Her Majesty's Opera House

News has just been received by wire from San Francisco of the sudden death of Mr. James Allison, the well-known Australian manager. At the time of his death he was about 62 years of age, and would be on the eve of his return to Australia. Mr. James Allison was a tailor by trade, and worked for about 12 years in that capacity in Sydney. His first public appearance was with Mr. F. E. Hiscocks, who some years ago published a number of atlases of the Australasian colonies, and Mr. Allison was one of his travellers. They afterwards joined together with the late Mr. Samuel Lazar, and ran the Queen's Theatre, Sydney, where Mr. and Mrs. J. C. Williamson appeared under their management. Some time afterwards Messrs. Allison and Lazar had the Theatre Royal, Adelaide, and after they separated Mr. Allison alone controlled that theatre for several years. In the meantime he was associated with the first visit of Mr. Harry Rickards in 1871, and other attractions. Mr. Allison has managed opera, drama, circus, minstrel and variety companies throughout the Australasian colonies. During Mr. Allison's first visit to America in 1876, he arranged with Mr. George Rignold to visit the colonies with his grand production of "Henry V.," and introduced to Australia the popular comedian, Mr. Fred. Thorne, who was a member of the company, and whose performance of Fluellen will long be remembered. "Henry V." was only produced in Sydney on that occasion. After giving up the Adelaide theatre Mr. Allison and Mr. George Rignold became partners, and carried on the Opera House, Melbourne, for a lengthened season, commencing with "In the Ranks," October 25th, 1884, which was followed by several new and first-class productions. During their season in Melbourne Mr. Allison secured a lengthened lease of a block of ground in Pitt Street, Sydney, and formed a company for the erection of Her Majesty's Theatre, which Messrs. Rignold and Allison opened. Shortly before Mr. Allison's departure for America he separated from Mr. Rignold, in order to enter into other speculations, including the introduction of a Wild West Show in conjunction with Messrs. J. Solomon and J. B. Gaylord. Mr. Allison left for America some three months ago to see after the shipping of the Wild West Show, and to secure other attractions for Australia. Immediately after his arrival in America he was apprised of the sudden death of his wife in Sydney. Mr. Allison again visited America early in 1884, and amongst other attractions he introduced to Australia Miss Jeffreys-Lewis, who made her first appearance in Melbourne at the Theatre Royal, as Fedora, May 17th, 1884. He also secured the rights of the comic operas of "Falka," "Nell Gwynne," "Merry War,".&c. — the two first named were produced at the Opera House under the management of Messrs. Rignold and Allison. When recently in Chicago Mr. Allison was arrested by a representative of a printing firm for an alleged debt for paper supplied for Miss Jeffreys-Lewis' Australian tour, the particulars of which appear in another column. Mr. Allison was also associated with Messrs. F. E. Hiscocks and Wm. Marshall in the erection of the Victoria Hall, Melbourne, but retired from the partnership just prior to his visit to America in 1884. Mr. Allison was twice married, his first wife died at Emerald Hill (South Melbourne). By his death two orphans (boy and girl) are left, we are sorry to learn, very ill-provided for. From what we personally know of Mr. Allison we have every reason to suppose that the cause of his death was hemorrhage, as he had previously suffered from the same complaint. Not- withstanding his many adversities during the last few years. Mr. Allison had a very large circle of friends.

Theatre in Bourke Street, opened as Prince of Wales Theatre 24 August 1872. Architect: George Johnson. Became known as Prince of Wales Opera House. Renamed Her Majesty's Opera House September 1884. Renamed Alhambra Theatre 1893. Lost licence 1899. Rebuilt as Opera House, opened 18 May 1901, seating 1539. Architect: William Pitt jnr. Renamed Tivoli Theatre 1912. Auditorium rebuilt 1956. Architect: Dudley Ward. Closed 2 April 1966. Interior destroyed by fire April 1967. Theatre sold as redevelopment site in 1969.

The laissez-faire attitude to safety in theatre design adopted by entrepreneurs and licensing authorities alike in the late 19th century was strikingly exemplified in the Prince of Wales Theatre in Melbourne. It stood on a site that was initially occupied by the Australia Hall, built above a stable in 1866. By the end of the year it was referred to as the Varieties. Singers, instrumentalists and comedians performed on a rough platform at one end of an 'unprepossessing chamber' furnished with tables and chairs and served by two bars in the style of an English music hall. The hall, renamed the Opera Comique in 1869, was destroyed in a fire on 5 July 1870.

On 27 December 1871 the architect George Johnson submitted plans for a theatre on the site to the Victorian Board of Health, the licensing authority. Johnson estimated a capacity of 3000 persons. Each would have had little more than a quarter of a square metre, and the board's inspector believed that 2200 would be more appropriate. In building the Prince of Wales Theatre, it seems, the old rubble stone outer walls of previous buildings on the site were reused to a height of three metres, then brick was added to the height of gallery, which was protected from elements by a timber wall to the roof. The architect chose wooden posts to support the three balconies above the pit and stalls, although cast-iron posts were readily available. Patrons of the top gallery had to negotiate gangway exits that were 560 mm wide with only 1.4 metres' headroom. The entrance to the theatre, reached through the ground floor of the hotel, stood 7.6 metres from the rear of the hotel and it was suspected that contaminated air from the hotel's stable and kitchen yards entered the ventilation intake. Another official observation was that a fire in the hotel would cut off most egress from the theatre.

The new theatre opened on 24 August 1872 with Dion Boucicault's comedy London Assurance, starring Mary Gladstane, whose husband, L. M. Bayless, was lessee of the theatre. W. S. Lyster took over the theatre for his opera companies in March 1873 and it became known as the Prince of Wales Opera House. After Lyster's death in 1880, the theatre housed productions by his nephew George Musgrove. It was lit by electricity in 1882. From September 1884, the theatre was under new management as Her Majesty's Opera House, and from 1886 it was the Melbourne base of the Brough-Boucicault Comedy Company. About that time, only 14 years after the opening, inspectors referred to the theatre as 'this dilapidated makeshift sort of building', though illustrations show a handsome interior and descriptions praise its white-and-gold decoration.

By 1893 the theatre had become a vaudeville house. Despite some slight modifications it limped well behind the ever-rising standards of safety and construction of theatres. The Board of Health's files indicate the social irresponsibility of theatre owners and entrepreneurs and of officials who continued to license the theatre in disregard of inspectors' advice that it breached the board's recommendation. It was finally refused a licence in 1899.

Harry Rickards, lessee since 1895, oversaw the building of a new theatre designed by William Pitt Jnr. A newspaper article described it as French Renaissance but it more closely approached an 'Alhambra style' that was popular for variety theatres at the time. The new Opera House had three levels, including the stalls, and seated only 1539 persons. Although English engineering developments over the previous decade had eliminated most of the need for balcony-supporting posts, Pitt supported the dress circle and the gallery with 14 posts in the stalls. These remained until Dudley Ward redesigned the auditorium in 1956. The stage was commodious, measuring 18.3 by 19.5 metres and it had a fly tower. Rickard's successor, Hugh D. McIntosh changed the name to Tivoli Theatre in 1912 and this remained until the theatre closed in 1966.