Comic opera , sometimes known as light opera , is a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending and often including spoken dialogue.
85-560: Grossmith is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: George Grossmith (1847–1912), English comedian, writer, and musician Weedon Grossmith (1854–1919), English artist, writer, and actor; younger brother of George Grossmith, Sr. George Grossmith, Jr. (1874–1935), British actor and producer; eldest son of George Grossmith Lawrence Grossmith (1877–1944), English actor; younger brother of George Grossmith, Jr. v t e Surnames associated with
170-580: A Monastery (1940–1941, staged 1946), and Dmitri Shostakovich 's The Nose (1927–1928, staged 1930). Simultaneously, the genres of light music , operetta , musical comedy , and later, rock opera , were developed by such composers as Isaak Dunayevsky , Dmitri Kabalevsky , Dmitri Shostakovich (Opus 105: Moscow, Cheryomushki , operetta in 3 acts, (1958)), Tikhon Khrennikov , and later by Gennady Gladkov , Alexey Rybnikov and Alexander Zhurbin . The 21st century in Russian comic opera began with
255-435: A Nobody was published as a novel and has never been out of print since. The book is a sharp analysis of social insecurity, and Charles Pooter of The Laurels, Brickfield Terrace, Holloway, was immediately recognised as one of the great comic characters of English literature. The work has itself been the object of dramatisation and adaptation, including three times for television: 1964, 1979 and 2007. Grossmith had become
340-825: A bonus disc to the 2010 Sky Arts DVD set, A Motley Pair . Many of Grossmith's songs have been recorded by baritone Leon Berger. John Reed played Grossmith in Melvyn Morrow 's one-man biographical musical A Song to Sing, O at the Savoy Theatre in 1981. The same role was later played in Australia by Anthony Warlow in 1987, Dennis Olsen in 1991 and by Butteriss at the International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival in Buxton in 2003. Comic opera Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By
425-534: A cash bequest), his son George receiving also "two silver bowls presented to him by [Gilbert, Sullivan and] Carte [and] the ivory baton with which he conducted the orchestra on the occasion of his said son's first appearance on the stage" in Haste to the Wedding ; and smaller bequests to his children's spouses and his nieces, nephews, grandchildren and some cousins, with the residuary estate shared equally by his children (although
510-636: A cheat and a matchmaker , text by Alexander Ablesimov (1779), on a subject resembling Rousseau 's Devin , is attributed to Mikhail Sokolovsky . Ivan Kerzelli , Vasily Pashkevich and Yevstigney Fomin also wrote a series of successful comic operas in the 18th century. In the 19th century, Russian comic opera was further developed by Alexey Verstovsky who composed more 30 opera-vaudevilles and 6 grand operas (most of them with spoken dialogue). Later, Modest Mussorgsky worked on two comic operas, The Fair at Sorochyntsi and Zhenitba ("The Marriage"), which he left unfinished (they were completed only in
595-558: A countermeasure to the continental operettas, commissioned Clay's collaborator, W. S. Gilbert , and the promising young composer, Arthur Sullivan , to write a short one-act opera that would serve as an afterpiece to Offenbach's La Périchole . The result was Trial by Jury ; its success launched the Gilbert and Sullivan partnership. "Mr. R. D'Oyly Carte's Opera Bouffe Company" took Trial on tour, playing it alongside French works by Offenbach and Alexandre Charles Lecocq . Eager to liberate
680-505: A dozen hits, were Babes in Toyland (1903) and Naughty Marietta (1910). Others who wrote in a similar vein included Reginald de Koven , John Philip Sousa , Sigmund Romberg and Rudolf Friml . The modern American musical incorporated elements of the British and American light operas, with works like Show Boat and West Side Story , that explored more serious subjects and featured
765-505: A mixture of sentiment and humour, Offenbach's works were intended solely to amuse. Though generally well crafted and full of humorous satire and grand opera parodies, plots and characters in his works were often interchangeable. Given the frenetic pace at which he worked, Offenbach sometimes used the same material in more than one opera. Another Frenchman who took up this form was Charles Lecocq . The singspiel developed in 18th-century Vienna and spread throughout Austria and Germany. As in
850-742: A number of engagements, including recitals at private homes. In 1877, Lionel Brough introduced another popular Grossmith song, "The Muddle Puddle Junction Porter". By then, Grossmith had become friendly with many in the music and theatre establishments, including Arthur Sullivan and impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte ; and Grossmith had the opportunity to perform in Gilbert and Sullivan's Trial by Jury and other Sullivan works at charity benefits. After entertaining professionally in sketch comedy for seven years, however, Grossmith discovered that his income decreased each year as his family and household expenses increased. He also disliked travelling. Accordingly, he
