Bardsley was English; he studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London, and would seem to have started his career in 1906. He appeared in several
Promenade Concerts, and he sang in "musical plays" at the Apollo Theatre in London (Butterflies, 1908) and the Queen's Theatre (A Persian
princess, 1909). In 1908, he sang at Covent Garden with the Beecham Opera Company.
In 1913, he moved to the USA, where he became a member of the Aborn Opera Company and later of the Century Opera Company in New York City; again,
he had his best successes in light opera, like notably in HMS Pinafore at the New York Hippodrome in April 1914. He also worked as an
entertainer at Shanley's then super-famous restaurants (from 1914).
Bardsley was only 32 when pneumonia carried him off. His last words were not spoken but sung: he sat up in his bed, faintly intoned "Drink to me
only with thine eyes", fell back and died.
Reference and picture source
