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In 1971 The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company and all of its faithful public suffered a severe loss in the death of the principal baritone, John Webley, at the age of twenty-four.
Born in 1946, John Webley's first job was in the Admiralty at Portsmouth. During the two years he worked there he had singing training at the week-ends from Andrew Field and Audrey Langford. In the summer of 1966 he auditioned for the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, and joined it in August of that year at the early age of nineteen.
When Thomas Lawlor began to share the baritone roles with Alan Styler, John Webley took over the understudying, and when Styler had his first heart attack in Edinburgh in the autumn of 1967 he played Cox and Samuel; in November 1968 he went on for Kenneth Sandford in New York as Grosvenor. After Alan Styler became ill and had to leave the Company, John Webley was seen frequently in leading roles; during 1970 he formally became a principal, and it is noteworthy that this promotion, unlike some that cause jealousy, was whole-heartedly welcomed by all his colleagues.
John was an extremely charming boy, a first-rate musician, and played the piano very well. Everyone loved his voice, and to hear him sing Lieder was an experience one treasured.
His sense of humour was wonderful, for he was a born mimic, but unfortunately these qualities took second place to his remarkable bravery and courage. Only John could have left hospital after a serious cancer operation and, within weeks, have to go home and arrange his father's funeral; he belonged to a very close family, and his remarkable courage in not telling his mother, when he really needed to but couldn't upset or worry her, was indeed superhuman.
Everyone was delighted when John seemed to have made a good recovery from the cancer operation he had to face, but eventually there were signs that the disease had returned. For those who knew what was happening nothing could have been more poignant than to watch this courageous young man dying before our eyes while still unbelievably cheerful with his friends and giving splendid performances on stage which brought paeans of praise from audiences and critics alike.
John refused pain-killers as he wanted to be able to trace where the disease was spreading. He was convinced all along that he would recover. He was always so very cheerful, and whenever anyone was depressed about his illness it was always John who managed to cheer them up.
Right up to his final appearance in "The Gondoliers", which he had to abandon half-way through, he continued to perform in the highest traditions of the D'Oyly Carte Company. The more pain he suffered, the more pleasure he gave.
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