Dennis Olsen - Later Years

Later Years

Olsen sang the role of the Lord Chancellor in the production of Iolanthe in the opening performance of the Lyric Opera of Queensland, in Brisbane in 1984. Olson played Major General Stanley in the Adelaide season of Opera Australia's tour of The Pirates of Penzance, as well as covering the role for the extent of Reg Livermore's illness during the Melbourne season. His other Gilbert and Sullivan roles have included Robin Oakapple in Ruddigore, the Learned Judge in Trial by Jury, Jack Point in The Yeomen of the Guard and Don Alhambra in The Gondoliers. He was awarded a Churchill Fellowship in 1985 to study operetta production in Europe, and he subsequently directed many stage productions, including Gilbert and Sullivan operas, Countess Maritza and The Czardas Princess by Emmerich Kálmán, and the Mozart operas The Abduction from the Seraglio and Così fan tutte.

Olsen also appeared as George Grossmith (the original Gilbert and Sullivan comic lead), in a one-man show called "A Song to Sing, O", which had been written for John Reed in 1981. Olsen's production of it opened in Victoria, in June 1991, following by a tour including South Australia and Western Australia (July 1991), and the Australian Capital Territory and Queensland (September 1991). He directed Trial by Jury and played the Learned Judge in the Sydney Festival's 1997–98 production.

In October 2000, in Melbourne, Olsen appeared in the Production Company's presentation, in association with Melbourne Festival, of "The Gilbert & Sullivan Show", which represented a family party, with some of the family members gathering in a parlour and singing Gilbert and Sullivan songs to entertain the others' family members at the party. Appearing with the Gilbert & Sullivan Society of South Australia, Olsen sang the roles of Major-General Stanley in their 2004 production of The Pirates of Penzance and Bunthorne in their 2006 production of Patience. He also appeared in their concert production "An Evening with Dennis Olsen" to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the Law Society of South Australia in 2004.

Olsen is also a popular exponent of Noël Coward, and appeared in a one-man combined Noël Coward-Gilbert & Sullivan show, as well as a Coward production, "Marvellous Party!" with Amanda Muggleton in the Cremorne Theatre at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre. In July 2006, Olsen played the role of Antonio Salieri in the production of Peter Shaffer's Amadeus in Perth.

Olsen recorded "Gilbert and Sullivan Highlights" with Thomas Edmonds in 1978 and 1979, and also recorded "Together with Music" with June Bronhill. He has also appeared in cabaret, radio, television, and film.