Opera Comique

Last updated

Opera Comique
1901 WychStreet.jpg
A 1901 postcard of Wych Street, shortly before its demolition
Opera Comique
Address299 Strand
Westminster, London
Coordinates 51°30′47″N00°06′57″W / 51.51306°N 0.11583°W / 51.51306; -0.11583
DesignationDemolished
Current useSite occupied by Bush House
Construction
Opened1870
Closed1899
Architect F. H. Fowler

The Opera Comique was a 19th-century theatre constructed in Westminster, London, located between Wych Street, Holywell Street and the Strand. It opened in 1870 and was demolished in 1902, to make way for the construction of the Aldwych and Kingsway.

Contents

The theatre was built cheaply as a speculative venture, and was known as one of the "rickety twins" along with the adjacent Globe Theatre. Numerous managements presented plays in English, French and German, and the house was also used for extravaganzas and English versions of French opéras bouffes. It is best remembered as the theatre where several early Gilbert and Sullivan operas had their first runs, between 1877 and 1881.

History

Background and early years

In the 16th century Lyon's Inn, one of the Inns of Chancery attached to London's Inner Temple, stood on the site. By the 1860s the area had deteriorated greatly, and the old inn had been converted into what the historians Mander and Mitchenson describe as "dwellings of a dubious nature". [1] In 1864 part of the area was cleared, and the impresario Sefton Parry built a new theatre, the Globe, which opened in 1868. [2] He acquired an adjacent site, bounded by Wych Street, Holywell Street and the Strand, on which he built the Opera Comique two years later. [3] The architect was Francis Fowler. [4]

Parry's construction of the theatres was a speculative venture: he hoped to make large profits from compensation when the area was demolished, which was even then in contemplation. [1] It remained in contemplation for more than thirty years. [5] The two theatres, which backed on to each other, became known as "the rickety twins": [6] both were of such flimsy construction that performers could hear each other through the common wall. [7] Despite the nickname, the Opera Comique was by no means a twin of the Globe, being only about half the size, with a seating capacity of 862, [8] compared with more than 1,500 at the Globe. [9]

Another way in which the two theatres differed was that, unlike the Globe, the Opera Comique was largely underground. It was entered through tunnels from three streets (including the Strand) and was nicknamed the "Theatre Royal Tunnels". [3] It was reportedly draughty, and its long flight of stairs leading down to the level of the stalls was a dangerous fire hazard. [10] Despite this and the flimsy construction, the theatre attracted high praise from the press after it opened. The Era , commented, "For elegance of design and perfect adaptability to the requirements of dramatic art it is not surpassed, if indeed it be equalled, by any existing Theatre". [4] Another London journal reported:

We are almost inclined to pronounce it the prettiest theatre in London. It is in the flat horse-shoe form, the stage being well within sight and hearing of every part of the auditorium. This comprises rows of comfortable and elegant stalls on the floor, with three tiers or circles extending nearly round the house as dress-circle, family-circle, and amphitheatre, respectively, and six private boxes on either side of the stage. The design of construction reflects the highest credit on Mr F. H. Fowler, the architect, and the chaste and elegant decorations of Mr K. W. Bradwell deserve great praise. [11]

The theatre opened under the name "Royal Opera Comique" on 29 October 1870. [3] A company from the Théâtre Déjazet in Paris, led by the veteran actress Virginie Déjazet, presented Victorien Sardou's comedy Les Prés Saint-Gervais and two shorter pieces, to an audience that included the Prince of Wales. [4] The following year, French drama continued, when the Comédie-Française company made its first appearance outside France, an event that caused considerable interest. [12]

The first home-grown production at the theatre was a musical play in 1871, Marie, with music by Richard D'Oyly Carte and a libretto by E. Spencer Mott. This accompanied an English adaptation of Molière's Le Médecin malgré lui . The production was not a success. [13] Opéras bouffes by Hervé, Offenbach and Lecocq, and extravaganzas by F. C. Burnand followed. [14] After short seasons starring the Italian tragedienne Adelaide Ristori and then the English operetta star Emily Soldene, Carte became manager of the theatre in 1874, and presented The Broken Branch, an English version of Gaston Serpette's operetta La branch cassée, starring Pauline Rita. [15] Carte's first attempt to found "a permanent abode for Light Opera" [12] failed, and the theatre passed into other hands for the next three years. [12]