935-612: A place of evil repute to the righteous British householder.... A first effort to bridge the gap was made by the German Reed Entertainers. Nevertheless, an 1867 production of Offenbach's The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein (seven months after its French première) ignited the English appetite for light operas with more carefully crafted librettos and scores, and continental European operettas continued to be extremely popular in Britain in
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#17328773098761020-673: A series of nine characters in the comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan from 1877 to 1889, including Sir Joseph Porter, in H.M.S. Pinafore (1878), the Major-General in The Pirates of Penzance (1880) and Ko-Ko in The Mikado (1885–87). He also wrote, in collaboration with his brother Weedon , the 1892 comic novel The Diary of a Nobody . Grossmith was also famous in his day for performing his own comic piano sketches and songs, both before and after his Gilbert and Sullivan days, becoming
1105-507: A sketch comedian in the central role of a comic opera, Grossmith was hired. Grossmith was a hit as the tradesmanlike John Wellington Wells, the title role in The Sorcerer , and became a regular member of Richard D'Oyly Carte 's company. He created all nine of the lead comic baritone roles in Gilbert and Sullivan's Savoy Operas in London from 1877 to 1889, including the pompous First Lord of
1190-545: A sketch parody of a penny reading at the Gaiety Theatre, London , since on Ash Wednesday , theatres refrained from presenting costumed performances out of respect for the holiday. At the time, coincidentally, the Gaiety was presenting Thespis , Gilbert and Sullivan 's first collaboration. Throughout these years, Grossmith continued working at Bow Street during the day. In 1873, Grossmith married Emmeline Rosa Noyce (1849–1905),
1275-744: A small number of theatricals as an amateur, including playing John Chodd Jr. in Robertson's play, Society , at the Gallery of Illustration , in 1868. The after-piece was a burlesque , written by Grossmith's father, on the Dickens play No Thoroughfare . He then played the title role in Paul Pry , a comedy by Poole, also at the Gallery of Illustration, in 1870. But he and his father felt that his talents lay in "sketch" comedy rather than theatre. The younger Grossmith admired
1360-518: A song called "The Gay Photographer" (that is, the "carefree" photographer). The song, with words by Grossmith's father and music by young Grossmith, concerns a photographer who broke the heart of a young lady named Miss Jenkins; so she drank his chemicals and died. In late 1870, the younger Grossmith appeared on his own with a nightly spot at the " old Polytechnic " in Regent Street, where comic sketches alternated with scientific and serious lectures for
1445-585: A sorry heart behind light words... Mr Grossmith was master of the part he assumed." In 1883, The Times , reviewing a matinee performance of Iolanthe , wrote: "Mr. Grossmith's impersonation of the Lord Chancellor has ... become an exquisitely refined satire." On the other hand, his sketch comedy background had trained Grossmith to improvise comic business. Gilbert and the actor had an exchange during rehearsals for The Mikado about an improvised moment in which Jessie Bond pushed Grossmith, as they kneeled before
1530-632: A town that he had visited for many years, where he wrote his second volume of reminiscences, Piano and I (1910). Grossmith died at his home in Folkestone at the age of 64. He is buried in Kensal Green Cemetery , in the London Borough of Brent . In his will , dated 26 October 1908, Grossmith left small bequests to a variety of charities and persons; 2,000 pounds, artworks and heirlooms to each of his children (except that Lawrence did not receive
1615-651: A wide range of styles. Grossmith was followed, in the Gilbert and Sullivan comic roles, by a number of other popular performers; those who played his roles at the Savoy Theatre for an extended period of time have included Henry Lytton , Martyn Green , Peter Pratt and John Reed , among others. Over forty of the songs that Grossmith wrote or performed in his one-man shows have been recorded by baritone Leon Berger (a British Gilbert & Sullivan singer and Grossmith scholar), accompanied by Selwyn Tillett (G&S scholar) on two CDs: A Society Clown: The Songs of George Grossmith and The Grossmith Legacy . The latter also contains
1700-542: Is by Elena Polenova, based on a folk-drama, Tsar Maksimilyan , and the work premiered on June 20, 2001, at the Mariinski Theatre , St Petersburg. Prize "Gold Mask, 2002" and "Gold Soffit, 2002". The Children of Rosenthal ( Дети Розенталя ), an opera in two acts by Leonid Desyatnikov , with a libretto by Vladimir Sorokin . This work was commissioned by the Bolshoi theatre and premiered on March 23, 2005. The staging of
