ISABEL JAY TROPHY 2025

We had a glorious day at D’Oyly Carte Island on Friday 4th July for the D’Oyly Carte Island Summer Concert which featured the Isabel Jay Contest and a performance by Godalming Operatic Society.

Isabel Jay was a lead soprano with the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company between 1897 and 1902 and her daughter, Celia, set up this contest in 1961 in honour of her mother to promote the excellence of amateur groups in performing Gilbert and Sullivan.

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There was a capacity audience for this event and our own Laurence Leng acted as the Master of Ceremonies. The entrants for the Isabel Jay Contest had been tasked with presenting a 15 minute extract from a Gilbert and Sullivan opera and for this extract to include some dialogue as well as singing. We were certainly not disappointed in their performances: Grosvenor Light Opera Company from London presented a section of Act 2 from The Mikado; Simon Gray Presents from Brighton gave a performance of part of Act 1 from The Gondoliers and Tutte Theatre from Cambridge presented a scene from Act 1 of HMS Pinafore.

The Judges of the event, Bruce Graham, Richard Suart and Sylvia Nixon, Chairperson of the Gilbert & Sullivan Society of Sussex, had a difficult task but provided very helpful and encouraging feedback to each group. They certainly appreciated each entrant’s attention to the music, libretto and interpretation. It was Tutte Theatre, a small group of recent graduates from Cambridge University’s Gilbert & Sullivan Society, who were selected as the award winners for 2025.

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Tutte Theatre (formerly Velocirapture Productions) began in 2022 with a goal of putting on high-quality opera by reimagining and revitalising both well and lesser known operas and operettas. Their first production of Trial by Jury at The Edinburgh Festival Fringe was actually conceived in a pub in Cambridge, but led to their being awarded The Broadway Baby's Bobby Award for being one of the best shows at the Festival in 2023.

A very positive aspect of the event was the presence of three grandchildren of Isabel Jay (Isabel Broom and Fiona Dunn who are both children of Celia and David Farmiloe who is the son of Pamela, the daughter from Isabel’s second marriage) and they presented the Isabel Jay Cup, along with Life Member of the Gilbert & Sullivan Society of Sussex, Kay Tarran.

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​Fiona, David and Isabel

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We are indebted to Andy and Sheila Hill who sponsored this competition.

The Godalming Operatic Society  then gave a triumphant presentation of songs from each of the G&S operas, linked together by Richard Arthur’s fascinating narration which gave context for the songs and included some interesting history about the Society.

During the day guests also had an opportunity to view an impressive exhibition of Gilbert and Sullivan memorabilia from the collection of the founder of the Gilbert & Sullivan Society of Sussex, Melvyn Tarran, which was on display in the mansion on the island, Eyot House.

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D’Oyly Carte Island is an idyllic setting and it is wonderful to see it being preserved by Andy and Sheila as well as used again to celebrate all things Gilbert and Sullivan.