn was a a quiet, unassuming gentleman who was a teacher in a Port Talbot school (but not of Music).

In his leisure time he was completely dedicated to the art of music and choral singing and all it entailed, including his proficiency in ‘Tonic Sol-fa’ transposing from ‘old notation’ music, which was to prove invaluable to the Society in the years to come.

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Note: Tonic Sol-fa is a system of musical notation that uses syllables to represent the notes of the scale, eg – used in the musical ‘The Sound of Music’ – ‘do,re,mi,fa,so,la,ti,do’.

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Many of the choristers in the Society were taught to read sol-fa in the chapels and churches.

Six performances were put on in The Miners’ Welfare Hall from Monday, May 1^st to Saturday, May 6^th 1950 and was another successful venture for the Society.

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For its next show, the Society decided to attempt one of the more difficult of the Gilbert and Sullivan Operettas. ‘The Yeomen of the Guard’ which was written more in the style of Grand Opera.

For ‘Yeomen’ chorus members comprised of 8 Sopranos, 10 Altos, 9 Tenors and 8 Bass. And the large cast of characters were all local to the area.

Mr Chegwidden had left the area therefore the Society had to find a new Producer. Mr John McCloy was chosen to undertake the role of the Producer and he proved to be quite a strict disciplinarian to all the cast and chorus.

There was a great deal of rehearsals and committee meetings and the Society was indebted to the Welsh Churches for the loan of their Vestries. The Society was also grateful for the use of the halls of the British Legion and the Resolven YMCA.

‘The Yeomen of the Guard’ was performed from Monday April 30^th to Saturday May 5^th 1951.

It was quite an experience for the Society but was well received and enjoyed, even though it was a lesser known Operetta by the partnership of Gilbert and Sullivan.

The Society was now gaining a reputation for good choral singing and talented individual artists and this produced an appreciation from audiences who travelled from far and wide to see the productions.

Before the performances, tickets were much in demand and the Society played to a full Miners’ Welfare Hall almost every evening of ‘Opera Week’ as it became known.

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After another success, rehearsals commenced for ‘Ruddigore’, an operetta which, again, was not performed as often as other Gilbert and Sullivan productions due mainly to some technical and stage difficulties. Part of the story of the show required a particular stage set with character ancestors coming out of their portraits placed around the walls of the scenery. This was a challenge for all involved in the production.

The scenery for Resolven & DAOS was hired and it was no easy task to carry the scenery through the back entrance of the Welfare Hall and up four flights of concrete steps on the narrow staircase. Sometimes, on occasions, the scenery was brought through the hall via emergency exit doors.

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Note: In 1887 when ‘Ruddigore’ was first performed, there were a number of unusual difficulties in the second Act. During this Act the stage was plunged into darkness for the ‘Ghost Scene’ whereby the Ancestors are reincarnated and come to life from the paintings. Mr Arthur Sullivan, who was conducting the Operetta, was unhappy because the Actors were unable to see his Baton from the stage. However, a technical solution was found by Mr Sullivan, he used a Glass Tube Baton containing a platinum wire that glowed red in the dark. Surely a genius idea in 1887.

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Once again, Mr John McCloy was the Producer and the performances were held at the Miners’ Welfare Hall from May 4th to May 10th 1952. During the week of the show, the Social Committee served tea and biscuits for the cast, chorus, orchestra and stage helpers during the interval. The interval developed into quite a social occasion when many former members and visitors came back stage to see and compliment the performers.

About a month before the Resolven production in May 1952, members of the Society travelled to the Bristol Hippodrome to see a matinee performance of ‘Ruddigore’ performed by the professional D’Oyly Carte Company who specialised in the Operettas of Gilbert and Sullivan. This visit proved to be a very enjoyable and rewarding experience which was repeated for the following two years.

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Note: The D’Oyly Carte Company was established on the D’Oyly Carte Island, a privately owned small piece of land situated right in the middle of the River Thames in London. It was named after Richard D’Oyly Carte who owned the island in the late 1800’s and he invited his friends, W S Gilbert, the Lyricist and Arthur Sullivan, the Musician to visit. He was keen to hold performances on the island and allowed the two gentlemen to practice and perform their newly written Operettas on the island. These productions were different and a clever, refreshing change from grand opera, and became extremely successful.

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The D’Oyly Carte Company today, (in operatic circles), is a world renowned society that still uses the name and they perform G & S Operettas all over the world.

Gilbert and Sullivan produced 14 operettas over the 25 years they were together. Summer Concerts and local societies are still performing on the D’Oyly Carte island in 2025. (Post Code KT13 8LX).

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Mr Richard Jones from Penrhiwceiber returned to produce ‘Ruddigore’ for R&DAOS and the dates of perfomances were May 4^th – May 9^th, 1953.

