Meston Reid as Captain Fitzbattleaxe in Utopia, Limited, 1975
Alexander Meston Reid (21 March 1945 – 31 October 1993), better known as Meston Reid, was a Scottish opera singer and actor, best known for his performances in tenor roles of the Savoy Operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company. After working his way up through the ranks for four years with Sadler's Wells Opera and on tour, Reid joined D'Oyly Carte as one of the company's principal tenors, where he eventually played most of the leading tenor roles in the Gilbert and Sullivan operas until the company closed in 1982. He continued to sing and direct until his sudden death in 1993.
Early life
Reid was born in Strathdee, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. He began his musical career as a boy soprano, making his first public appearance aged 6. He attended the Aboyne Academy, which he left aged 15 to work on his father's farm, singing in concerts in his spare time.[1] At the age of eighteen, he joined the Lyric Musical Society of Aberdeen, sang with the Inverness Opera Company, and began to take singing and piano lessons.[2] He was a finalist in the Count Cinzano Scholarship competition for young singers in 1965.[3] Intending to pursue a career in music, Reid left the family farm and moved to Aberdeen where he worked for a food firm while continuing to study music.[1]
Career
He made his professional debut in a Scottish variety show at the Tivoli Theatre in Aberdeen and performed with Sadler's Wells Opera for four years, first in the chorus before graduating to small parts. His first solo role was Lun Tha in The King and I in 1972.[2] In 1973 he appeared in The Leslie Crowther Show and toured in Lilac Time and as Sid-el-Karr in The Desert Song.[1]
Reid later appeared in the chorus of The Metropolitan Mikado in 1985 and sang with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and in the show Grand Tour of Melody with Richard Baker. From 1989, he went on concert tours of Scotland, and in 1993 he joined the concert group "The Stars of Operetta".[2] In 1987, he was first engaged as the director of the Godalming Operatic Society, an amateur society with a long association with ex-D'Oyly Carte directors. He directed their productions until 1993.[6]
Reid's roles recorded with D'Oyly Carte included Fitzbattleaxe in Utopia (1976), Ernest Dummkopf in The Grand Duke (1976), Marco in The Gondoliers (1977), Aesculapius Carboy in The Zoo (1978), and Leonard Meryll in Yeomen (1979). He also participated in the D'Oyly Carte: The Last Night recording in 1982.[7] In 1989 he made a recording of traditional Scottish songs.