1785-1050: The Latin word grossus or Old High German grōz Great, Big, Thick, Tall Germanic Groos Grooss /Grooß Gross /Groß Grosse /Große Grossen Grosser /Großer Groesser /Grösser Groth Grothe Groot / De Groot Groote / De Groote Grote Grossfeld Groisman /Groysman Grosskopf /Großkopf Grossman /Großman/Grossmann/Großmann/Grosmann Grossmith Romance Gros /Groș Legros /LeGros/Le Gros Grose Grosso Grosu /Grossu Grueso / Gruezo Delgrosso Other Estonian: Kross Hungarian: Grósz Polish Jewish: Grosz Money Grosch Grosh Groshev Grosz Groszek Similar but unrelated Grassmann /Grassman Kross Kroos Goss Additional meaning Grose [REDACTED] Surname list This page lists people with
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#17328773098761870-809: The YMCA all over England and even in Scotland and Wales. Young Grossmith's sketches at this time included The Puddleton Penny Readings , Our Choral Society and In the Stalls . They toured almost constantly for the following three years, but they returned to see their families in London on weekends. Around this time, he met and became firm friends with Fred Sullivan , and afterwards, he met Sullivan's brother Arthur . Through Arthur Cecil , Sullivan, and some of their friends, Grossmith began to be invited to entertain at private "society" parties, which he continued to do throughout his career. Later, these parties would often occur late in
1955-557: The singspiel and the French model. Franz von Suppé is remembered mainly for his overtures. Johann Strauss II , the "waltz king", contributed Die Fledermaus (1874) and The Gypsy Baron (1885). Carl Millöcker a long-time conductor at the Theater an der Wien , also composed some of the most popular Viennese operettas of the late 19th century, including Der Bettelstudent (1882), Gasparone (1884) and Der arme Jonathan (1890). After
2040-414: The surname Grossmith . If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name (s) to the link. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Grossmith&oldid=1039165720 " Categories : Surnames from nicknames Surnames Acting families Show business families of
2125-416: The "first true Italian comic opera" – that is to say, it had everything: it was in standard Italian and not in dialect; it was no longer simply an intermezzo, but rather an independent piece; it had a real story that people liked; it had dramatic variety; and, musically, it had strong melodies and even strong supporting orchestral parts, including a strong "stand-alone" overture (i.e., you could even enjoy
2210-493: The 1730s, a new operatic genre, opera buffa , emerged as an alternative to opera seria . It quickly made its way to France, where it became opéra comique , and eventually, in the following century, French operetta , with Jacques Offenbach as its most accomplished practitioner. The influence of the Italian and French forms spread to other parts of Europe. Many countries developed their own genres of comic opera, incorporating
2295-565: The 1860s and 1870s, including Les Cloches de Corneville , Madame Favart and others into the 1880s, often adapted by H. B. Farnie and Robert Reece . F. C. Burnand collaborated with several composers, including Arthur Sullivan in Cox and Box , to write several comic operas on English themes in the 1860s and 1870s. In 1875, Richard D'Oyly Carte , one of the impresarios aiming to establish an English school of family-friendly light opera by composers such as Frederic Clay and Edward Solomon as
2380-504: The 1953 film The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan and by Martin Savage in the 1999 film Topsy-Turvy . Simon Butteriss portrayed Grossmith in the 2006 television documentary A Salaried Wit: Grossmith, Gilbert and Sullivan and in the five-part 2015 15 Minute Drama "I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General" on BBC Radio 4 . Butteriss also presents a documentary about Grossmith as
2465-426: The 20th century). Pyotr Tchaikovsky wrote a comic opera, Cherevichki (1885). Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov composed May Night 1878–1879 and The Golden Cockerel 1906–1907. In the 20th century, the best examples of comic opera by Russian composers were Igor Stravinsky 's Mavra (1922) and The Rake's Progress (1951), Sergey Prokofiev 's The Love for Three Oranges (1919) and Betrothal in
2550-612: The Admiralty , Sir Joseph Porter, in H.M.S. Pinafore (1878); Major-General Stanley in The Pirates of Penzance , who is an expert at everything except "military knowledge" (1880); the aesthetic poet, Reginald Bunthorne in Patience (1881); the love-lonely Lord Chancellor in Iolanthe (1882); the sarcastic cripple, King Gama, in Princess Ida (1884); Ko-Ko the cheap tailor, elevated to
2635-450: The D'Oyly Carte company near the end of the original run of The Yeomen of the Guard on 17 August 1889 and resumed his career entertaining at the piano, which he continued to do for more than 15 years afterwards. Despite his dislike of travelling, he toured in Britain, Ireland, and, on five occasions, North America. His drawing-room sketches included his own popular songs, such as "See Me Dance