‘Ruddigore’ was a more serious show with haunting music, and difficult chorus numbers but was still enjoyable, especially for visiting Societies.

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One of the most popular and entertaining of all the G & S operettas was decided upon for the 1953 production, ‘The Gondoliers’.

Worthy of note was the strange feature which showed that the G & S partnership was very different from other productions in that, it was understood, encouraged, and allowed, that during any performance of G & S, some of the dialogue could be changed to be relevant to the time it was being performed, with comedy anecdotes on any subject but those mainly making fun of political or topical issues. Whenever possible, Resolven & District Amateur Operatic Society embraced this feature in their performances.

For the first time in the history of the Society a dancing mistress was appointed, and the Society was fortunate in having the services of Miss Valmai Davies who set a high standard from the beginning. Talent obviously was in abundance in the family of Miss Davies as she was the sister of the Musical Director, Mr Glyn Davies, and the daughter of Mr T H Davies, who had been Chairman of the Society since its re-formation in 1948. Miss Menna Williams as Deputy Accompanist was also appointed and Mr Neville Funning joined the back stage members of the Society with Mr Arthur Morris as a Perruquier (Make-up artist).

Mr Richard Jones, Penrhiwceiber returned as the producer for ‘The Gondoliers’ and performance dates were May 4^th – May 9^th, 1953.

The Gondoliers was a very entertaining show, for the audience and for the Society, with its colourful costumes, clever musical numbers and very lively dancing routines.

During the Summer of 1953, the chorus were asked to take part in performances of ‘Bethlehem’ by Rutland Boughton, a choral drama, that would be held in the Autumn. It was to be a joint venture, as soloists taking part were from Briton Ferry AOS, while the chorus were from Resolven and District AOS. Rehearsals took place under Mr Glyn Davies. The final rehearsals and the performances were all musically exciting and conducted by Mr George Barker, Covent Garden, London. Three performances took place, at Morriston, Llanelli Market Hall and Resolven Miners’ Welfare Hall. It was an unforgettable and special experience for the members of the chorus who took part.

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In 1954, the Society’s decided to depart from their G & S tradition, and perform the charming music of Edward German’s ‘Merrie England’.

The President of the Society, Mrs M Jenkins left the village and Mr T H Davies, the former Chairman was unanimously chosen as President. Mr Idwal Williams replaced him as Chairman.

Practices for cast and chorus were well advanced when Mr Glyn Davies was taken ill, and spent time in hospital. He made an excellent recovery but the production of ‘Merrie England’ had to be postponed until 1955.

The Resolven and District Amateur Operatic Society and ‘Opera Week’ was now an eagerly awaited favourite in village culture. In the years to come, the Society, and particularly the Chorus would become so established under the baton of Mr Glyn Davies that they were able to put the name of Resolven firmly back on the musical map of Wales.

Of course, the name had already been known much earlier, due to the three Doctors of Music who all hailed from Resolven.

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Some information taken from ‘Resolven Operatic Society’ – ‘A History from 1925 ~ 1976’ by Nesta Hopkins with additional information from Owen & Christine Davies. Compiled by Lorna & Hugh Lewis.

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/to be continued – with Part 3

Below is a photograph of the large Cast, Chorus and Dancers who performed in Franz Lehar’s ‘Gypsy Love’ at the Miners Welfare Hall, Resolven from October 28th to November 1st 1975.

This show proved to be one of the most successful and enjoyable ever performed by Resolven & District Amateur Operatic Society.

That would not have happened if it wasn’t for those people who had the insight and vision to begin the organisation 50 years previously.

The Beginning…

In 1925 (exactly a Century ago) the people in the small village of Resolven, like the rest of the people of Wales and the wider World, were trying hard to edge back to a degree of normality after the trauma, sadness and difficult experiences brought about by the 1914-1918 First World War.

The War Years had obviously taken their toll on the village and there was a longing need for people to start to feel that life could be good again and to participate in leisure and social activities. It was also an exceptional period in the history of Resolven at that time as the people’s interest was heightened by the emergence and presence of Resolven’s Three Doctors of Music, David Evans, Tom Hopkin Evans and William Rhys Herbert who were all prominent and thriving in the village. These three gentleman had created a musical awareness that there was talent in the village that could be nurtured and brought to the forefront for others to enjoy and a developing importance for cultural activities to be performed in the village.

Therefore the idea of forming an operatic society originated in 1925 when the Headmaster, Captain D J Williams of Resolven School who hailed from Ystalyfera, put forward the suggestion to interested parties and soon after a small group of music enthusiasts held several meetings and by 1926 the new Society was launched. The Patron of the new society was Sir Clifford Cory Bart, while its first President was Mr D R Lloyd, M.E.

The Society was named ‘The Resolven Amateur Operatic Society’ and their first production was to be ‘The Pirates of Penzance’ a Gilbert and Sullivan Operetta.

