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Dennis Olsen
	Born: 28 February 1938 (age 86)
	Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
	Occupation
	Actor, singer, pianist
	Notable Roles
	Ko-Ko in The Mikado ; Reginald Bunthorne in Patience ; The Learned Judge in Trial by Jury ; Lord Chancellor in Iolanthe ; Sir Joseph Porter, KCB in ; H.M.S. Pinafore ; The Duke of Plaza-Toro / ; Don Alhambra del Bolero in ; The Gondoliers ; Major-General Stanley in ; The Pirates of Penzance ; Jack Point in Yeomen of the Guard ; Robin Oakapple in Ruddigore ; Antonio Salieri in Amadeus ; Lord Allcash in Fra Diavolo

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Dennis Hans Olsen AM (born 28 February 1938 in Adelaide, South Australia), is an accomplished Australian pianist, actor and director.

Olsen, who is off Danish descent, is Australia's leading exponent of Gilbert and Sullivan operas.

Dennis Olsen originally trained for a professional career as a pianist, and still occasionally plays piano professionally on stage.

He decided to become an actor and attended the prestigious National Institute of Dramatic Art in Sydney, New South Wales during the 1960s. He has appeared with the following theatre companies: Old Tote Theatre Company, State Theatre Company of South Australia, Melbourne Theatre Company and Sydney Theatre Company. Some of the theatre productions, in which Dennis Olsen has appeared, include: "The Importance of Being Earnest", "The Crucible" and "The Venetian Twins".

He was awarded a Churchill Fellowship in 1985 to study operetta in Europe, and has directed many stage productions, including Gilbert and Sullivan operettas, the Kalman operetta Countess Maritza, and the Mozart operas The Abduction from the Seraglio and Cosi fan tutte.

In 1987 he was made an AM (Member of the Order of Australia) for services to the performing arts.^[1]

In 1970-1971 Dennis Olsen spent a year in the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in England, understudying John Reed in the comic roles during his tenure with the company, as well as being a member of the chorus. He was touted to become John Reed's successor in the comic roles with D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, but returned to Australia when it became clear that John Reed had no intention of retiring from the company for some time.^[1]

Dennis Olsen is a very successful exponent of the comic roles of Gilbert and Sullivan Savoy Operas "The Mikado" (as "Koko, The Lord High Executioner"), "Patience" (as "Bunthorne"), "H.M.S. Pinafore (as "Sir Joseph Porter, KCB"), "Iolanthe" (as the "Lord Chancellor"), "Ruddigore" (as "Robin Oakapple"), "Trial by Jury" (as "The Learned Judge"), "The Yeomen of the Guard" (as "Jack Point") and "The Gondoliers" (appearing in one production as "The Duke of Plaza-Toro", and in another production as "Don Alhambra del Bolero, the Grand Inquisitor"). Most recently Dennis 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 Reg Livermore's illness during the Melbourne season.

Dennis Olsen directed, as well as starred in, a State Opera of South Australia production of "H.M.S. Pinafore" (as "Sir Joseph Porter, KCB"). The production also starred Thomas Edmonds (as "Ralph Rackstraw") and Judith Henley (as "Josephine"). Dennis Olsen also sang the role of the "Lord Chancellor" in the production of "Iolanthe" in the opening performance of the Lyric Opera of Queensland, in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia in 1984.

Dennis Olsen also appeared as George Grossmith (the original Gilbert and Sullivan comic lead), in a very successful one-man Musical theatre show called A Song to Sing O, which opened in Victoria (during June, 1991) — following by a tour including South Australia and Western Australia (both during July, 1991), and the Australian Capital Territory and Queensland (both during September, 1991).

In October, 2000, in Melbourne, Victoria, Dennis 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. Accompanying Dennis Olsen were David Gould, Gary Rowley, Roxanne Hislop and Tiffany Speight.

Appearing with the Gilbert & Sullivan Society of South Australia, Dennis 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.

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

Dennis Olsen recorded "Gilbert and Sullivan Highlights" with Australian tenor Thomas Edmonds, and also recorded "Together with Music" with Australian soprano June Bronhill.

In 2008, Dennis Olsen was made a Patron of the Gilbert & Sullivan Society of South Australia Inc.

References

^ "The Dictionary of Performing Arts in Australia — Opera . Music . Dance — Volume 2" — Ann Atkinson, Linsay Knight, Margaret McPhee — Allen & Unwin Pty. Ltd., 1996.