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2720-614: The English stage from risqué French influences, and emboldened by the success of Trial by Jury , Carte formed a syndicate in 1877 to perform "light opera of a legitimate kind". Gilbert and Sullivan were commissioned to write a new comic opera, The Sorcerer , starting the series that came to be known as the Savoy operas (named for the Savoy Theatre , which Carte later built for these works) that included H.M.S. Pinafore , The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado , which became popular around
2805-411: The French opéra comique , the singspiel was an opera with spoken dialogue, and usually a comic subject, such as Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail (1782) and The Magic Flute (1791). Later singspiels , such as Beethoven's Fidelio (1805) and Weber's Der Freischütz (1821), retained the form, but explored more serious subjects. 19th century Viennese operetta was built on both
2890-496: The Italian and French models along with their own musical traditions. Examples include German singspiel , Viennese operetta , Spanish zarzuela , Russian comic opera, English ballad and Savoy opera , North American operetta and musical comedy . In late 17th-century Italy, light-hearted musical plays began to be offered as an alternative to weightier opera seria (17th-century Italian opera based on classical mythology ). Il Trespolo tutore (1679) by Alessandro Stradella
2975-478: The Mikado, and he rolled completely over. Gilbert requested that they cut out the gag, and Grossmith replied: "but I get an enormous laugh by it". Gilbert replied "So you would if you sat on a pork-pie." The actor, jittery on opening nights, is depicted both on and off stage in the biographical film , Topsy Turvy . Hesketh Pearson wrote in 1935 that Grossmith injected himself with drugs to calm his nerves, and in
3060-563: The Opera Comique or the Savoy Theatre in place of the companion pieces when shorter matinee programmes were playing. These works included Beauties on the Beach (1878), Five Hamlets (1878), a revival of his A Silver Wedding (1879), The Drama on Crutches (1883), Homburg, or Haunted by The Mikado (1887–88), and Holiday Hall (1888). In reviewing a matinee performance of The Drama on Crutches , The Times commented, "he not only satirizes
3145-510: The Polka", "The Happy Fatherland", "The Polka and the Choir-boy", "Thou of My Thou", "The French Verbs", "Go on Talking – Don't Mind Me", "I Don't Mind Flies". His new sketches during this period included Modern Music and Morals (1889), On Tour; or, Piano and I (1891), A Seaside Holiday (1892), Fashionable Music (1892) and Is Music a Failure? (1892). According to The Times , "His genial satire
3230-501: The Polka", was extremely popular. It has been used in a number of films and has been quoted or referred to in literature and music, including in the poem/song "Polka" from Façade by Edith Sitwell and William Walton . Other songs he wrote during this period include "An Awful Little Scrub" (1880), "The Speaker's Eye" (1882), "The 'Bus Conductor's Song" (1883), "How I Became an Actor" (1883), "See Me Reverse" (1884), "The Lost Key" (1885), and "The Happy Fatherland" (1887). Grossmith left
3315-533: The Savoy, and continued to write new sketches, such as Amateur Theatricals (1878), A Juvenile Party (1879), A Musical Nightmare (1880), and A Little Yachting (1886). He also wrote the music for Arthur Law 's short comic opera, Uncle Samuel (1881), the one-act curtain raiser that preceded Patience on the Opera Comique programme. His Cups and Saucers was revived and played with Pinafore and also played by
3400-610: The Teatro de la Zarzuela de Madrid, but with little success and light attendance. In spite of this, in 1873 a new theater, the Teatro Apolo , was opened for zarzuela grande , which shared the failures of the Teatro de la Zarzuela, until it was forced to change its program to género chico . The first opera presented in Russia , in 1731, was a comic opera (or "commedia per musica"), Calandro , by an Italian composer, Giovanni Alberto Ristori . It
3485-638: The United Kingdom Hidden categories: Articles with short description Short description is different from Wikidata All set index articles George Grossmith George Grossmith (9 December 1847 – 1 March 1912) was an English comedian, writer, composer, actor, and singer. His performing career spanned more than four decades. As a writer and composer, he created 18 comic operas , nearly 100 musical sketches, some 600 songs and piano pieces, three books and both serious and comic pieces for newspapers and magazines. Grossmith created
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3570-482: The arts, including J. L. Toole , Ellen Terry , Henry Irving , H. J. Byron , Tom Hood , T. W. Robertson , and John Hollingshead (later, the manager of the Gaiety Theatre, London ). Grossmith had hoped to become a barrister . Instead, he worked for many years, beginning in the 1860s, training and then substituting for his father as the Bow Street reporter for The Times , among other publications, when his father