The invited chorus consisted of 7 sopranos, 9 contraltos, 9 tenors and 8 bass. The orchestra was also chosen individually from Resolven and the surrounding area. Most of the cast were chosen from Resolven with the exception of two from Ystalyfera where the Operetta had been performed previously.

Rehearsals commenced with great enthusiasm in Resolven School. There were setbacks and unforeseen happenings as is the usual case for any planned production and a sad death and illness did make an impact on the newly formed Society but ‘The Pirates of Penzance’ did go ahead with replacements from Wednesday 19th to Friday 21st of January 1927. Reserved seats were three shillings and six old pence with unreserved seats at two shillings and four old pence and one shilling and four old pence.

There were three evening performances in the New Pavilion which was situated behind Jerusalem Chapel facing the railway in Williams Avenue. There were no dressing rooms, so the men changed in the Billiard Hall next to the Pavilion owned by DP Williams and the women changed in the houses nearby. Chorus and cast then had to make their way down the back lane to the stage entrance, whatever the weather, sometimes of course in the wind and the rain. There were no back stage facilities and it was no easy task for the Stage Manager and his crew. The scenery and the costumes were both hired.

The first venture of the new Society was a great success and they played to packed houses every night. Such was the enthusiasm shown by keen members involved in the Society that first year, it prompted some members to form the new ‘Resolven Drama Society’ which became very successful in the village and were well thought of throughout Wales for many years.

In the same year the Operatic Society did perform a second show ‘HMS Pinafore’ for four performances from Tuesday 8^th to Friday 11^th November 1927 which was also well attended and enjoyed by the audiences. All the cast were well known characters from the village of Resolven, including Mr Idris Morgan (Father of our RDN Editor, Anita Morgan). Once again the show reached a high standard, but sustained a financial loss, mainly due to the economic conditions at the time as the community was still feeling the effects of the 1926 General Strike.

Gilbert & Sullivan’s ‘Iolanthe’ was chosen for the 1928 production and rehearsals commenced for its performance in October. However, it was never staged, once again probably due to the continuing economic problems and other difficulties at the time.

Regrettably it would be almost ten years before another show would be performed in the village.

It must be remembered that one reason for the delay in the re-forming of the Society might have been that in the early 1930’s a mixed choir was formed in Resolven and it included many of the choristers and members of the Society and every year they gave a concert, as well as joining other societies for various Music Festivals under the leadership of some of the most famous conductors of the time.

During 1935-36 ‘HMS Pinafore’ had successfully been performed in Bethania Chapel, Railway Terrace with Howell Davies as conductor. This proved to be such a resounding success that, after several meetings, the decision was made to re-start the Resolven Amateur Operatic Society.

The Society at this stage was gaining a reputation for itself, its popularity had spread, due to newspaper cuttings and word of mouth, creating interest from other musically talented men and women in the surrounding areas, who were very keen to be part of this newly formed and exciting venture. Therefore, a meeting was called to discuss this valid issue to try to ensure that all the performers on the Welfare Stage would be recognised and appreciated from their own particular areas.

A general meeting was called on July 8^th 1936, at the Vivian Hall and it was decided that the Society should be re-formed and renamed the ‘Resolven and District Amateur Operatic Society‘, and at a subsequent meeting on July 14^th all the Officers and Committee of the Society were chosen. Mrs Mary Jenkins of the Vaughan Arms was chosen as President of the newly named Society.

The Committee were kept busy arranging social evenings and dances for friends and members to raise funds, including a Coronation dance in 1937 in the Vivian Hall, which was situated in the centre of the village near the railway station, behind the Vaughan Arms. It is also an interesting fact that for the first time, letterheads were printed with the Society’s name on them.

The number of invited choristers remained the same as before and a list of probable guarantors or patrons of the Society were drawn up.

‘The Mikado’ was chosen for the first production of the re-formed society but a number of difficulties delayed the production, with poor attendance at rehearsals and Mr Howell Davies, gave up the post of Musical Director when he left the village in 1938, so Mr Herbert Thomas took up the baton.

In January of 1938, a decision was made to perform the Mikado in the new and impressively built Miners’ Welfare Hall.

Four performances of the Mikado took place from Thursday 17^th May to Saturday 21^st May 1938. The Tuesday night’s performance was for Old Age Pensioners, the unemployed and children. Adults were charged one shilling and children six old pence. Light refreshments were provided for the company after each performance and also any visiting societies.

The Society at this time became guarantors for £10 to the Mayor of Swansea’s appeal for the Sadler’s Wells Opera Company who regularly performed Gilbert and Sullivan Operettas.