^ Dennis Olsen and Thomas Edmonds - Gilbert and Sullivan Highlights compact disc information

External links

Dennis Olsen - Who was Who in the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company
Dennis Olsen, an Australian Legend - Celebrity Artist Biography
Dennis Olsen - Opera Australia
Dennis Olsen - Stage credits as Director and actor
A History of the Arts in Adelaide: Dennis Olsen "An Actor's Life for Me" - Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Dennis Olsen at IMDb
"A Song to Sing 0" - Cremorne Theatre, Brisbane
An Evening with Dennis Olsen - Gilbert and Sullivan Society of South Australia
Olsen the very model of a Major-General - Gilbert and Sullivan Society of South Australia
Dennis Olsen and Thomas Edmonds - Gilbert and Sullivan Highlights compact disc information
Dennis Olsen and "H.M.S. Pinafore" - Gilbert and Sullivan Discography and review about the State Opera of South Australia's production of the opera
Dennis Olsen - Adelaide Cabaret Festival
Dennis Olsen - The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe website
What a piece of work is Hamlet
Dennis Olsen in Amadeus - Perth Theatre company
Artscene

Performance photos

Dennis Olsen as Percy Grainger in "Percy and Rose" — ACT Heritage Library
Dennis Olsen as Sir Joseph Porter, KCB in "H.M.S. Pinafore"] — National Library of Australia
Dennis Olsen as Emcee in "Cabaret" [2] and [3] and [4] — National Library of Australia
Dennis Olsen as Jesus in "The Wakefield Mysteries" [5] and [6] — National Library of Australia

[1] "The Dictionary of Performing Arts in Australia — Opera . Music . Dance — Volume 2" — Ann Atkinson, Linsay Knight, Margaret McPhee — Allen & Unwin Pty. Ltd., 1996.

