99-619: People whose surname is or was Dibdin include: Charles Dibdin (1745–1814), British writer and musician Charles Dibdin the younger (1768–1833), English dramatist, composer and theatre proprietor Lewis Tonna Dibdin (1852–1938) British lawyer and Dean of the Arches Michael Dibdin (1947–2007), British crime writer Thomas Frognall Dibdin (1776–1847), British bibliographer Thomas John Dibdin (1771–1841), British dramatist British politician Michael Heseltine , whose middle name
198-495: A Complete History of the British Stage (5 vols, 1795), Observations on a Tour through England and Scotland (2 vols, 1803) and several smaller works, he wrote upwards of 1400 songs and about thirty dramatic pieces. He also wrote the following novels: The Devil (2 vols, 1785); Hannah Hewitt (3 vols, 1792); The Younger Brother (3 vols, 1793) and Henry Hooka (3 vols, 1806). An edition of his songs by G. Hogarth (1843) contains
297-799: A cat, And cross like other wives, O! by my soul, my honest Mat, I fear she has nine lives. Dibdin had married early in life, but deserted his first wife and left her destitute. He then formed an illicit connection with Harriett Pitt (stage name Mrs. Davenet), a chorus-singer at Covent Garden Theatre, and had some children by her. In time he deserted Harriet in favour of Ann Wyld, with whom he remained and had several further children during his wife's lifetime, and finally married Wyld in 1798 after his first wife died. She and only one daughter of that union survived him. Dibdin's two sons with Harriet − Charles and Thomas John Dibdin , whose works are often confused with those of their father − were also popular dramatists in their day. Through his son Thomas, Dibdin
396-479: A comic opera, the music of which he sold for £30, was produced first at the Haymarket Theatre in 1774. His dialogues and songs for The Cobbler, or, A Wife of Ten Thousand (based on Sedaine's Blaise le savetier ), were acted as a ballad opera at Drury Lane in 1774, and his famous short opera The Quaker was produced there on 3 May 1775, which Dibdin had sold to Brereton for £70, who sold it on to Garrick for
495-689: A fortune. The Padlock was produced at Drury Lane under Garrick's management in 1768, Dibdin taking the part of Mungo (a blackface role ) so as to cause "that degree of sensation in the public which is called a rage ." In 1769 for Garrick (who had placed him under some financial obligation) he also composed for Garrick's Shakespeare Jubilee at Stratford, but found that Garrick had quietly substituted commissions to Arne and to Boyce . Garrick, it seemed, wished to control both Bickerstaffe and Dibdin, in case their work should find other patrons, and busied them both, inducing Dibdin to revise and write new music for Cibber's Damon and Phillida . In addition he provided
594-642: A further £400 and the monument was eventually raised in the Veterans' Library at the Royal Hospital, Greenwich , which is now the Peacock Room, part of the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance . British politician Michael Heseltine is a distant descendant of Dibdin, having 'Dibdin' as one of his middle names. He is a fan of Dibdin's works, and was responsible for the government's erection of
693-479: A hundred. Charles Bannister was again prominent in the cast of all three operas. After being connected with Drury Lane both as composer and as actor for several years, a series of disagreements with Garrick, partly over Dibdin's desertion of his second partner Mrs Davenet and his children by her, led to the termination of his engagement. Despite the rift with Garrick, Dibdin's output continued successfully. The dialogue The Imposter, or, All's not gold that glitters ,
792-401: A lad, offers the following picture: 'Dibdin was then a handsome man, of middle size, with an open pleasing countenance, and a very gentlemanlike appearance and address. His costume was a blue coat, white waistcoat, and black silk breeches and stockings; and he wore his hair, in the fashion of the day, fully dressed and profusely powdered. His manner of speaking was easy and colloquial; and his air
891-597: A memoir of his life. The tune of "Tom Bowling" forms part of Sir Henry Wood 's 1905 Fantasia on British Sea Songs customarily played on the Last Night of the Proms . Verdant Green, eponymous hero of the novel by Cuthbert Bede , learns to row and 'feathers his oars with skill and dexterity' (Part II Chapter VI), borrowing a line from Dibdin's song "The Jolly Young Waterman." The great Victorian baritone Sir Charles Santley made his farewell performance at Covent Garden in 1911 in
990-683: A music shop in the Strand (opposite the Lyceum ), but the venture was a failure and he was declared bankrupt. He retired from public life in 1805, disposing of his stock (including the copyright of 360 songs) to a firm in Oxford Street for £1,800, with £100 a year for the next three years in consideration of whatever songs he might write. He took up residence in Arlington Road in Camden Town , where he suffered
1089-638: A musical genre around 1850 in Paris. In 1870, the centre for operetta shifted to Vienna when Paris fell to the Prussians. The form of operetta continued to evolve through the First World War . There are some common characteristics among operettas that flourished from the mid-1850s through the early 1900s, beginning with the French opéra-bouffe . They contain spoken dialogue interspersed between musical numbers, and often
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#17328512417691188-606: A paralytic stroke in 1813 after which the government granted him a pension of £200. In 1810 a subscription dinner and concert was held for his benefit. This raised £640, of which £560 was invested in long annuities for himself and his family. He died on 25 July 1814 in comparative poverty, and was buried in St Martin's churchyard there. His widow placed a stone over his grave inscribed with a quatrain from "Tom Bowling". Besides his Musical Tour through England (1788), his Professional Life , an autobiography published in 4 volumes in 1803,