On September 22^nd of 1938, practices re-commenced for the next production, The Gondoliers which took place from Wednesday May 10^th to Saturday May 13^th 1939. During the dress rehearsal on the Tuesday, children were allowed into the Welfare Hall, at a charge of six old pence upstairs and three old pence downstairs.

The following are some of the pages from the programme.

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Iolanthe was chosen as the next production for the 1939/1940 season, rehearsals commencing on September 28^th 1939. As the war had broken out on September 3^rd 1939, it was decided in October to postpone the production at that time.

In Spring 1940, the Society decided to put on Iolanthe for the Comfort’s Fund. Defaulting members were informed and rehearsals resumed in March, with a view to performances in May 1940.

Sadly Iolanthe proved, once again, an unlucky show for the society,, with young men being called up to serve in the armed forces, and both men and women on shift-work for the war effort, the show had to be abandoned and the Society disbanded until the end of the War.

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Some information taken from ‘Resolven Operatic Society’ – ‘A History from 1925 ~ 1976’ by Nesta Hopkins with additional information from Owen & Christine Davies. Compiled by Lorna & Hugh Lewis.

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To be continued…………..

The dates for this program of works have been updated. The A465 Aberdulais eastbound on-slip will also be closed from 24 March (08:00) – 28 March (05:00).

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History Meeting January

On a cold January evening the attendance at the meeting was a little low, however those not present missed a very informative talk, by longstanding member of the Society and lifelong devotee of Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Mr Glyn Williams. Mr Williams has given many talks over the years about the achievements of Brunel and this time he took the terminus at Paddington as his topic.

The lecture began on the layout of the station which began with a small entity in 1833 between Bristol, Temple Meads and London. The new railways could not proceed into central London and following the abandonment of an attempt at Lambeth, since the population was north of the Thames, the GWR looked at the possibility of a site at Vauxhall, before linking with the line from Birmingham at the rural location of Paddington. A previous further attempt at Euston came to nothing because of a clash of broad and standard gauge lines.

The building of the line began in 1835, at Bishop Walk in a small valley of the Bourne or Serpentine, which is now underground. The cost was monumental for the time at £6,500,000. The initial terminus was made of wood , but by 1850, and in its present form by 1854. The station was built accommodating 10 railway tracks with 3 for arrivals and two for departures, this was serviced by 62 “Firefly” locomotives, and passengers went between platforms via a “transverse”. Although Brunel gets most of the credit for the design, the decorations so associated with the arches was the work of architect, Matthew Digby Wyatt. The Great Western Royal Hotel was built and is now part of the Hilton chain, this was renovated in the 1930, and the work of Phillip Charles Hardwick.

Three underground railways emanate from Paddington, the first built shortly after Brunel’s death in 1859, by Fowler and Benjamin Baker, as the first “cut and cover” railway in the world. Baker was a genius and designed the Metropolitan Railway in New York, and he also built the original Aswan dam on the Nile. He was also instrumental in designing a ship to carry “Cleopatra’s Needle”, as a gift to the UK from Egypt. The ship was called unsurprisingly Cleopatra! Remarkably, Baker had trained at the Neath Abbey Works! Later a second station entrance was built at Parade Road, which was not originally called Paddington.

Mr Williams concluded his talk with a discussion on the architectural wonders of the station including reference to a certain Michael Bond character whose statue is in the station and his fondness for marmalade sandwiches is well known.

Mr David Woosnam, thanked Mr Williams for a very memorable and informative talk.

Trefor Jones.

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A report on the December meeting of Resolfen History Society

The notion of a members’ night was struck upon some years ago when it was decided not to have a speaker, since the Christmas period inevitably, meant a smaller audience. This year, however, Storm Darragh’s aftermath kept the attendance lower than normal though did not dampen the enthusiasm or enjoyment of the evening.

Mr David Woosnam started proceedings with an interesting discussion of how the internet allowed a person to inspect his own ancestry. By use of an algorithm he found that he was distantly related to several well-known figures including Marion Morrison (John Wayne), Charles Dickens and even (presumably through her mother) Queen Elizabeth the second!

Mr Colin Evans read a section of the Alun Evans and John Mc Mahon’s history of Resolven, involving the Marie Celeste of Wales, SS Resolven, a brig found abandoned off the coast of Newfoundland with the fire still alight in the grate. He has followed the story since 2010, but the story seems to have now run its course, and no new leads as to the origins of its name and the links with Aberaeron are appearing.

Mr Trefor Jones, then gave a short talk on the derivation of some Christmas traditions including Christmas cards. The Welsh Christmas and new year were then discussed, along with plygain, the Mari Lwyd , Hela’r Dryw and Calennig. This was illustrated with digital items of Triawd y Tabernacl, singing a plygain song and a live rendition of “Blwyddyn newydd dda i chi”.

The meeting concluded with a festive quiz and some mulled wine.

Nadolig Llawen from the History Society.

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