Meston Reid

Alexander Meston Reid (21 March 1945 – 31 October 1993) was a Scottish tenor and actor who built his career primarily through Gilbert and Sullivan repertoire, most notably as a principal tenor with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company. Born in Strathdee, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, Reid demonstrated musical aptitude from an early age, making his first public appearance as a boy soprano at age six. He attended Aboyne Academy, leaving at fifteen to work on his father's farm while continuing to sing in local concerts. At eighteen he joined the Lyric Musical Society of Aberdeen and began formal lessons in singing and piano, also performing with the Inverness Opera Company. In 1965 he was a finalist in the Count Cinzano Scholarship competition for young singers. He subsequently left the farm, relocated to Aberdeen, and took employment with a food firm while pursuing his musical studies.

Reid launched his professional career with a debut in a Scottish variety show at the Tivoli Theatre in Aberdeen. He then spent four years with Sadler's Wells Opera, progressing from the chorus to small solo parts. His first solo role was Lun Tha in The King and I in 1972. The following year he appeared in The Leslie Crowther Show and toured in Lilac Time and as Sid-el-Karr in The Desert Song.

In 1974 Reid joined the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, making his entrance as Earl Tolloller in Iolanthe. He steadily expanded his portfolio of principal tenor roles to include Mr. Box in Cox and Box, Alexis Poindextre in The Sorcerer, Ralph in H.M.S. Pinafore, the Duke of Dunstable in Patience, Richard in Ruddigore, and Marco Palmieri in The Gondoliers. When D'Oyly Carte revived Utopia Limited for its 1975 Centenary season, Reid took on the role of Captain Fitzbattleaxe, and that same year he added Frederic in The Pirates of Penzance and Leonard Meryll in The Yeomen of the Guard to his repertoire. The 1977 revival of Princess Ida brought him the role of Prince Hilarion. He also performed the role of Ralph in the Royal Command Performance of H.M.S. Pinafore at Windsor Castle, staged to mark Queen Elizabeth's Silver Jubilee. Reid remained with D'Oyly Carte as a principal tenor until the company closed in 1982.

His Broadway appearances came in 1976, when he performed in H.M.S. Pinafore and The Pirates of Penzance. During his tenure with D'Oyly Carte, Reid also accumulated a body of recorded work. His recordings with the company included Fitzbattleaxe in Utopia Limited (1976), Ernest Dummkopf in The Grand Duke (1976), Marco Palmieri in The Gondoliers (1977), Aesculapius Carboy in The Zoo (1978), and Leonard Meryll in The Yeomen of the Guard (1979). He also participated in the D'Oyly Carte: The Last Night recording in 1982.

Following the closure of D'Oyly Carte, Reid continued performing and directing. In 1985 he appeared in the chorus of The Metropolitan Mikado, and he sang with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and in the concert show Grand Tour of Melody alongside Richard Baker. From 1987 he served as director of the Godalming Operatic Society, an amateur company with an established connection to former D'Oyly Carte directors, continuing in that role until 1993. He undertook concert tours of Scotland beginning in 1989, the same year he recorded an album of traditional Scottish songs, and in 1993 he joined the concert group The Stars of Operetta. Reid died suddenly later that year at the age of 48.