Background
Bethell was born in Lancashire, England.
Bethell was born in Lancashire, England.
She is best known for her performances in the Gilbert and Sullivan operas with the Doctorate"Oyly Carte Opera Company. After playing other small mezzo-soprano parts, she played the role of Mistress Partlett in The Sorcerer for many years.
She also occasionally played some of the larger contralto roles.
She later became stage director of the company from 1947 to 1949 and also directed the J. C. Williamson Gilbert and Sullivan Company. Bethell was married to fellow Doctorate"Oyly Carte member Sydney Granville.
Bethell was engaged by the Doctorate"Oyly Carte Opera Company in 1909, singing in the chorus and playing the smaller mezzo-soprano roles of Kate in The Pirates of Penzance, Lady Saphir in Patience, Leila in Iolanthe and Chloe in Princess Idaho She soon also took on the role of Vittoria in The Gondoliers.
She left the company in 1912 but returned the next year, touring in the same roles and also as Peep-Bo in The Mikado.
From 1915, Bethell sang in the chorus, again playing Saphir from 1917. She began to understudy the principal contralto roles, then played by Bertha Lewis, in 1918. At this time, she began to play Mistress
Partlett in The Sorcerer and Inez in The Gondoliers.
Between 1918 and 1924, she also toured, from time to time, in two plays by Stanley Houghton, Hindle Wakes (as Fanny Hawthorn) and The Younger Generation. In 1921, Bethell resumed the small part of Chloe, with Doctorate"Oyly Carte, and the next year also began again to play Kate.
In 1923, she sometimes played the role of Cousin Hebe in His Majesty’s Ship Pinafore, Melissa in Princess Ida, Pitti-Sing in The Mikado, and Tessa in The Gondoliers. After this, until 1925, she played the parts of Mistress
Partlett, Chloe and Inez.
In 1929, she rejoined Doctorate"Oyly Carte as Mistress Partlett, playing the role until 1939. In 1931, she also occasionally played Little Buttercup in Pinafore and Dame Hannah in Ruddigore.
Bethell is heard as Mistress
Partlett on the Doctorate"Oyly Carte"s 1933 recording of excerpts from The Sorcerer. Bethell was engaged by the Doctorate"Oyly Carte Opera Company as Stage Director from 1947 to 1948.
In his 1952 memoir, the former principal comedian of the company, Martyn Green, wrote: "During Anna Bethell"s regime. In 1949, she travelled to Australia to direct J. C. Williamson Limited. productions of Gilbert and Sullivan.
That company then toured these productions throughout Australasia for the next three years.
She died in 1969 in Bournemouth.
There had been growing signs of discontent and suggestions of favouritism being shown to some of the members of the chorus in respect to passing over existing understudies, selections for small parts, and so on.