[1]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{| class="infobox biography" style="width: 16em; text-align: center;"
-Pages I have created or have extensively edited (marked with an *) include :
+|-
+! style="font-size: 16px;" | Dennis Olsen
+|-
+| style="font-size: 12px;" | '''Born''': {{Birth date and age|1938|2|28|df=yes}}
+|-
+| style="font-size: 12px;" | {{flagicon|Australia}} [[Adelaide]], [[South Australia]], [[Australia]]
+|-
+| style="font-size: 12px;" | '''Occupation'''
+|-
+| style="font-size: 12px;" | [[Actor]], [[singer]], [[pianist]]
+|-
+| style="font-size: 12px;" | '''Notable Roles'''
+|-
+| style="font-size: 12px;" | Ko-Ko in ''[[The Mikado]]'' <br>Reginald Bunthorne in ''[[Patience (opera)|Patience]]'' <br>The Learned Judge in ''[[Trial by Jury]]'' <br>Lord Chancellor in ''[[Iolanthe]]'' <br>Sir Joseph Porter, KCB in <br>''[[H.M.S. Pinafore]]'' <br>The Duke of Plaza-Toro / <br>Don Alhambra del Bolero in <br>''[[The Gondoliers]]'' <br>Major-General Stanley in <br>''[[The Pirates of Penzance]]'' <br>Jack Point in ''[[Yeomen of the Guard]]'' <br>Robin Oakapple in ''[[Ruddigore]]'' <br>Antonio Salieri in ''[[Amadeus]]'' <br>Lord Allcash in ''[[Fra Diavolo (opera)|Fra Diavolo]]''
+|-
+|}
+'''Dennis Hans Olsen''' [[Order of Australia|AM]] (born [[28 February]] [[1938]] in [[Adelaide]], [[South Australia]]), is an accomplished [[Australia]]n pianist, actor and director.
+Olsen, who is off [[Danish people|Danish]] descent, is Australia's leading exponent of [[Gilbert and Sullivan]] operas.
-===Science===
-[[Apparent oxygen utilisation]] - [[Artificial seawater]] - [[Auxospore]] - [[Axenic]] - [[V.V. Beloussov|Beloussov, V.V.]] - [[Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study]] - [[Biological pump]]* - [[Centrales]] - [[CLAW hypothesis]] - [[CC-PP game|Commonize Costs-Privatize Profits Game]] - [[Continental shelf pump]] - [[Cydonia Mensae]]* - [[Diatom]]* - [[Diel vertical migration]] - [[Alex du Toit|du Toit, A.]] - [[Ecosystem model]] - [[Equivalent spherical diameter]] - [[Eustigmatophyte]] - [[Extant taxon|Extant]] - [[F-ratio|f-ratio]] - [[Fern spike]] - [[Geological Society of South Africa]] - [[Global Ocean Data Analysis Project]] - [[Infauna]] - [[Thomas Jamieson|Jamieson, T.]] - [[Lake Vida]]* - [[Mastigonemes]] - [[Dimitri Nalivkin|Nalivkin, D.]] - [[Ocean acidification]] - [[Okta]] - [[Paradox of the plankton]] - [[Pennales]] - [[Primary production]]* - [[R/K selection theory|r/K selection theory]]* - [[Raphidophyte]] - [[Remineralisation]] - [[Gordon Arthur Riley|Riley, G. A.]] - [[Sea surface height]] - [[PH#Seawater|Seawater pH]] - [[Jakob Sederholm|Sederholm, J.]] - [[Sediment trap]] - [[Francis Parker Shepard|Shepard, F.P.]] - [[Solubility pump]] - [[Wilhelm Hans Stille|Stille, W.H.]] - [[Tragedy of the commons]]* - [[World Ocean Atlas]] - [[World Ocean Circulation Experiment]] - [[Zoid]] - [[Zooplankton]]
+Dennis Olsen originally trained for a professional career as a pianist, and still occasionally plays piano professionally on stage.
-===Computer games===
-''[[Aliens versus Predator (computer game)|Aliens versus Predator]]'' - ''[[Atic Atac]]'' - ''[[Blackwyche]]'' - ''[[Bubbler (video game)|Bubbler]]'' - ''[[Cyberun]]'' - ''[[Dragonskulle]]'' - ''[[Entombed (video game)|Entombed]]'' - ''[[Gunfright]]'' - ''[[Imhotep (video game)|Imhotep]]'' - ''[[Lunar Jetman]]'' - ''[[Martianoids]]'' - ''[[Mercenary (computer game)|Mercenary]]''* - ''[[Nightshade (video game)|Nightshade]]'' - ''[[Outlaws (C64 game)|Outlaws]]'' - ''[[Pentagram (video game)|Pentagram]]'' - [[Template:Ultimate Play The Game series]] - [[Xen (Half-Life)|Xen]]*
+He decided to become an actor and attended the prestigious [[National Institute of Dramatic Art]] in [[Sydney]], [[New South Wales]] during the 1960s.  He has appeared with the following theatre companies: [[Old Tote Theatre Company]], [[State Theatre Company of South Australia]], [[Melbourne Theatre Company]] and [[Sydney Theatre Company]].  Some of the theatre productions, in which Dennis Olsen has appeared, include: "''[[The Importance of Being Earnest]]''", "''[[The Crucible]]''" and "''[[The Venetian Twins (musical comedy)|The Venetian Twins]]''".
-===Miscellaneous===
-''[[Miss Wyoming (novel)|Miss Wyoming]]'' - [[Sublimed]] - ''[[The Counterfeiters (film)|The Counterfeiters]]''