1287-446: A peculiar kind, combining the properties of the pianoforte and the chamber organ, and so constructed that the performer could produce the tones of either instrument separately, or of both in combination. To this instrument were attached a set of bells, a side drum, a tambourine, and a gong, which he could bring into play by various mechanical contrivances, so as to give a pleasing variety to his accompaniments.' 'His manner of coming upon
1386-467: A precedent by which actors were not paid in case of absence through sickness. The script for The Maid of the Mill was by playwright Isaac Bickerstaffe , who had written the libretto for Love in a Village , the highly popular opera (called the first English comic opera) by Dr. Thomas Arne , produced in 1762. For Dibdin the next turning-point was in the 1767 premiere and short run of Bickerstaffe's Love in
1485-523: A production of the musical drama The Deserter which he had adapted from the French opera of 1769 by Michel-Jean Sedaine and Pierre-Alexandre Monsigny , he introduced the song 'There was a miller's daughter' and modified other songs without Garrick's knowledge or consent, but with great success. During the same year he worked closely with Garrick at Hampton to compose songs and music for Garrick's winter piece, The Christmas Tale . From this ordeal he acquired
1584-476: A reconciliation between the two men: it is claimed that Garrick's very last step upon the stage was during a rehearsal for The Touchstone a night or two before the opening. Covent Garden productions continued with The Chelsea pensioners , and The Mirror, or, Harlequin everywhere (a pantomime) (both 1779), and in 1780 the comic opera The Shepherdess of the Alps , and the three-act opera The Islanders , most of which
1683-400: A simpler form of music. Many scholars have debated as to which composer should be credited as the inventor of operetta; Jaques Offenbach or Hervé. It is concluded that Hervé completed the groundwork, and Offenbach refined and developed the art form into the concept of operetta as we know it today. Therefore, "Offenbach is considered the father of French operetta – but so is Hervé." Hervé
1782-478: A speculation to build a theatre at St. Pancras. However, while under construction this was blown down during a storm, and the project had to be abandoned. He then came to an arrangement to supply the manager of the Dublin theatre with music at a cost of £600, of which he received only £140; at the same time he began publishing a weekly magazine, called The Devil , which failed after 21 issues. His last opera of this period
1881-554: A statue of Dibdin in Greenwich . On the west face of the tower of Holyrood Church in Southampton is a memorial plaque to Dibdin, where he is described as a "native of Southampton, poet, dramatist and composer, author of Tom Bowling, Poor Jack and other sea songs". In 1889 a Celtic cross memorial was erected, by public subscription, in St Martin's Gardens, Camden Town , after his original tomb collapsed. A verse from "Tom Bowling"
1980-844: A theatre which he built, the Sans Souci Theatre in Leicester Place . Dibdin introduced very many songs which gained wide popularity, including "Poor Jack," "'Twas in the good ship 'Rover'," "Saturday Night at Sea," and "I sailed from the Downs in the 'Nancy.'" His songs, music and recitations here finally established his fame as a lyric poet. He continued this form of entertainment for nearly twenty years, usually between October and April, in which time he produced eighteen entirely original three-act or three-part productions, as well as several one-act pieces on contemporary themes, or in which to re-introduce some of his popular songs. At Christmas-time or during
2079-453: A tour of England to raise money by giving entertainments of songs and recitations, and he sold the musical compositions he had available at very unfavourable rates to the greedy publishers. He set sail for the East Indies in summer 1788, but the vessel was forced to put in at Torbay because of bad weather. Dibdin then changed his mind and returned to London, resolving to put himself before
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#17328512417692178-555: A transatlantic style, and the presence of ragged marching tunes. Berlin operettas also sometimes included aspects of burlesque , revue , farce , or cabaret . Paul Lincke pioneered the Berlin operetta in 1899 with Frau Luna , which includes " Berliner Luft " ("Berlin Air"), which became the unofficial anthem of Berlin. His Lysistrata (1902) includes the song and tune " The Glow-Worm ", which remains quite popular internationally. Much later, in
2277-489: Is Dibdin , is a distant descendant of Charles Dibdin. Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Dibdin . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dibdin&oldid=1054127615 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
2376-562: Is Leon Jessel 's extremely popular 1917 Schwarzwaldmädel ( Black Forest Girl ). These bucolic, nostalgic, home-loving operettas were officially preferred over Berlin-style operettas after 1933, when the Nazis came to power and instituted the Reichsmusikkammer (State Music Institute), which deprecated and banned "decadent" music like jazz and similar "foreign" musical forms. In the beginning of twenty-first century, German revival of operetta