3655-487: The comic pianist and entertainer John Orlando Parry , who created and performed in many of the German Reed Entertainments , and he tried to emulate Parry in developing his own sketches, consisting of humorous anecdotes, mildly satirical comment, ad lib chat, and comic songs centred on the piano. Grossmith took to the professional stage in 1870 with a sketch called Human Oddities , written by his father, and
3740-673: The company on tour. Other comic operas by Grossmith during these years included Mr Guffin's Elopement (1882) and A Peculiar Case (1884, both with libretti by Arthur Law) and The Real Case of Hide and Seekyll (1886). Grossmith also continued to give his "society" and other entertainments, often late at night after his performance at the Savoy. He also composed the music for another comic opera, The Great Tay-Kin and another piece, both with libretti by Arthur Law, which were performed at Toole's Theatre in 1885. Grossmith also wrote, composed, and performed in several one-man drawing room sketches, short comic operas or monologues that were given at
3825-682: The daughter of a neighbourhood physician, whom he had met years earlier at a children's party. The couple had four children: George , an actor, playwright and theatre manager; Sylvia (1875–1932; married Stuart James Bevan in 1900); Lawrence , an actor, primarily in America; and Cordelia Rosa (1879–1943). The family lived initially in Marylebone before moving, about 1885, to Dorset Square nearby. In 1873, Grossmith and his father began joint tours of humorous recitations and comic sketches at literary institutes and public halls, to church groups and to branches of
3910-469: The end of his touring career, while enjoying time spent at home with his family, dogs and antique piano collection. Grossmith suffered from depression after the death of his wife of cancer in 1905, and his health began to fail, so that he increasingly missed engagements. He was nevertheless persuaded to continue giving his entertainments, which he did on a less frequent basis, until November 1908. The following year, Grossmith retired to Folkestone, Kent ,
3995-402: The entertainment of the public. Human Oddities and another sketch, The Yellow Dwarf , were successful for Grossmith, and he took the former work on tour for six months. An 1871 Grossmith sketch was called He was a Careful Man . Biographer Tony Joseph notes that, except for a few early pieces, nearly all of Grossmith's material was written and composed by Grossmith himself. Joseph describes
4080-411: The evening after Grossmith performed at the Savoy Theatre . In 1876, he collaborated with Florence Marryat , the author and reciter, on Entre Nous . This piece consisted of a series of piano sketches, alternating with scenes and costumed recitations, including a two-person "satirical musical sketch", really a short comic opera , called Cups and Saucers , which they then toured. Grossmith also took
4165-538: The film he is shown injecting himself on the opening night of The Mikado . In his diary, Arthur Sullivan wrote afterwards, "All went very well except Grossmith, whose nervousness nearly upset the piece". Grossmith spoke self-deprecatingly about his own vocal prowess (Sullivan and others disagreed): During his time with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company , Grossmith's father and mother died (in 1880 and 1882, respectively). Throughout this period, Grossmith continued to perform his sketches, often late at night after performing at
4250-703: The genre was like in the 17th century. In the 18th century, the Italian operatic style influenced zarzuela . But beginning with the reign of Bourbon King Charles III , anti-Italian sentiment increased. Zarzuela returned to its roots in popular Spanish tradition in works such as the sainetes (or Entr'actes) of Don Ramón de la Cruz. This author's first work in this genre was Las segadoras de Vallecas ("The Reapers of Vallecas", 1768), with music by Rodríguez de Hita . Single act zarzuelas were classified as género chico (the "little genre" or "little form") and zarzuelas of three or more acts were género grande (the "big genre" or "big form"). Zarzuela grande battled on at
4335-461: The idea. After singing for Sullivan, upon meeting Gilbert, Grossmith wondered aloud if the role should be played by "a fine man with a fine voice". Gilbert replied, "That is exactly what we don't want." Although Grossmith had reservations about cancelling his touring engagements and going into the "wicked" professional theatre (a move that might lose him church and other engagements in the future), and Richard D'Oyly Carte 's backers objected to casting
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#17328773098764420-456: The judge), and Gilbert had earlier commented favourably on his performance in Tom Robertson 's Society at the Gallery of Illustration . Sullivan mentioned to Arthur Cecil , the leading tenor from the Gallery of Illustration, that he was looking for someone to play the comic title role in his new comic opera, The Sorcerer . Cecil reminded Sullivan about Grossmith, and Sullivan seized on
4505-486: The latter incorporating dances, with chorus numbers and humorous scenes that are usually duets. These works are relatively short, and ticket prices were often low, to appeal to the general public. There are two main forms of zarzuela : Baroque zarzuela ( c. 1630 –1750), the earliest style, and Romantic zarzuela ( c. 1850 –1950), which can be further divided into the two subgenres of género grande and género chico . Pedro Calderón de la Barca
4590-500: The mid-19th century, despite Giuseppe Verdi 's Falstaff staged in 1893. French composers eagerly seized upon the Italian model and made it their own, calling it opéra comique . Early proponents included the Italian Egidio Duni , François-André Philidor , Pierre-Alexandre Monsigny , André Grétry , François-Adrien Boïeldieu , Daniel François Auber and Adolphe Adam . Although originally reserved for less serious works,
4675-586: The most popular British solo performer of the 1890s. Some of his comic songs endure today, including "See Me Dance the Polka". He continued to perform into the first decade of the 20th century. His son, George Grossmith Jr. , became an actor, playwright and producer of Edwardian musical comedies ; another son, Lawrence , was an actor. George Grossmith was born in Islington , London, and grew up in St. Pancras and Hampstead , London. His father, also named George (1820–1880),
4760-575: The most popular form of staged entertainment in Italy from about 1750 to 1800. In 1749, thirteen years after Pergolesi's death, his La serva padrona swept Italy and France, evoking the praise of such French Enlightenment figures as Rousseau . In 1760, Niccolò Piccinni wrote the music to La Cecchina to a text by the great Venetian playwright, Carlo Goldoni . That text was based on Samuel Richardson 's popular English novel, Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded (1740). Many years later, Verdi called La Cecchina
4845-576: The most popular solo entertainer of his day, and his tours earned him far more than he had earned while performing with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company. He also continued to compose music, including the comic opera Castle Bang (1894) and the sketches The Ibsenite Drama (1895) and Do We Enjoy Our Holidays? (1897) and songs like "The Baby on the Shore" (1893), "Johnnie at the Gaiety" (1895), "Tommy's First Love" (1897), and "The Happy Old Days at Peckham" (1903). In 1894–95, however, Gilbert enticed Grossmith to take
4930-456: The noisy premieres of two works whose genre could be described as "opera-farce": Tsar Demyan ( Царь Демьян ) – A frightful opera performance . A collective project of five authors wrote the work: Leonid Desyatnikov and Vyacheslav Gaivoronsky from St. Petersburg , Iraida Yusupova and Vladimir Nikolayev from Moscow , and the creative collective "Kompozitor", which is a pseudonym for the well-known music critic Pyotr Pospelov. The libretto
5015-431: The opera was accompanied by juicy scandal; however it was an enormous success. England traces its light opera tradition to the ballad opera , typically a comic play that incorporated songs set to popular tunes. John Gay's The Beggar's Opera was the earliest and most popular of these. Richard Brinsley Sheridan's The Duenna (1775), with a score by Thomas Linley , was expressly described as "a comic opera". By
5100-491: The operas of Scarlatti, Pergolesi ( La serva padrona , 1733), Galuppi ( Il filosofo di campagna , 1754), Piccinni ( La Cecchina , 1760), Paisiello ( Nina , 1789), Cimarosa ( Il matrimonio segreto , 1792), and then the great comic operas of Mozart and, later, Rossini and Donizetti . At first, comic operas were generally presented as intermezzi between acts of more serious works. Neapolitan and then Italian comic opera grew into an independent form and became
5185-479: The overture as an independent orchestral piece). Verdi was also enthusiastic because the music was by a southern Italian and the text by a northerner, which appealed to Verdi's pan-Italian vision. The genre was developed further in the first half of the 19th century by Gioachino Rossini in his works such as The Barber of Seville (1816) and La Cenerentola (1817) and by Gaetano Donizetti in L'elisir d'amore (1832) and Don Pasquale (1843), but declined in
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#17328773098765270-536: The piano by ear. His family moved to Haverstock Hill when young Grossmith was 10, and he became a day student. At the age of 12, he transferred to the North London Collegiate School in Camden Town . He was back in St. Pancras by age 13. He was an avid amateur photographer and painter as a teenager, but it was his brother Weedon who went to art school. The Grossmith family had many friends engaged in
5355-646: The post of Lord High Executioner, in The Mikado (1885); the accursed Robin Oakapple in Ruddigore (1887); and the pathetic jester, Jack Point, in The Yeomen of the Guard (1888). On 29 January 1887, one week after the opening night of Ruddigore , Grossmith fell dangerously ill. However, by 13 February, his physicians pronounced him convalescent, and he resumed the role of Robin by 18 February. During Grossmith's absence, his understudy Henry Lytton , who would later become