The word "Royal" was dropped from the name of the theatre in 1876. [3] Burnand and Charles Morton were both briefly managers there, presenting extravaganzas and comic operas respectively. Morton's season in 1876 included well-received productions of Offenbach's Madame l'archiduc and Lecocq's La fille de Madame Angot , featuring Soldene and Kate Santley and, in the second piece, W. S. Penley, promoted from the chorus. Morton also presented a successful double bill of Gilbert and Sullivan's Trial by Jury and Offenbach's Geneviève de Brabant . [14] After Morton a succession of managements between May 1876 and September 1877 staged productions that made little impact. [14]

Gilbert and Sullivan

1878 programme cover Sorctrial.jpg
1878 programme cover

In November 1877 the Comedy Opera Company, managed by Carte, took on the lease and staged the premiere of Gilbert and Sullivan's The Sorcerer . This was followed in 1878 by the same team's H.M.S. Pinafore , which became a hit, running for 571 performances, the second-longest theatrical run in history, to that date. [16] During the performance on 31 July 1879, Carte's former business partners in the Comedy Opera Company (with whom Carte, Gilbert and Sullivan had split) tried to seize the set, creating a celebrated fracas. [17] Over Christmas 1878, during the run of H.M.S. Pinafore, the theatre was renovated and redecorated by E. W. Bradwell, reopening on 1 February 1879. The Era commented, "We can hardly overpraise the beauty and grace of the Opera Comique as it now appears to the delighted audience." [18]

Two more Gilbert and Sullivan successes followed, now produced by the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company: The Pirates of Penzance (1880) and, finally, Patience (1881), which was later transferred to Carte's new and larger theatre, the Savoy. [19] During this period, Carte also presented various companion pieces with the Gilbert and Sullivan operas, including the 1877 revival of Dora's Dream by Arthur Cecil and Alfred Cellier; The Spectre Knight (1878); revivals of Trial by Jury ; several pieces by George Grossmith beginning in 1878: Beauties on the Beach, A Silver Wedding, Five Hamlets, and Cups and Saucers ; revivals of Gilbert's After All! ; [18] a Children's Pinafore with an entirely juvenile cast (1878); In the Sulks (1880); and Uncle Samuel (1881). [20]

Later years

Once D'Oyly Carte left the Opera Comique the theatre's fortunes declined. It was unoccupied from October to the end of 1881. [14] At the start of 1882, John Hollingshead and Richard Barker presented Mother-in-Law, a frivolous comedy by George R. Sims, which ran in a double bill with a burlesque called Vulcan, until May. They were followed by a spoof called The Wreck of the Pinafore by H. Lingard and Luscombe Searelle, described by The Era as "curious and impudent", which ran until October. [14] During the rest of the 1880s a succession of managements presented a wide range of genres, from adaptations of French plays, Shakespeare, Sheridan, Ibsen, and a Dickens adaptation by the novelist's son, to musical shows, including The Fay o' Fire by Edward Jones and Henry Herman, which The Era later described as "notable as introducing Miss Marie Tempest to the regular stage". [14] Composers whose works were presented at the Opera Comique in this period included Julia Woolf, Meyer Lutz and Victor Roger. Performers included Nelly Bromley, Frank Wyatt, Johnston Forbes-Robertson, Julia Gwynne and Penley. [14]

1887 programme cover Opera-comique-1887.jpg
1887 programme cover

The theatre was again renovated in 1885, under the proprietorship of the actor-manager, David James. The Era thought that the refurbishments made it "one of the most convenient, handsome, and acceptable places of entertainment in London". [21] James had bought adjoining premises in Holywell Street to make room for an extension to the theatre. The bars and circulation areas were, according to The Era, much improved, a spacious smoking room was added, and new emergency exits were installed. [21] In 1891, George Edwardes took on the management of the theatre and presented a burlesque of Joan of Arc by Adrian Ross, J. L. Shine and Frank Osmond Carr, with a cast including Arthur Roberts and Marion Hood. It was well received and ran from January to September. [14] After that, the theatre reverted to its pattern of rapidly changing productions and short-lived managements. [14]

A feature of the early 1890s was the frequent presentation of adaptations from, or original works by, novelists such as Henry James, Rudyard Kipling and George Moore. [14] A further season of French plays, performed in their original language, was followed by a German season, also given in the original, in 1894, which ran for more than two months. [14] In early 1895, "Nellie Farren started her unfortunate season here with a bad comedy … and a worse burlesque", according to The Era. [14] Later that year Augustus Harris presented Charles Villiers Stanford's comic opera Shamus O'Brien, which ran for two months, from March to May. [22] Osmond Carr's The Maid of Athens, ran for a month in June 1897, after which, said The Era, "nothing worthy of any record whatever has been attempted at this temple of the drama, which has had a singularly eccentric and mostly disastrous career." [14] A revival of a musical adaptation of Alice in Wonderland , with music by Walter Slaughter, opened for the Christmas season of 1898 and ran until mid-February 1899. [23] In March 1899, Horace Sedger announced a burlesque for the Opera Comique, Great Caesar, by Paul and Walter Rubens and George Grossmith Jr., [24] but he changed his plans and presented it at the Comedy Theatre. [25]