2475-469: Is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera . It includes spoken dialogue, songs, and dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, and length of the work. Apart from its shorter length, the operetta is usually of a light and amusing character. The subject matter may portray "lovers' spats, mistaken identities, sudden reversals of fortune, and glittering parties". It sometimes also includes satirical commentaries. "Operetta"
2574-427: Is best known as the composer of "Tom Bowling", one of his many sea songs, which often features at the Last Night of the Proms . He also wrote about 30 dramatic pieces, including the operas The Waterman (1774) and The Quaker (1775), and several novels, memoirs and histories. His works were admired by Haydn and Beethoven . The son of a silversmith, Dibdin was privately baptised on 4 March 1745 in Southampton and
2673-492: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Charles Dibdin Charles Dibdin (before 4 March 1745 – 25 July 1814) was an English composer, musician, dramatist, novelist, singer and actor. With over 600 songs to his name, for many of which he wrote both the lyrics and the music and performed them himself, he was in his time the most prolific English singer-songwriter. He
2772-578: Is inscribed upon it: Also in Camden, in Joseph Grimaldi Park a grave-style musical memorial for Dibdin is placed next to one for Joseph Grimaldi . Three recent discs of Dibdin's music have been recorded and released by Retrospect Opera. The first, which appeared in 2017, comprises Christmas Gambols and The Musical Tour of Mr Dibdin . The second, released in 2019, includes Dibdin's The Jubilee , Queen Mab and Datchet Mead . The third, "The Wags",
2871-497: Is mad for a husband , Yo, Yea, or, The friendly tars , The old woman of eighty and The razor grinder , all at Sadler's Wells. In 1778 the important burletta Poor Vulcan was produced at Covent Garden, but in Dibdin's absence in France many of the songs were altered by another hand. There also he wrote the libretto of The Gipsies , for which Thomas Arne wrote the music, first performed at
2970-466: Is often described as the youngest child of eighteen born to a 50-year-old mother. His parents, intending him for the clergy, sent Dibdin to Winchester College , but his love of music soon diverted his thoughts from the clerical profession. He possessed 'a remarkable good voice' at a young age and was in demand for concerts even as a boy. Anthems were composed for him by James Kent and his successor Peter Fussell, organists of Winchester Cathedral , where he
3069-536: Is the Italian diminutive of "opera" and was used originally to describe a shorter, perhaps less ambitious work than an opera. Operetta provides an alternative to operatic performances in an accessible form targeting a different audience. Operetta became a recognizable form in the mid-19th century in France, and its popularity led to the development of many national styles of operetta. Distinctive styles emerged across countries including Austria-Hungary, Germany, England, Spain,
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3168-626: The Gounod parody Le petit Faust (1869) and Mam'zelle Nitouche (1883). Jacques Offenbach is most responsible for the development and popularization of operetta—also called opéras bouffes or opérettes —giving it its enormous vogue during the Second Empire and afterwards. In 1849, Offenbach obtained permission to open the Théâtre des Bouffes Parisiens, a theatre company that offered programs of two or three satirical one-act sketches. The company
3267-761: The Prussian defeat in 1866 , operetta became the sign of a new age in Austria, marked by modernity and industrialization. The most significant composer of operetta in the German language was the Austrian Johann Strauss II (1825–1899). Strauss was recruited from the dance hall and introduced a distinct Viennese style to the genre. Strauss was highly influenced by the work of Offenbach, so much so that he collaborated with many of Offenbach’s librettists for his most popular works. His operetta, Die Fledermaus (1874), became
3366-427: The "comique" part of the genre name had become misleading: Georges Bizet 's Carmen (1875) is an example of an opéra comique with a tragic plot. The definition of "comique" meant something closer to "humanistic", meant to portray "real life" in a more realistic way, representing tragedy and comedy next to each other, as Shakespeare had done centuries earlier. With this new connotation, opéra comique had dominated
3465-419: The 1780 Christmas pantomime, Harlequin freemason , for which Messink (Garrick's pantomime specialist) contributed the inventions. In 1781 Dibdin adapted John Dryden 's play Amphytrion, or Juno and Alcmena into an opera. He attempted to rewrite it so as to avoid some of the impropriety of the original, and was at first encouraged by Harris, who later changed his mind. Dibdin was left with a difficult task and
3564-482: The 1860s and 1870s are described as rowdy and loud. Operetta was considered one of the major controversies about Italian music and culture between the 1860s and the 1920s. During that period, strong nationalistic undertones in Italy strived to unify its national identity. Recognizing operetta as a foreign genre, operetta was perceived as an art form that would contaminate Italian opera or illegitimately undermine its primacy on
3663-432: The 1920s and 1930s, Kurt Weill took a more extreme form of the Berlin operetta style and used it in his operas, operettas, and musicals. It is arguable that some of Kurt Weill 's compositions could be considered modernist operetta. The Berlin-style operetta coexisted with more bourgeois, charming, home-loving, and nationalistic German operettas – some of which were called Volksoperetten (folk operettas). A prime example