5440-481: The present tendency of fashionable amateurs to join the stage, but also parodies ... the manner of Mr. Irving and other actors of the present day, including himself. The sketch created great amusement, though of course, it depends entirely for its success upon the actor's powers of mimicry." Grossmith also performed in charity events, including as Bouncer in Cox and Box in 1879 at the Opera Comique. In addition, Grossmith's comic song written in 1886, "See Me Dance
5525-570: The principal comedian of the company, had the opportunity to perform the role in Grossmith's place. Years later, Grossmith's obituary in The Times noted the comedian's "nimbleness, his diverting tricks, his still more diverting dignity—the dignity of a man of few inches high or round—and his incomparable power of rapid speech and singing." The Daily Telegraph wrote of his Jack Point: "Whether giving expression to poor Jack’s professional wit, or hiding
5610-465: The recorded voice of Grossmith's son, George Grossmith Jr. Both are on the Divine Art Label. No recordings of Grossmith's voice are known to exist, although wax cylinder recording technology was available during his lifetime. Cups and Saucers was recorded by Retrospect Opera in 2016, together with F. C. Burnand and Edward Solomon 's Pickwick . Grossmith was portrayed by Martyn Green in
5695-572: The residuary estate was not large). Grossmith wrote numerous comic pieces for the magazine Punch , including a series of ten skits in 1884 inspired by his Bow Street experiences, which he called "Very Trying". He also wrote two memoirs, A Society Clown: Reminiscences (1888) and Piano and I: Further Reminiscences (1910). In his career, Grossmith wrote 18 comic operas , nearly 100 musical sketches, some 600 songs and piano pieces, and three books. He also wrote both serious and comic pieces for newspapers and magazines throughout his career, displaying
5780-415: The risqué state of musical theatre and introduced short comic operas designed to be more family-friendly and to elevate the intellectual level of musical entertainments. Jessie Bond wrote, The stage was at a low ebb, Elizabethan glories and Georgian artificialities had alike faded into the past, stilted tragedy and vulgar farce were all the would-be playgoer had to choose from, and the theatre had become
5865-611: The role of George Griffenfeld in His Excellency , with music by Frank Osmond Carr . Also in 1897, he played briefly as King Ferdinand V of Vingolia in F. C. Burnand 's His Majesty at the Savoy Theatre and made two more short London stage appearances thereafter, as Scoones in Young Mr Yarde (1898) and Lambert Simnel in The Gay Pretenders (1900). An 1896 interview of Grossmith reveals him feeling his age and considering
5950-430: The second half of the 19th century, the London musical stage was dominated by pantomime and musical burlesque , as well as bawdy, badly translated continental operettas, often including "ballets" featuring much prurient interest, and visiting the theatre became distasteful to the respectable public, especially women and children. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas German Reed , beginning in 1855, and a number of other Britons, deplored
6035-411: The sketches as "a light-hearted sending up of various aspects of contemporary life and manners. ...he was the complete performer... as a pianist (he performed for the most part sitting at a piano)... as a raconteur... as a mimic, facial expression, timing—he had it all. A short, dapper figure, he turned his lack of inches to positive advantage, and audiences took to him everywhere." Grossmith toured in
6120-817: The sole representatives of the genre surviving today. Only recently, some of these other English light operas have begun to be explored by scholars and to receive performances and recordings. In the United States, Victor Herbert was one of the first to pick up the family-friendly style of light opera that Gilbert and Sullivan had made popular, although his music was also influenced by the European operetta composers. His earliest pieces, starting with Prince Ananias in 1894, were styled "comic operas", but his later works were described as "musical extravaganza", "musical comedy", "musical play", "musical farce", and even "opera comique". His two most successful pieces, out of more than half
6205-558: The summer of 1871 with Mr and Mrs Howard Paul and occasionally afterwards. He and Mrs Paul would also appear together in The Sorcerer in 1877. Also in 1871, at the Polytechnic, he performed three more sketches, The Puddleton Penny Readings , Theatricals at Thespis Lodge and The Silver Wedding (including what would be one of his most popular songs, "I am so Volatile", with words by his father). On 14 February 1872, Grossmith gave
6290-439: The term opéra comique came to refer to any opera that included spoken dialogue, including works such as Cherubini's Médée and Bizet's Carmen that are not "comic" in any sense of the word. Florimond Hervé is credited as the inventor of French opéra bouffe , or opérette . Working on the same model, Jacques Offenbach quickly surpassed him, writing over ninety operettas . Whereas earlier French comic operas had