The Opera Comique closed in 1899 and was compulsorily purchased by the London County Council for £40,000. [26] It was demolished in 1902 when the area was redeveloped to create Aldwych (named after old Wych Street) and Kingsway. [5]

References and sources

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard D'Oyly Carte</span> English theatre manager and producer (1844–1901)

Richard D'Oyly Carte was an English talent agent, theatrical impresario, composer, and hotelier during the latter half of the Victorian era. He built two of London's theatres and a hotel empire, while also establishing an opera company that ran continuously for over a hundred years and a management agency representing some of the most important artists of the day.

<i>The Pirates of Penzance</i> 1879 comic opera by Gilbert & Sullivan

The Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. Its official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on 31 December 1879, where it was well received by both audiences and critics. Its London debut was on 3 April 1880, at the Opera Comique, where it ran for 363 performances.

<i>H.M.S. Pinafore</i> 1878 comic opera by Gilbert & Sullivan

H.M.S. Pinafore; or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It opened at the Opera Comique in London on 25 May 1878, and ran for 571 performances, which was the second-longest run of any musical theatre piece up to that time. H.M.S. Pinafore was Gilbert and Sullivan's fourth operatic collaboration and their first international sensation.

<i>The Sorcerer</i> 1877 comic opera by Gilbert & Sullivan

The Sorcerer is a two-act comic opera, with a libretto by W. S. Gilbert and music by Arthur Sullivan. It was the British duo's third operatic collaboration. The plot of The Sorcerer is based on a Christmas story, An Elixir of Love, that Gilbert wrote for The Graphic magazine in 1876. A young man, Alexis, is obsessed with the idea of love levelling all ranks and social distinctions. To promote his beliefs, he invites the proprietor of J. W. Wells & Co., Family Sorcerers, to brew a love potion. This causes everyone in the village to fall in love with the first person they see and results in the pairing of comically mismatched couples. In the end, Wells must sacrifice his life to break the spell.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alfred Cellier</span> 19th-century English composer and conductor

Alfred Cellier was an English composer, orchestrator and conductor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">D'Oyly Carte Opera Company</span> British theatre company

The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company is a professional British light opera company that, from the 1870s until 1982, staged Gilbert and Sullivan's Savoy operas nearly year-round in the UK and sometimes toured in Europe, North America and elsewhere. The company was revived for short seasons and tours from 1988 to 2003, and since 2013 it has co-produced four of the operas with Scottish Opera.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Temple (bass-baritone)</span> English opera singer, actor and stage director

Richard Barker Cobb Temple was an English opera singer, actor and stage director, best known for his performances in the bass-baritone roles in the famous series of Gilbert and Sullivan comic operas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leonora Braham</span> English singer and actress (1853–1931)

Leonora Braham was an English opera singer and actress primarily known as the creator of principal soprano roles in the Gilbert and Sullivan comic operas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alice Barnett</span> English actress and singer

Alice Barnett was an English singer and actress, best known for her performances in contralto roles of the Gilbert and Sullivan operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Thornton (Savoyard)</span> English actor, singer, comedian and producer

Frank Thornton was an English actor, singer, comedian and producer. Despite a successful stage career in comedies in London, on tour and abroad, Thornton is probably best remembered as the understudy to George Grossmith in a series of Gilbert and Sullivan operas from 1877 to 1884.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harriett Everard</span> English singer and actress

Harriett Everard was an English singer and actress best known for originating the role of Little Buttercup in the Gilbert and Sullivan hit H.M.S. Pinafore in 1878. The character regretfully reveals a key secret that sets up the ending of the opera.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emma Howson</span> Opera singer and actress (1844–1928)

Emma Howson was an Australian opera singer and actress primarily known as the creator of the principal soprano role of Josephine in the Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera H.M.S. Pinafore.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Globe Theatre (Newcastle Street)</span>

The Globe was a Victorian theatre built in 1868 and demolished in 1902. It was the third of five London theatres to bear the name, following Shakespeare’s Bankside house, which closed in 1642, and the former Rotunda Theatre in Blackfriars Road, which for a few years from 1833 was renamed the Globe. The new theatre was also known at various times as the Royal Globe Theatre or Globe Theatre Royal. Its repertoire consisted mainly of comedies and musical shows.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">W. S. Penley</span> British actor, comedian and singer (1851–1912)