3762-464: The City , in which he played Watty Cockney, and for which he produced a good deal of the music and airs. He had already confided to Beard that he disliked acting because of the jealousy and spite which his success brought upon him from other actors. Hence he had turned again to composition. But now some of the orchestra complained to Beard that his music was discreditable to the theatre: whereupon Dibdin obtained
3861-404: The French operatic stage since the decline of tragédie lyrique . The origins of French operetta began when comic actors would perform dances and songs to crowds of people at fairs on open-air stages. In the beginning of the 18th century these actors began to perform comic parodies of known operas. These performances formed operetta as a casual genre derived from opéra comique , while returning to
3960-532: The Haymarket in 1778. On his return from France in 1778 Thomas Harris , the Theatre Manager, appointed him Musical Director at Covent Garden (to write exclusively for him) at the then huge salary of £10 (equivalent to £1,610 in 2023) a week. Attempting to introduce a taste for the French variety theatre, he had adapted six short interludes, with his own music, with a view that one should be introduced between
4059-506: The Homeric gods discoursed in a low vernacular). His opera Liberty Hall , containing the successful songs "Jock Ratlin", "The Highmettled Racer" and " The Bells of Aberdovey ", was produced at the Drury Lane theatre on 8 February 1784. After three years at the circus, in which Dibdin fell out with his partners and became entangled in litigation; in 1785, he withdrew, and, instead, entered into
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4158-517: The Philippines, Mexico, Cuba, and the United States. Through the transfer of operetta among different countries, cultural cosmopolitanism emerged in the previous century. Operetta as a genre lost favor in the 1930s and gave way to modern musical theatre . Important operetta composers include Johann Strauss , Jacques Offenbach , Franz Lehár , and Francisco Alonso . The term operetta arises in
4257-496: The appearance of strong national schools in both nations. By the 1870s, however, Offenbach's popularity declined. The public showed more interest in romantic operettas that showed the "grace and refinement" of the late Romantic period. This included Messager 's operetta Véronique and Louis Ganne 's Les saltimbanques . The 20th century found French operetta even more out of favor as the international public turned to Anglo-American and Viennese operettas, which continued to develop
4356-589: The art form into the late Romantic era. Offenbach was unabashed about spreading operetta around the continent. In 1861, he staged some of his recent works at the Carltheater in Vienna , which paved the way for Austrian and German composers. Soon, Vienna became the epicenter of operetta productions. It is because of the Viennese operetta, not the French, that the term is used to describe a full-length work. Additionally, after
4455-455: The centuries and ranges depending on each country's history with the genre. It is often used to refer to pieces that resemble the one-act compositions by Offenbach in contrast with his full length compositions, ‘opéra-bouffe’. Offenbach invented this art form in response to the French government's oppressive laws surrounding the stagings of works that were larger than one act or contained more than four characters. Operetta became recognized as
4554-576: The comic opera The Wedding Ring based on an Italian opera Il filosofo di campagna was brought out, but was almost withdrawn on the first night owing to the rumour that it was written by Bickerstaffe, who had fled to France, utterly ruined by the accusation of an 'abominable (i.e. homosexual) attempt'. Dibdin was obliged to appear on stage and claim authorship of both words and music, while salacious tittle-tattle (and worse) sought to embroil both him and Garrick in Bickerstaffe's offence. In November 1773, in
4653-623: The development of both the West End in London and Broadway in New York. American audiences were first introduced to operetta through Gilbert and Sullivan's H.M.S. Pinafore in 1878 . American operetta composers included Victor Herbert , whose works at the beginning of the 20th century were influenced by both Viennese operetta and Gilbert and Sullivan. He was followed by Sigmund Romberg and Rudolph Friml . Nevertheless, American operetta largely gave way, by
4752-440: The direct intervention of Dr. Arne, who (according to Dibdin) pronounced that this was a scandalous attempt to ruin the reputation of a young man whom it was their duty to encourage and protect. Love in the City was abandoned, but Dibdin's music was successful and was transferred into a play called The Romp . The association with Bickerstaffe continued in Dibdin's music for the play Lionel and Clarissa at Covent Garden in 1767,
4851-511: The end of World War I, to musicals , such as the Princess Theatre musicals, and revues , followed by the musicals of Rodgers and Hart , Cole Porter , Irving Berlin and others. Another notable operetta in English is Candide by Leonard Bernstein . It was advertised as a “comic operetta.” Candide’s score in some ways was typical for its announced genre with some waltzes, but Bernstein added
4950-449: The entertainment Bannister's Budget , wrote: "Charles Dibdin, year after year... had been giving delight and, for a time, acquiring great emolument, by means of entertainments under different names, in which he not only pleased but instructed the public; advancing the cause of morals by natural and energetic sentiments, and raising the flame of patriotism and loyalty by songs and speeches, just in conception and illustration, and impressive on
