Cook, Thomas (Aynsley)

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Cook, Thomas (Aynsley)

Cook, Thomas (Aynsley) , English bass; b. London, July 1831 or 1836; d. Liverpool, Feb. 16, 1894. He was a pupil of Hopkins at the City Temple in London, and of Staudigl in Munich. After singing in Germany, he made his British debut as a member of Lucy Escort’s National English Opera Co. in Manchester in 1856. Following a tour of the U.S. with Escott, he joined the Pyne-Harrison Co. in London in 1862. After singing with the English Opera Co., he appeared at the Gaiety Theatre from 1870 to 1872. From 1875 he was a member of the Carl Rosa Opera Co. Cook was the maternal grandfather of Sir Eugene, Marie, Leon, and Sidonie Goossens.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire