Lilliane Anstee was one of the founding members of The Main Line Opera Guild. A regular performer in our community concerts, she also portrayed Czipra the Gypsy in the Guild's June, 2005 production of The Gypsy Baron.
A graduate of the Hart School of Music, Lilliane performed with many groups in the Philadelphia area. With Rose Valley Chorus & Orchestra she appeared as Elsie in The Yeomen of the Guard, Huguette du Hamel in The Vagabond King, Josephine in H.M.S. Pinafore, Edith in The Pirates of Penzance, Vittoria in The Gondoliers, and Leila in Iolanthe, and with Delaware Valley Opera Company as Countess in The Marriage of Figaro, Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors, Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, Giannetta in The Elixir of Love, and First Lady in The Magic Flute. With Amici Opera she sang leading roles in William Tell, La Traviata, and Jewels of the Madonna. She also sang with Pennsylvania ProMusica, Mozart and Friends, Concert Operetta Theater, Trinity Center for Urban Life, groups in New York, New England, and abroad.
Although Lilliane was a classically trained singer-actress, she showed great talent for stage direction as well. At Rose Valley Chorus & Orchestra, she directed: Kiss Me, Kate, Iolanthe, Kismet, The Desert Song, The Mikado, The Gondoliers, The Merry Widow, Oklahoma!, and Orpheus in the Underworld and is remembered very fondly for her innovative, inspired direction. When Lilliane directed a show, her direction always provided an interesting twist.
Offstage Lilliane worked as editor and executive vice-president for Veterinary Learning Systems and Veterinary Publications, but the favorite role in her life was being the wife of Jay Anstee and the mother of Eve and Ian Anstee. Lilliane's death is keenly felt by us all, and she is greatly missed.