5049-794: The following April, during the whole of which time Dibdin was a prisoner in the King's Bench . This was first given at the Lyceum Theatre in The Strand , and afterwards at Fisher's or Stevens' Auction Room in King Street, in Covent Garden. For several years he also repeated the entertainments in the daytime at the Paul's Head Assembly Rooms in Cateaton Street. His monodramatic entertainments continued after 1795 at
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#17328512417695148-613: The format in England with their long-running collaboration during the Victorian era . With W. S. Gilbert writing the libretti and Sullivan composing the music, the pair produced 14 comic operas, which were later called Savoy Operas . Most were enormously popular in Britain, the U.S., and elsewhere. Gilbert, Sullivan, and their producer Richard D'Oyly Carte themselves call their joint works comic operas to distinguish this family-friendly fare from
5247-585: The genre renewed vitality. Studying at the Prague Conservatory Lehár began as a theatre violinist and then took off as a composer in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. During this 1905, Lehár's Die lustige Witwe ( The Merry Widow ) paved a pathway for composers such as Fall , Oscar Straus , and Kálmán to continue the tradition of Operetta. Lehár was also one of the first composers who began to incorporate into film. [2] The Viennese tradition
5346-433: The interlude The Mischance , and the dialogues The Grenadier (text by Garrick), The Ladle , England against Italy , and None so blind as those who won't see : and furthermore in the same year he wrote songs for The Trip to Portsmouth (words by G. A. Stevens), performed by Charles Bannister at the Haymarket, for which the overture and dances were written by Thomas Arne . Dibdin's most lasting opera, The Waterman ,
5445-478: The landowner advanced the funds and became proprietors, and Dibdin was appointed sole manager for life, to receive a quarter of the profits. Dibdin is credited with coining the term "circus". Meanwhile, a dialogue, The Fortune Hunter , had appeared at Sadler's Wells in 1780, and at the Haymarket. Dibdin had contributed songs to an entertainment called Pasquin's Budget in which characters were represented by puppets, and their songs were performed by singers behind
5544-619: The memory and the judgement by vivid imagery and pointed expression. His sea-songs form a class by themselves: they are calculated alike to cheer solitude and to animate social assemblages, to raise the laugh and the tear, and to engrave on the heart benevolence, courage, and a trust in Providence." Charles's son Thomas Dibdin, a close associate of John Bannister , wrote that "Charles Bannister, and his exemplary son John, were two of [Dibdin's] most intimate friends." The author of his memoir, who witnessed one of Dibdin's Entertainments Sans Souci when
5643-484: The mid-eighteenth-century Italy and it is first acknowledged as an independent genre in Paris around 1850. Castil-Blaze 's Dictionnaire de la musique moderne claims that this term has a long history and that Mozart was one of the first people to use the word operetta, disparagingly, describing operettas as "certain dramatic abortions, those miniature compositions in which one finds only cold songs and couplets from vaudeville". The definition of operetta has changed over
5742-413: The most performed operetta in the world, and remains his most popular stage work. In all, Strauss wrote 16 operettas and one opera, most with great success when first premiered. Strauss's satire was often generic, unlike Offenbach who commented on real-life matters. Strauss's operettas, waltzes, polkas, and marches often have a strongly Viennese style, and his popularity causes many to think of him as
5841-569: The national composer of Austria. The Theater an der Wien never failed to draw huge crowds when his stage works were first performed. After many of the numbers the audience would call noisily for encores. Franz von Suppé , also known as Francesco Ezechiele Ermenegildo, Cavaliere Suppé-Demelli, was born in 1819 and his fame rivals that of Offenbach. Suppé was a leading composer and conductor in Vienna and most known for his operetta Leichte Kavallerie (1866), Fatinitza (1876), and Boccaccio (1879). Suppé
5940-425: The newer musicals, with each influencing the other. The distinctive traits of operetta are found in the musical theatre works of Jerome Kern , Richard Rodgers and Stephen Sondheim . Operetta was first created in Paris, France in the middle of the 19th century in order to satisfy a need for short, light works in contrast to the full-length entertainment of the increasingly serious opéra comique . By this time,
6039-467: The occasion of Lord Nelson 's victory and death, produced at Drury Lane with John Bannister in 1806, which was 'damned on the first night, and never published'. His last production, The Round Robin , was first acted at the Haymarket in June 1811. This incorporated his highly successful song 'The standing toast,' which had been written some time before. During this period, in 1805, he sold Sans Souci and opened
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#17328512417696138-400: The part of Ralph, in the 1765 premiere of Samuel Arnold 's opera The Maid of the Mill at Covent Garden. He gained so much success over a run of more than fifty nights, that 'Ralph' handkerchiefs were worn in compliment to him. He agreed to article himself, both as actor and musician, to Beard for three years at a salary rising from three to five pounds a week. However, his contract established
6237-551: The play and the farce usually presented on the same evening. They included Rose and Colin , Wives revenged and Annette and Lubin ; but Harris instead lumped them together as an after-piece and Dibdin's subtler intention was thwarted. In the following January his speaking pantomime The Touchstone (with songs) was produced, but Mr Pilon, Mr Cumberland, Mrs Cowley and Mr Lee Lewis were permitted to alter it so much that it became almost unrecognisable. However, Dibdin did accept two clever emendations suggested by Garrick, which resulted in
