Rosemary Vercoe | |
|---|---|
| Born | Rosemary Joyce Vercoe 29 April 1917 Hanger Hill, Ealing, London, England |
| Died | 28 July 2013 Islington, London, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Education | Chelmsford County High School for Girls |
| Alma mater | Chelsea School of Art |
| Occupation | costume designer |
| Known for | long-term collaborator of Jonathan Miller on opera and theatre productions |
| Spouse | Patrick Robertson |
Rosemary Joyce Vercoe (29 April 1917 – 28 July 2013) was a British actress and costume designer, perhaps best known for being a long-term collaborator with Jonathan Miller on his opera and theatre productions.
Early life
She was born on 29 April 1917 at Old Court nursing home, Hanger Hill, Ealing, London,[1] the second of five children of Richard Herbert Vercoe (1884–1930), of Southall, Middlesex,[2] a doctor, and his wife, (Elizabeth) Selina Vercoe, née Skinner (1881–1960).[3] Vercoe was educated at Chelmsford County High School for Girls, followed by Chelsea School of Art, where her teachers included Graham Sutherland and Henry Moore.[3]
Career
She first worked for the London District Theatre Unit as an actress and costume designer, before joining the Players' Theatre costume department during the Second World War.[3]
After the war, Vercoe worked in Stratford-upon-Avon's Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, where she was the costume designer for The Taming of the Shrew, and toured with the company in Australia in 1949–50 as a costume designer, and as an actress understudy.[3] After this, she essentially became a costume designer full-time, and stopped acting.[3]
Vercoe was a regular collaborator with Jonathan Miller on his opera and theatre productions.[4] She was known for her meticulous historical research, and for using ordinary everyday clothes of the period, rather than "costumes".[3][4]
Miller's 1982 production of Verdi's opera Rigoletto for English National Opera, set in 1950s New York, was set designed by Patrick Robertson and costume designed by Vercoe.[5] It was most recently revived in 2017, using Vercoe's costume design, which reviewers still comment on, "the mafia concept, although prolific in opera stagings these days, is still a perfect fit for Rigoletto".[6]
London's Victoria and Albert Museum includes Vercoe's costumes from the 1979 English National Opera production of The Turn of the Screw.[7] The V&A also houses her extensive archives.[8]
Personal life
She was married to the set designer Patrick Robertson, and they were frequent collaborators.[4]
Later life
Vercoe died at the Highgate Nursing Home, 12 Hornsey Lane, Islington, London, on 28 July 2013.[3]
References
- ↑ Her Guardian obituary states she was born at "Swiss Cottage, north-west London"
- ↑ The Lancet, J. Onwhyn, 1915, p. 1060
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Pimlott Baker, Anne. "Vercoe, Rosemary Joyce (1917–2013), costume designer". ODNB. OUP. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
- 1 2 3 Jays, David (14 August 2013). "Rosemary Vercoe obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 November 2017 – via www.theguardian.com.
- ↑ "Verdi's Rigoletto at ENO - MusicalCriticism.com (Opera review)". www.musicalcriticism.com. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
- ↑ "Miller's Rigoletto makes a flawed return to ENO". bachtrack.com. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
- ↑ "Costume design - Vercoe, Rosemary - V&A Search the Collections". collections.vam.ac.uk. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
- ↑ "Patrick Robertson and Rosemary Vercoe theatre design collection - Archives Hub". Jisc. Retrieved 21 November 2017.