After his voice was discovered, Brozel decided to be a singer. So as to escape conscription into the army,
Brozel went to London to study singing, via Hamburg,
trying to earn enough money on the way to pay for his trip to England.
Once there, Brozel worked in a clothier's warehouse. When he had saved enough money, he registered at the Guildhall School
of Music, where he acquired a sponsor (John Rutson),
who sent him to the Academy of Music where he studied first with Alberto Randegger. Brozel did not like
the results and heard of a certain Mr. Wilkinson, a great teacher but hated by the establishment. He took private lessons
with him while continuing with Alberto Randegger.
During his studies, Brozel already had opportunities to perform. On 25 March 1893, for instance, he
sang with fellow students in Zar und
Zimmermann. The students also gave a concert at St. James Hall
a few days before Christmas 1893 when Brozel sang Ah! lêve toi, soleil.
Brozel went to Hull on 21 February 1894 to appear with the Vocal Society, in St. John's Eve by Frederic H. Cowen.
When, while still studying, Brozel sang Canio in a student production at the Academy of Music, Augustus Harris of Covent
Garden heard him and was duly impressed. Harris offered £ 15 a week to sing at Covent Garden.
Brozel sang at Covent Garden:
1894 (season from 14 May to 30 July): Brozel sang Canio sharing the role with Fernando De Lucia and Charles
Bonnard, with Melba as Nedda.
1895 Don Giovanni on 24/28 June, with Adelina Patti and Victor Maurel; Canio again; the world premiere of Harold or The Norman
conquest by Frederick Cowen (8 June 1895) as Harold, with Emma Albani and David Bispham.
Brozel also sang at Covent Garden as a member of the
Carl Rosa Opera Company (1897: Carmen, Lohengrin, Tannhäuser, Diarmid by Hamish MacGunn, world premiere,
23 October), and the Moody-Manners Company (1895: Carmen, Faust,
Pagliacci; 1902: Carmen, Trovatore, Pagliacci, Lohengrin, Siegfried, Tannhäuser and Tristan).
In 1895, Brozel made his first appearance at Henry Woods's Promenade Concerts at Queen's Hall.
In 1900, Brozel sang in the US with the Metropolitan English Grand Opera Company. The company visited New York (October to
15 December), Pittsburgh, Washington, Boston, etc. They came back to New York on 8 April 1901.
While in the US, Brozel received a grant to study Wagner's repertory in
Prague with Leo Blech. Still in 1901, Brozel returned to the Moody-Manners Company and sang two more seasons with them.
In 1902, Brozel
sang at the Bayreuth Festival (Steuermann and one of the squires in Parsifal).
Brozel left for Prague in 1903 to sing his repertory and moved to Munich, re-studying Wagner roles with Felix Mottl for one
year.
Then he continued his career in Germany:
1905–07: Stadttheater Mainz: Meistersinger, Prophète, Die Liebesgeige (world premiere, 15 April 1906), and his
usual repertory.
1907: Wiener Hofoper: Canio (24 April 1907), Otello (31 August and 8 October 1907), Eléazar (12 November 1907),
Lohengrin (5 October and 22 December 1907).
Brozel made guest appearances at the German Theater in Prag (1904), at the Opernhaus in Köln (1905), at the Berlin
Hofoper as Tristan (1905), at the Hoftheater Hannover (1906/07), and at the Opernhaus in Frankfurt am Main (1906).
Brozel then returned to the Moody-Manners Company and sang with them until the disbanding of the company in 1910 (adding
Rienzi and Samson). His last British performance was as Herodes at Covent Garden in December 1910.
Sometimes he appeared as a guest in German festivals until 1920. The severe strain of singing so much Wagner
weakened his constitution and forced him to retire.
Brozel opened a singing academy called the Philip Brozel Conservatory
at Cleveland Lodge at St. Margarets-on-Thames, later a part of Richmond.
He died in Twickenham of heart-related illness on 23 December 1927.