6336-444: The principal characters, as well as the chorus, are called upon to dance, although the music is largely derived from 19th-century operatic styles, with an emphasis on singable melodies. Operetta in the twentieth century is more complex and reached its pinnacle in Austria and Germany. Operetta is a precursor of the modern musical theatre or the "musical". In the early decades of the 20th century, operetta continued to exist alongside
6435-544: The public rather than applying again to the theatres. Instead, building on what he had done in his tour, he commenced a new kind of one-man-show, musical variety entertainments, in which he appeared in his own person on the stage seated at a harpsichord and played the accompaniments to his own songs, without attempting any theatrical personification of his characters. The Whim of the Moment was such an entertainment consisting of recitations and songs, and played from October 1788 until
6534-516: The result was not a popular success. There was then an argument between Dibdin and Harris over payment for the work, with the result that Dibdin instead embarked on a project to construct the Royal Circus, (afterwards known as the Surrey Theatre ) for mixed entertainments of various kinds, he planning to form a combination of the stage and an equestrian ring or hippodrome. Several parties including
6633-598: The risqué French operettas of the 1850s and 1860s. Their works, such as H.M.S. Pinafore , The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado , continue to enjoy regular performances throughout the English-speaking world. While many of these operas seem to be very light-hearted, works such as the Mikado were making political commentaries on the British government and military with one of the main topics being capital punishment which
6732-605: The role of Tom Tug in Dibdin's opera The Waterman . And in James Joyce 's story " Eveline " (from Dubliners ), Frank 'sang about the lass that loves a sailor' from the song of the same name (also called 'The standing toast') by Dibdin. Just before his marriage, James Boswell wrote a song, "A Matrimonial Thought" which was given a tune "by the very ingenious Mr. Dibden." In the blithe days of honey-moon, With Kathe's allurements smitten, I lov'd her late, I lov'd her soon And I called her dearest kitten. But now my kitten's grown
6831-607: The scenes. It is said that in The Comic Mirror Dibdin had ridiculed prominent contemporary figures through the medium of a puppet show. Such things had been tried elsewhere, for instance at the Marylebone Gardens: but on the first night at the Haymarket 'the puppets were goosed off, and the manager made to apologise for the insult offered to the audience.' Nonetheless some of the songs, including Dibdin's 'Reasonable animals' and 'Pandora', became very popular, and Pandora
6930-419: The schottische, gavotte, and other dances, and also entered the opera house with the aria “Glitter and Be Gay” Operetta was the first imported vocal genre in Italy. Since the 1860s, French and Viennese composers such as Offenbach , Hervé , Suppé , Strauss Jr and Lehár have significantly influenced the operatic tradition of Italy. The widespread popularity of foreign operetta in Italy reached its climax at
7029-564: The score for Bickerstaffe's burletta The Recruiting Serjeant , and for his The Maid the Mistress , and The Ephesian Matron in that year, which were all produced in 1769 at Ranelagh Gardens under a two-year contract with the Ranelagh managers for £100 per annum for whatever music he should supply them with. Dibdin set a text by Garrick for The Installation of the Garter in 1771. In February 1773
7128-455: The spring he commonly cut short the main production to make room for a revival of some items brought out in previous years. Dibdin states that in all these entertainments, he had only the words before him, never having written down the music which was, however, fully composed in his mind. The three-act novelties of each season, or Entertainments Sans-Souci, and their sequels, were as follows: John Adolphus , writing of Dibdin's involvement in
7227-445: The stage was in a happy style; he ran on sprightly and with nearly a laughing face, like a friend who enters hastily to impart to you some good news.' Dibdin's patriotic sea songs and their melodious refrains powerfully influenced the national spirit and were officially appropriated to the use of the British navy during the war with France. They were not shanties or working songs, but a form of distinctively English ballad combining
7326-480: The technique of composing the music entire in his mind, writing down nothing until the finished manuscript was needed: to this method he afterwards adhered. Meanwhile, from 1772 he was also engaged by Thomas King to write regularly for Sadler's Wells , and in that year produced songs for the Musical Dialogues The Palace of Mirth and Bickerstaffe's The Brickdustman . He followed that in 1773 with
7425-407: The tenor and the bass) of no great power or compass, but of a sweet and mellow quality. He sang with simplicity, without any attempt at ambitious ornament, but with a great deal of taste and expression; and, being a poet as well as a musician, he was particularly attentive to a clear and emphatic utterance of the words... In singing, he accompanied himself with facility and neatness, on an instrument of
7524-437: The tonality of the hornpipe with vivid if sentimentalized depictions of the comradeship, the separations from love, the simple patriotism, loyalty and manly courage of Tom, England's Jack Tar . In 1803 he was induced by Pitt's government, with a pension of £200 a year (equivalent to £23,100 in 2023), to abandon provincial engagements to compose and sing 'War Songs' to keep up the ferment of popular feeling against France. This