William Sydney Penley was an English actor, singer and comedian who had an early success in the small role of the Foreman in Gilbert and Sullivan's Trial by Jury. He later achieved wider fame as producer and star of the prodigiously successful Brandon Thomas farce, Charley's Aunt and as the Rev Robert Spalding in several productions of Charles Hawtrey's farce The Private Secretary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alice Burville</span> English soprano and actress

Alice Julia Burville was an English soprano and actress, best known for her performances in Gilbert and Sullivan operas and other operettas in the 1870s and 1880s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toole's Theatre</span>

Toole's Theatre, was a 19th-century West End building in William IV Street, near Charing Cross, in the City of Westminster. A succession of auditoria had occupied the site since 1832, serving a variety of functions, including religious and leisure activities. The theatre at its largest, after reconstruction in 1881–82, had a capacity of between 650 and 700.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julia Gwynne</span>

Julia Gwynne was an English opera singer and actress best remembered for her performances with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company from 1879 to 1883. She married producer George Edwardes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fred Clifton</span> English opera singer and actor

Thomas Husler Greene, who performed as Fred Clifton, was an English opera singer and actor known for creating three roles in the early Gilbert and Sullivan comic operas: the Notary in The Sorcerer (1877), the Boatswain in H.M.S. Pinafore (1878) and the Sergeant of Police in The Pirates of Penzance (1879).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Barker (stage manager)</span> Actor and stage manager, 1834-1903

Henry de Grey Warter, better known under the stage name Richard Barker, was a British actor, stage manager and stage director. He stage managed many of Gilbert and Sullivan's comic operas and other productions of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, and directed some of them, and in the 1890s directed musicals in New York as well as London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Linda Verner</span> British singer and actress

Linda Verner was a British singer and actress of the Victorian era who appeared in operetta, pantomime, Victorian burlesque and other comic and musical works in London and on tour in Britain and abroad from the 1870s to the early 1890s.

References

  1. 1 2 Mander and Mitchenson, p. 62
  2. Mander and Mitchenson, p. 63
  3. 1 2 3 4 Mander and Mitchenson, p. 128
  4. 1 2 3 "The New Opera Comique", The Era , 30 October 1870, p. 13
  5. 1 2 "Our London Correspondence", The Manchester Guardian , 17 October 1902, p. 4
  6. Mander and Mitchenson, pp. 67 and 133
  7. Goodman, p. 34
  8. Wearing, J. P. "The London West End Theatre in the 1890s", Educational Theatre Journal, Vol. 29, No. 3 (October 1977), pp. 320–332 (subscription required) Archived 9 June 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  9. "The Globe Theatre", The Era, 29 November 1868, quoted in Mander and Mitchenson, pp. 63–64
  10. "The Opera Comique, East Strand, London" Archived 8 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine , Arthur Lloyd website. Retrieved 15 April 2020
  11. "Opera Comique", The Examiner and London Review, 5 November 1870, p. 713
  12. 1 2 3 Mander and Mitchenson, p. 131
  13. Ainger, p. 92; and "Original Correspondence", The Era, 10 September 1871
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 "The Opera Comique Theatre", The Era, 15 October 1898, p. 11
  15. "Opera Comique!, The Graphic, 29 August 1874, p. 211; and "Opera Comique", The Pall Mall Gazette , 29 August 1874, p. 11
  16. Gaye, p. 1532; and Gillan, Don. "Longest Running Plays in London and New York" Archived 13 June 2020 at the Wayback Machine , StageBeauty.net. Retrieved 10 March 2009
  17. "The Fracas at the Opera Comique", The Era, 10 August 1879, p. 5; "The Fracas at the Opera Comique", The Leeds Mercury, 13 August 1879, p. 8; and Gillan, Don. Account of the "Fracas at the Opera Comique" Archived 23 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  18. 1 2 "Opera Comique" [ dead link ]. The Era, 9 February 1879, reprinted at The Gilbert and Sullivan Archive. Retrieved 8 July 2010
  19. Rollins and Witts, pp. 1 and 8
  20. Rollins and Witts, Appendix, p. IX
  21. 1 2 "The Opera Comique Theatre", The Era, 4 April 1885, p. 8
  22. Wood, pp. 115–116
  23. "Alice in Wonderland", The Pall Mall Gazette , 23 December 1898, p. 1; and "Tonight's Entertainment's", The Pall Mall Gazette, 16 February 1899, p. 1
  24. "Theatrical Gossip", The Era, 11 March 1899, p. 12
  25. "Theatrical Gossip", The Era, 25 March 1899, p. 12
  26. The Pall Mall Gazette, 3 January 1900, p. 6

Sources