+He was awarded a [[Churchill Fellowship]] in 1985 to study operetta in Europe, and has directed many stage productions, including [[Gilbert and Sullivan]] operettas, the [[Emmerich Kalman|Kalman]] operetta [[Countess Maritza]], and the [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart]] operas [[The Abduction from the Seraglio]] and [[Cosi fan tutte]].
+In 1987 he was made an [[Order of Australia|AM]] (Member of the Order of Australia) for services to the performing arts.<ref>"''The Dictionary of Performing Arts in Australia &mdash; Opera . Music . Dance &mdash; Volume 2''" &mdash; Ann Atkinson, Linsay Knight, Margaret McPhee &mdash; Allen & Unwin Pty. Ltd., 1996.</ref>
-Strictly speaking, this isn't a [[vanity]] page.  Instead, it aims to show me how few pages I've actually created on the [[Wikipedia]], with the intention of [[shame|shaming]] me into creating more rather than endlessly seeing off [[evil doers]] like [[creationism|creationists]].
+In 1970-1971 Dennis Olsen spent a year in the [[D'Oyly Carte Opera Company]] in [[England]], understudying [[John Reed (actor)|John Reed]] in the comic roles during his tenure with the company, as well as being a member of the chorus.  He was touted to become John Reed's successor in the comic roles with D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, but returned to Australia when it became clear that John Reed had no intention of retiring from the company for some time.{{ref|gasdisc}}
+Dennis Olsen is a very successful exponent of the comic roles of [[Gilbert and Sullivan]] [[Savoy Opera]]s "''[[The Mikado]]''" (as "''Koko, The Lord High Executioner''"), "''[[Patience (opera)|Patience]]''" (as "''Bunthorne''"), "''[[H.M.S. Pinafore]]'' (as "''Sir Joseph Porter, KCB''"), "''[[Iolanthe]]''" (as the "''Lord Chancellor''"), "''[[Ruddigore]]''" (as "''Robin Oakapple''"), "''[[Trial by Jury]]''" (as "''The Learned Judge''"), "''[[The Yeomen of the Guard]]''" (as "''Jack Point''") and "''[[The Gondoliers]]''" (appearing in one production as "''The Duke of Plaza-Toro''", and in another production as "''Don Alhambra del Bolero, ''the Grand Inquisitor''"). Most recently Dennis 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 [[Reg Livermore]]'s illness during the [[Melbourne]] season.
+Dennis Olsen directed, as well as starred in, a [[State Opera of South Australia]] production of "''[[HMS Pinafore|H.M.S. Pinafore]]''" (as "''Sir Joseph Porter, KCB''").  The production also starred [[Thomas Edmonds (tenor)|Thomas Edmonds]] (as "''Ralph Rackstraw''") and [[Judith Henley]] (as "''Josephine''").  Dennis Olsen also sang the role of the "''Lord Chancellor''" in the production of "''[[Iolanthe]]''" in the opening performance of the [[Lyric Opera of Queensland]], in [[Brisbane]], [[Queensland]], [[Australia]] in 1984.
+Dennis Olsen also appeared as [[George Grossmith]] (the original ''Gilbert and Sullivan'' comic lead), in a very successful one-man [[Musical theatre]] show called ''[[A Song to Sing O]]'', which opened in [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]] (during June, 1991) &mdash; following by a tour including [[South Australia]] and [[Western Australia]] (both during July, 1991), and the [[Australian Capital Territory]] and [[Queensland]] (both during September, 1991).
+In October, 2000, in [[Melbourne]], [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]], Dennis 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.  Accompanying Dennis Olsen were [[David Gould]], [[Gary Rowley]], [[Roxanne Hislop]] and [[Tiffany Speight]].
+Appearing with the Gilbert & Sullivan Society of South Australia, Dennis 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 (opera)|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.
+Dennis Olsen is also an excellent exponent of [[Noel Coward]], and appeared in a one-man combined [[Noel Coward]] [[Gilbert and Sullivan]] show, as well as a Noel Coward production, "''Marvellous Party!''" with [[Amanda Muggleton]] in the Cremorne Theatre at the [[Queensland Performing Arts Centre]].  In July 2006, Dennis Olsen played the role of Antonio Salieri in the production of Peter Schaffer's "Amadeus" in Perth.
+Dennis Olsen recorded "''Gilbert and Sullivan Highlights''" with Australian tenor [[Thomas Edmonds (tenor)|Thomas Edmonds]], and also recorded "''Together with Music''" with Australian soprano [[June Bronhill]].
+In 2008, Dennis Olsen was made a Patron of the Gilbert & Sullivan Society of South Australia Inc.
+==References==
+{{reflist}}
+#{{note|gasdisc}}[http://www.cris.com/~oakapple/gasdisc/mc-adelaide.htm Dennis Olsen and Thomas Edmonds] - Gilbert and Sullivan Highlights compact disc information