7623-720: The turn of the century, in particular with the success of La vedova allegra , which premiered in Milan in 1907. Italian operetta composers tended to stretch the definition of an "operetta" more than other nations in order to fit the beauty of Italian Romantic opera style. An example would be Giacomo Puccini , who developed his work in the realistic verisimo style, and would compose "operettas in three acts". Other notable composers of Italian operetta include Vincenzo Valente , Ruggero Leoncavallo , Pasquale Mario Costa , Pietro Mascagni , Carlo Lombardo , Enrico Toselli , Virgilio Ranzato and Giuseppe Pietri . The audiences of operetta during
7722-644: The year of Beard's retirement. By 1768, his articles completed, and receiving harsh treatment from his new manager George Colman , Dibdin was ready to part company with Covent Garden. Garrick, who had coached him a little at Richmond in the previous year, was eager to win over Bickerstaffe to Drury Lane : and as hopes for his new play The Padlock projected for the Haymarket Theatre faded, Garrick acquired it, and acquired Dibdin as composer, whose music for this work was, at Garrick's suggestion, given anonymously. Dibdin made only £40 from it while Bickerstaffe made
7821-556: Was Harvest Home , a two-act comic opera first performed at the Haymarket in 1787. In 1788, having dissolved his connection with the existing theatres and in financial straits, Dibdin considered moving to India. His eldest brother, Captain Thomas Dibdin, had formerly invited him to visit, but had since died, prompting Dibdin to write his greatest song, "Tom Bowling". He now hoped to be received by his brother's old friends, and perhaps to collect certain debts owing to him. Therefore, he made
7920-463: Was a chorister between 1756 and 1759. He went to London at the age of fifteen at his brother's invitation, and was first employed tuning harpsichords in a music warehouse in Cheapside . Through Mr. Berenger he was introduced to John Rich (of whom he became a favourite) and John Beard , and, growing addicted to theatre-going, he soon became a singing actor at Theatre Royal, Covent Garden . As his voice
8019-512: Was a contemporary to Strauss and composed over 30 operettas 180 farces, ballets and other stage works. Recently, though most of his works have been fallen into obscurity, many of them have been reprised within films, cartoons, advertisements and so on. Both Strauss and Suppé are considered to be the most notable composers of the Golden Age of Viennese operetta. Following the death of Johann Strauss and his contemporary, Franz von Suppé , Franz Lehár
8118-504: Was a singer, composer, librettist, conductor, and scene painter. In 1842, he wrote the one act opérette , L'Ours et le pacha , based on the popular vaudeville by Eugène Scribe and X. B. Saintine . In 1848, Hervé made his first notable appearance on the Parisian stage, with Don Quichotte et Sancho Pança (after Cervantes ), which can be considered the starting point for the new French musical theatre tradition. Hervé's most famous works are
8217-513: Was an ancestor of the British politician Michael Heseltine . He was also the uncle of the bibliographer Thomas Frognall Dibdin . Seven years after his death a subscription to raise a monument to Dibdin was set in train under the patronage of the Duke of Clarence and Admiral Sir George York. At a public dinner and concert a large sum was raised, but insufficient to complete the project. A second grand musical entertainment, The Feast of Neptune, raised
8316-515: Was an unforeseen theatrical development. Notable German operetta composers include Paul Lincke , Eduard Künneke , Walter Kollo , Jean Gilbert , Leon Jessel , Rudolf Dellinger , Walter Goetze and Ludwig Schmidseder . Offenbach's influence reached England by the 1860s. Arthur Sullivan , of the Gilbert and Sullivan duo, composed Cox and Box (1866) as a direct reaction to Offenbach's Les deux aveugles (1855). Gilbert and Sullivan solidified
8415-552: Was by far the most successful. It became the first repertory operetta and was staged hundreds of times across Europe and beyond. Offenbach's legacy is seen in operettas throughout the late 19th century and beyond by encouraging Strauss the Younger to bring the genre to Austria-Hungary. Offenbach also traveled to the US and England educating musicians on the more than 100 operettas he wrote during his lifetime. This international travel resulted in
8514-537: Was carried on by Oscar Straus , Carl Zeller , Karl Millöcker , Leo Fall , Richard Heuberger , Edmund Eysler , Ralph Benatzky , Robert Stolz , Leo Ascher , Emmerich Kálmán , Nico Dostal , Fred Raymond , Igo Hofstetter , Paul Abraham and Ivo Tijardović in the 20th century. In the same way that Vienna was the center of Austrian operetta, Berlin was the center of German operetta. Berlin operetta often had its own style, including, especially after World War I , elements of jazz and other syncopated dance rhythms,
8613-638: Was currently playing every evening in Europe in nine languages. In the USA, five companies were presenting it, and "the rush for tickets at the New Amsterdam Theatre" was likened to "the feverish crowding round the doors of a threatened bank". Stan Czech, in his Lehár biography, claims that by 1910 it had been performed "around 18,000 times in ten languages on 154 American, 142 German, and 135 British stages". The international embrace of operetta directly correlated with