6375-510: The turn of the 20th century, Franz Lehár wrote The Merry Widow (1905); Oscar Straus supplied Ein Walzertraum ("A Waltz Dream", 1907) and The Chocolate Soldier (1908); and Emmerich Kálmán composed Die Csárdásfürstin (1915). Zarzuela , introduced in Spain in the 17th century, is rooted in popular Spanish traditional musical theatre. It alternates between spoken and sung scenes,
6460-524: The world. The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company continued to perform Gilbert and Sullivan almost continuously until it closed in 1982. The Gilbert and Sullivan style was widely imitated by their contemporaries (for example, in Dorothy ), and the creators themselves wrote works in this style with other collaborators in the 1890s. None of these, however, had lasting popularity, leaving the Savoy Operas as practically
6545-508: Was an early precursor of opera buffa . The opera has a farcical plot, and the characters of the ridiculous guardian Trespolo and the maid Despina are prototypes of characters widely used later in the opera buffa genre. The form began to flourish in Naples with Alessandro Scarlatti 's Il trionfo dell'onore (1718). At first written in Neapolitan dialect, these works became "Italianized" with
6630-481: Was credited simply as "George Grossmith". Later, his actor-playwright-theatre manager son was credited as George Grossmith "Jr" rather than "III"; some sources confuse the two men. Grossmith had a younger sister, Emily, and younger brother, Weedon . In 1855, he went to boarding school at Massingham House on Haverstock Hill in the district of Hampstead . There he studied the piano and began to amuse his friends and teachers with shadow pantomimes, and later by playing
6715-457: Was enjoyed even by those at whom its shafts were aimed." When he toured Scotland in the autumn of 1890, Grossmith gave a command performance for Queen Victoria at Balmoral Castle . He also composed the music for a three-act comic opera with a libretto by Gilbert, Haste to the Wedding (1892). In this piece, his son George Grossmith Jr. made his stage debut. Musically more challenging than any composition he had attempted before, this work
6800-406: Was followed by the comic operas of other Italians, like Galuppi , Paisiello and Cimarosa , and also Belgian / French composer Grétry . The first Russian comic opera was Anyuta (1772). The text was written by Mikhail Popov , with music by an unknown composer, consisting of a selection of popular songs specified in the libretto. Another successful comic opera, The miller who was a wizard,
6885-686: Was on his lecture tours. Among the cases on which he reported was the Clerkenwell bombing by the Fenians in 1867. At the same time as he began reporting, he began to write humorous articles for periodicals and to participate in amateur theatrical performances. He also joined his father in his entertainments, lectures, and imitations, and began to add music to the entertainments, which his father had not done. Young Grossmith received some recognition for amateur songs and sketches at private parties and, beginning in 1864, at penny readings . He also participated in
6970-465: Was pleased when, despite his relative inexperience in legitimate theatre, he received a letter from Arthur Sullivan in November 1877 inviting him to take a part in his new piece with W. S. Gilbert : The Sorcerer . Grossmith had appeared in charity performances of Trial by Jury , where both Sullivan and Gilbert had seen him (indeed, Gilbert had directed one such performance, in which Grossmith played
7055-546: Was the chief reporter for The Times and other newspapers at the Bow Street Magistrates' Court and was also a lecturer and entertainer. His mother was Louisa Emmeline Grossmith née Weedon (d. 1882). Over the years, Grossmith's father spent less of his time at Bow Street and more of it touring as a performer. As a young man, Grossmith was usually credited as "Jnr" to distinguish him from his father, especially when they performed together, but for most of his career, he
7140-681: Was the first playwright to adopt the term zarzuela for his work entitled El golfo de las sirenas ("The Gulf of the Sirens", 1657). Lope de Vega soon wrote a work titled La selva sin amor, drama con orquesta ("The Loveless Jungle, A Drama with Orchestra"). The instruments orchestra was hidden from the audience, the actors sang in harmony, and the musical composition itself was intended to evoke an emotional response. Some of these early pieces were lost, but Los celos hacen estrellas ("Jealousies Turn Into Stars") by Juan Hidalgo and Juan Vélez, which premiered in 1672, survives and gives us some sense of what
7225-451: Was unsuccessful. Later, however, Grossmith said that the experience of writing with Gilbert was one of the happiest of his life. In 1892–93 he toured North America (his second tour there), writing successful new sketches, "How I Discovered America" and "Baby on the Shore" (1893). In 1892, Grossmith collaborated with his brother Weedon Grossmith to expand a series of amusing columns they had written in 1888–89 for Punch . The Diary of
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