Reference: Kutsch & Riemens
Reference 1
Reference 2
Chronology
25 March 1893, Royal Academy of Music, Zar und Zimmermann
with Arthur Barlow, Vena Galbraith, Lilian Bedern, Arthur Appleby;
conductor G. G. Betjemaum
21 December 1893, St. James Hall, The Students' Orchestra Concert
Roméo et Juliette – Cavatina; conductor Mackenzie
Hull Vocal Society, 21 February 1894, St. John's Eve (Frederic H. Cowen)
Spring 1894, Royal Academy of Music, Pagliacci
May 1894, Covent Garden, Pagliacci
8 June 1895, Covent Garden, Harold (Cowen)
with Emma Albani, Victor Maurel, David Bispham
June 1895, Covent Garden, Pagliacci
24 & 28 June 1895, Covent Garden, Don Giovanni
with Victor Maurel, Adelina Patti (as Zerlina)
September 1895, Queen's Hall, Promenade Concert
Carmen – Flower Song
12 October – 9 November 1895, Covent Garden, Moody-Manners Opera Company
Carmen (3), Faust (3), Pagliacci (2), Philémon et Baucis (with Pol Plançon)
1897–98, The Garrick Theatre, Carl Rosa Opera Company
19 January (opening night), Roméo et Juliette
with Alice Esty, Charles Tilbury, Eily Heenan, Lillie Williams, Alec Marsh, George Fox,
Frank Wood; conductor Claude Jaquinot
Carmen
Lohengrin
Tannhäuser
23 October 1897, Diarmid (Hamish MacCunn)
with Louise Kirkby Lunn
late 1898, Tristan und Isolde
with Lucille Hill, Kirkby Lunn, Arthur Winckworth, Charles Tidbury;
conductor Hamish MacCunn
Early 1899, Liverpool, Tristan und Isolde
with Rita Elandi, Harry Lempriere Pringle
1 October – 15 December 1900, New York City, Metropolitan English Grand Opera
19 November 1900, Esmeralda (Goring Thomas) with Grace Golden, Harry Lempriere Pringle,
William Paull, Garce van Studdiford, Leslie Walker, Harry Davies, F. J. Boyle
16 December 1900 – 15 April 1901, Metropolitan English Grand Opera on tour
1901, London, Moody-Manners Opera Company, Siegfried
14 December 1901, Edinburgh, Royal Lyceum Theatre, Moody-Manners, Die Meistersinger
von Nürnberg
with Kate Anderson, Montague Alliston, R. Cliffe, F. Davis, William Dever,
Lewys James, Charles Magrath, Toni Seiter; conductor Richard Eckhold
Bayreuth Festival, 1902
Der fliegende Holländer as Steuermann; conductor Siegfried Wagner
Parsifal as Vierter Knappe; conductor Karl Muck
1902–03, London, Covent Garden, Moody-Manners
25 August 1902, Carmen
with Zélie de Lussan
27 & 30 August 1902, Pagliacci
with Anna Hickisch, William Dever, George Fox, Dan Thomas; conductor Richard Eckhold
Lohengrin
Tristan und Isolde
with Blanche Marchesi
1 September 1902, Tannhäuser
with Fanny Moody, Marie Alexander, William Dever, Charles Magrath
18 September 1902, Siegfried
with Fanny Moody, Alice Esty
30 March 1903, Pagliacci
with William Dever, Anna Hickisch, George A. Fox, Dan Thomas; conductor Richard Eckhold
1903, Prague, his usual Wagner roles
1904, Munich, his usual roles
1905–06, Mainz, Stadttheater
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
Le prophète
Salome
15 April 1906, Die Liebesgeige (Alick MacLean) – world premiere
Guest appearances in:
Frankfurt
Köln, Lohengrin
Hannover, Tristan und Isolde
Berlin, Hofoper, Aida
Budapest, three Wagner festivals
1907, Vienna, Hofoper
24 April, Pagliacci
12 November, La Juive
31 August & 8 October, Otello
5 October & 22 December, Lohengrin
1908, London, Lyric Theatre, Moody-Manners
17 August, Lohengrin
with Fanny Moody, Lewys James, Charles Manners, Marie Louise Roger, Charles Moorhouse;
conductor Richard Eckhold
26 August, Tristan and Isolde
with Enriquetta Crichton, William Dever, Charles Magrath, Toni Seiter,
T. C. Fairbairn, C. Ferocs, J. Johnstone; conductor Richard Eckhold
30 August, La Juive
with Charles Manners, Clementine de Vere Sapio, Seth Hughes,
Kate Anderson, C. Moffitt, R. Carter, Alexander; conductor Richard Eckhold
28 September, Lohengrin
with Clementine de Vere Sapio, Marie Louise Roger, Charles Magrath, William Dever;
conductor Richard Eckhold
Samson et Dalila
1908, Kingston-upon-Hull, Moody-Manners
4 November, Aida
6 November, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
1909–10, London, Moody-Manners
27 August 1909, Rienzi
with William Dever, Charles Magrath, Bessie Weir, Kate Anderson;
conductor Richard Eckhold
7 April 1910, Il trovatore
with Clementine de Vere Sapio, Marie Louise Roger, Harry Brindle, Charles Moorhouse;
conductor Cuthbert Hawley
25 & 31 December 1910, London, Covent Garden, Royal Opera, Salome
with Aïno Ackté, Elly Petzl-Demmer, Clarence Whitehill, Maurice d'Oisly,
Edna Thornton; conductor Thomas Beecham |