8712-653: Was designed to entertain the public". Two other French composers, Robert Planquette and Charles Lecocq , followed Offenbach's model and wrote the operettas Les Cloches de Corneville ( The Bells of Normandy ) and La Fille de Madame Angot ( The Daughter of Madame Angot ). The two operettas were considered a major hit. The political limitations placed on Offenbach and Parisian theatre were gradually lifted, and operetta gained wide popularity. While Offenbach's earliest one-act pieces included Les deux aveugles , Le violoneux and Ba-ta-clan (all 1855) did well, his first full-length operetta, Orphée aux enfers (1858),
8811-660: Was later acted at the Circus. Between 1782 and 1783 he engaged some sixty children to act as dancers and singers for his various lively productions at the Circus, for which he supplied many airs, pantomimes, intermezzi and ballets, under such titles as Clump and Cudden , The benevolent tar , The saloon , The talisman , The graces , Long odds , Tom Thumb , The Passions , The Lancashire witches , The Barrier of Parnassus , The Milkmaid , The Refusal of Harlequin , The Land of Simplicity , The Statue , The regions of Accomplishment , and Cestus (a kind of mythological burlesque in which
8910-422: Was more that of a person entertaining a party of friends in a private drawing-room, than of a performer exhibiting to a public audience. He was near-sighted; and, when seated at his instrument, he would bend his head close to his book for a few moments, and then, laying it down, throw himself back in his chair, and deliver his song without further reference to book or music. His voice was a baryton (a medium between
9009-448: Was not yet settled, Rich thought he would become a bass, and marked out the pantomime roles of Richard Leveridge for him. Dibdin held back from this path, but made the most of his introductions: when Rich died in 1761 and Beard succeeded him as manager and part-proprietor, fresh opportunities arose. With Beard's encouragement Dibdin wrote his first work, both words and music of The Shepherd's Artifice , an operetta in two acts, which
9108-575: Was produced as Dibdin's benefit at Covent Garden on 21 May 1762 and repeated in 1763. As an actor, Dibdin had constant opportunities to study Garrick 's performances, and befriended his associates, notably his prompter, who could remember Cibber . He enjoyed two seasons touring at the Vauxhall in Birmingham, and another at Richmond. Beard exercised a benign and encouraging influence over Dibdin's early career, choosing him, in his first important appearance, for
9207-553: Was re-presented as a two-act farce called The Marriage Act in 1781. After the British victory at the Siege of Savannah , he added a scene in The Mirror depicting British grenadiers (one of whom was played by Frederick Charles Reinhold ) defeating the Comte d'Estaing , leader of the French forces during the battle, and then singing " The British Grenadiers ." He also arranged, wrote and composed
9306-528: Was released in late 2021. All feature the singer Simon Butteriss and the keyboardist Stephen Higgins. The Jubilee also features the singers Soraya Mafi , Robert Murray and Heather Shipp. A previous disc featuring Dibdin's The Ephesian Matron , The Brickdust Man and The Grenadier , conducted by Peter Holman , was released on the Hyperion label in 1992. There have also been many recordings of Dibdin's most famous song, Tom Bowling . Operetta Operetta
9405-552: Was so successful that it led to the elongation of these sketches into an evening's duration. However, Offenbach's productions were bound by the police prefecture in Paris, which specified the type of performance that would be allowed: "pantomimes with at most five performers, one-act comic musical dialogues for two to three actors, and dance routines with no more than five dancers; choruses were strictly forbidden." These rules defined what came to be defined as operetta: "a small unpretentious operatic work that had no tragic implications and
9504-738: Was still widely used at the time. English operetta continued into the 1890s, with works by composers such as Edward German , Ivan Caryll and Sidney Jones . These quickly evolved into the lighter song-and-dance pieces known as Edwardian musical comedy . Beginning in 1907, with The Merry Widow , many of the Viennese operettas were adapted very successfully for the English stage. To explain this phenomenon, Derek Scott writes, In January 1908, London’s Daily Mail claimed that The Merry Widow had been performed 450 times in Vienna, 400 times in Berlin, 350 times in St Petersburg, 300 times in Copenhagen, and
9603-462: Was the heir apparent. Lehar is widely considered the leading operetta composer of the 20th century and his most successful operetta, Die lustige Witwe ( The Merry Widow ), is one of the classic operettas still in repertory. Lehár assisted in leading operetta into the Silver Age of Viennese Operetta. During this time, Viennese Censorship laws were changed in 1919. Lehár is most responsible for giving
9702-526: Was withdrawn for a time under the administration of Lord Grenville, but afterwards partly restored. Dibdin still provided texts for operas, including The Cabinet , which was presented at Covent Garden in February 1803 with John Braham , Nancy Storace and Charles Incledon , and in December The British Fleet in 1342 . At least two further operas appeared: Broken Gold was a farce in two acts on
9801-583: Was written for Sadler's Wells in 1776, and his comic opera The Metamorphosis modelled on Molière 's Sicilian , but with songs and music his own, was performed at the Haymarket in the same year. His comic opera The Seraglio , incorporating the famous rondeau song 'Blow High, Blow Low' (written during a gale returning from Calais) was first acted at Covent Garden in November 1776. The productive season of 1777 included songs for The vineyard revels (a pantomime), She
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