+==External links==
+*[http://math.boisestate.edu/gas/whowaswho/O/OlsenDennis.htm Dennis Olsen] - Who was Who in the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company
+*[http://cafe.showbuzz.com.au/CafePG/actsanda.nsf/0/c1aeb1a4a978e3b44a2568410026ad9e?OpenDocument Dennis Olsen, an Australian Legend] - Celebrity Artist Biography
+*[http://www.opera-australia.org.au/opera/oaweb.nsf/0/39F33412518CE207CA256A6D000B8A10?opendocument Dennis Olsen] - Opera Australia
+* [http://www.ausstage.edu.au/indexdrilldown.jsp?xcid=59&f_contrib_id=2610&f_event_id=63695 Dennis Olsen] - Stage credits as Director and actor
+*[http://www.abc.net.au/rn/history/verbatim/stories/s614641.htm A History of the Arts in Adelaide: Dennis Olsen "An Actor's Life for Me"] - Australian Broadcasting Corporation
+*{{imdb name|0647618}}
+* [http://www.ausstage.edu.au/indexdrilldown.jsp?xcid=59&f_event_id=15476 "A Song to Sing 0"] - Cremorne Theatre, Brisbane
+* [http://www.gandssa.org.au/2004shows/evening.htm An Evening with Dennis Olsen] - Gilbert and Sullivan Society of South Australia
+* [http://www.messenger.net.au/Pulse/htm/pirat271004.htm Olsen the very model of a Major-General] - Gilbert and Sullivan Society of South Australia
+*[http://www.cris.com/~oakapple/gasdisc/mc-adelaide.htm Dennis Olsen and Thomas Edmonds] - Gilbert and Sullivan Highlights compact disc information
+*[http://www.cris.com/~oakapple/gasdisc/pinsaust.htm Dennis Olsen and "''H.M.S. Pinafore''"] - Gilbert and Sullivan Discography and review about the State Opera of South Australia's production of the opera
+*[http://www.adelaidecabaret.com/archive/2002/program/playhouse/encore Dennis Olsen] - Adelaide Cabaret Festival
+*[http://www.malcolmcooke.com/lionwitchandwardrobe/homeframe.asp?mainFrame=b_dolsen.htm Dennis Olsen] - The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe website
+* [http://www.thewarbler.unisa.edu.au/showArticle.php?section=arts&articleID=HamletArts.htm What a piece of work is ''Hamlet'']
+* [http://www.perththeatre.com.au/article.asp?id=114 Dennis Olsen in ''Amadeus''] - Perth Theatre company
+* [http://www.messenger.net.au/pulse/htm/scene1606.htm Artscene]
+=====Performance photos=====
+*  [http://www.images.act.gov.au/duslibrary/imagesact.nsf/8574356a230114e8ca256ad500042b9c/92d8af6e1745597e4a256e92001e466c!OpenDocument Dennis Olsen as [[Percy Grainger]] in "''Percy and Rose''"] &mdash; ACT Heritage Library
+* [http://www.nla.gov.au/apps/cdview?pi=nla.pic-vn3567204&referercode=ma Dennis Olsen as Sir Joseph Porter, KCB] in "''[[H.M.S. Pinafore]]''"] &mdash; National Library of Australia
+* Dennis Olsen as Emcee in "''[[Cabaret (musical)|Cabaret]]''" [http://www.nla.gov.au/apps/cdview?pi=nla.pic-vn3567121&referercode=ma] and [http://www.nla.gov.au/apps/cdview?pi=nla.pic-vn3567161&referercode=ma] and [http://www.nla.gov.au/apps/cdview?pi=nla.pic-vn3567167&referercode=ma] &mdash; National Library of Australia
+* Dennis Olsen as [[Jesus]] in "''[[The Wakefield Mysteries]]''" [http://www.nla.gov.au/apps/cdview?pi=nla.pic-vn3567206&referercode=ma] and [http://www.nla.gov.au/apps/cdview?pi=nla.pic-vn3567208&referercode=ma] &mdash; National Library of Australia
+{{DEFAULTSORT:Olsen, Dennis}}
+[[Category:Australians of Scandinavian descent]]
+[[Category:Australians of Danish descent]]
+[[Category:Scandinavian pianists]]
+[[Category:Danish pianists]]
+[[Category:Australian pianists]]
+[[Category:Scandinavian baritones]]
+[[Category:Danish baritones]]
+[[Category:Australian baritones]]
+[[Category:Scandinavian film actors]]
+[[Category:Danish film actors]]
+[[Category:Australian film actors]]
+[[Category:Scandinavian stage actors]]
+[[Category:Danish stage actors]]
+[[Category:Australian stage actors]]
+[[Category:Scandinavian television actors]]
+[[Category:Scandinavian Australians television actors]]
+[[Category:Australian television actors]]
+[[Category:Scandinavian actors]]
+[[Category:Scandinavian Australians television actors]]
+[[Category:Scandinavian Australians musical theatre actors]]
+[[Category:Danish Australians musical theatre actors]]
+[[Category:Danish television actors]]
+[[Category:Australian musical theatre actors]]
+[[Category:Scandinavian theatre directors]]
+[[Category:Danish theatre directors]]
+[[Category:Australian theatre directors]]
+[[Category:Gilbert and Sullivan performers]]
+[[Category:Members of the Order of Australia]]
+[[Category:People from Adelaide]]
+[[Category:1938 births]]
+[[Category:Living people]]