Frank Desprez
Encyclopedia
Frank Desprez was an English playwright, essayist, and poet. He wrote more than twenty pieces for the theatre, as well as numerous shorter works, including his famous poem, Lasca.
, England, the eldest of the eleven children of Charles Desprez, a jeweler and silversmith. The family was of French descent. He was educated at Cosham School, Wiltshire
and spent three years in his teens in the U.S. State of Texas. In 1883, Desprez married Jessie Louisa Potter Macqueen. They had a son and two daughters.
. When this piece went on the road in 1876, he also wrote a companion piece for it called Happy Hampstead, which was set to music by theatrical agent and composer Richard D'Oyly Carte
. Desprez became a close friend of Carte's and worked with him for many years as Carte's secretary.
At the same time, Desprez wrote the texts for ten short works for D'Oyly Carte, most of which accompanied the Gilbert and Sullivan
operas on the bills at the Opera Comique
and later the Savoy Theatre
. These pieces had long runs in tandem with, and sometimes beyond, the runs of the principal pieces, and they were usually played on tour throughout Britain as companion pieces, benefit pieces and short-programme items. Working with composers such as Alfred Cellier
and Edward Solomon
, Desprez became perhaps the most popular librettist of one-act operas in Britain.
Desprez's most frequently played work was his 1879 two-act musical play
, Tita in Thibet
, which was later played in the British provinces by the Majilton company more than a thousand times. It was written as a vehicle for the music hall star Kate Santley
. W. H. Seymour, who would become the stage manager of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company
for 20 years, also played in the piece. The story concerns an unusual marriage custom purportedly to be found "in out of the way parts of the world" such as Tibet. The customs of the country permit every wife to have four husbands. The reviewer from The Era did not find the piece "refined" enough for his taste.
Desprez's best work as a lyricist was The Nautch Girl
, or, The Rajah of Chutneypore, which played at the Savoy Theatre in 1891-92.
In 1884, Desprez began writing for The Era, London's foremost theatre paper, and he became its editor in 1893, a position he held until illness forced him to retire in 1913. Desprez also wrote dozens of essays on travel, art, music, and famous personalities that were published in English periodicals, most of them between 1905 and 1914.
Desprez died in London at the age of 63.
Life and career
Desprez was born in BristolBristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, England, the eldest of the eleven children of Charles Desprez, a jeweler and silversmith. The family was of French descent. He was educated at Cosham School, Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
and spent three years in his teens in the U.S. State of Texas. In 1883, Desprez married Jessie Louisa Potter Macqueen. They had a son and two daughters.
Librettist and assistant to Richard D'Oyly Carte
Desprez returned to Britain in 1875. His first piece written for the theatre shortly thereafter was an adaptation of La fille de Madame AngotLa fille de Madame Angot
La fille de Madame Angot is an opéra comique in three acts by Charles Lecocq. The French text was by Clairville, Paul Siraudin and Victor Koning.-Performance history:...
. When this piece went on the road in 1876, he also wrote a companion piece for it called Happy Hampstead, which was set to music by theatrical agent and composer Richard D'Oyly Carte
Richard D'Oyly Carte
Richard D'Oyly Carte was an English talent agent, theatrical impresario, composer and hotelier during the latter half of the Victorian era...
. Desprez became a close friend of Carte's and worked with him for many years as Carte's secretary.
At the same time, Desprez wrote the texts for ten short works for D'Oyly Carte, most of which accompanied the Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the librettist W. S. Gilbert and the composer Arthur Sullivan . The two men collaborated on fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which H.M.S...
operas on the bills at the Opera Comique
Opera Comique
The Opera Comique was a 19th-century theatre constructed in Westminster, London, between Wych Street and Holywell Street with entrances on the East Strand. It opened in 1870 and was demolished in 1902, to make way for the construction of the Aldwych and Kingsway...
and later the Savoy Theatre
Savoy Theatre
The Savoy Theatre is a West End theatre located in the Strand in the City of Westminster, London, England. The theatre opened on 10 October 1881 and was built by Richard D'Oyly Carte on the site of the old Savoy Palace as a showcase for the popular series of comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan,...
. These pieces had long runs in tandem with, and sometimes beyond, the runs of the principal pieces, and they were usually played on tour throughout Britain as companion pieces, benefit pieces and short-programme items. Working with composers such as Alfred Cellier
Alfred Cellier
Alfred Cellier was an English composer, orchestrator and conductor.In addition to conducting and music directing the original productions of several of the most famous Gilbert and Sullivan works and writing the overtures to some of them, Cellier conducted at many theatres in London, New York and...
and Edward Solomon
Edward Solomon
Edward Solomon was a prolific English composer, as well as a conductor, orchestrator and pianist. Though he died before his fortieth birthday, he wrote dozens of works produced for the stage, including several for the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, such as The Nautch Girl, among others.-Early...
, Desprez became perhaps the most popular librettist of one-act operas in Britain.
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
, Tita in Thibet
Tita in Thibet
Tita in Thibet is an English two-act musical play by Frank Desprez. It opened at the Royalty Theatre in London on 1 January 1879....
, which was later played in the British provinces by the Majilton company more than a thousand times. It was written as a vehicle for the music hall star Kate Santley
Kate Santley
Kate Santley was an American-born English actress, singer, comedienne, and theatre manager. Her brother was the English baritone, Sir Charles Santley, famous in Wagner's Flying Dutchman among other roles.-Musical theatre career:...
. W. H. Seymour, who would become the stage manager of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company
D'Oyly Carte Opera Company
The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company was a professional light opera company that staged Gilbert and Sullivan's Savoy operas. The company performed nearly year-round in the UK and sometimes toured in Europe, North America and elsewhere, from the 1870s until it closed in 1982. It was revived in 1988 and...
for 20 years, also played in the piece. The story concerns an unusual marriage custom purportedly to be found "in out of the way parts of the world" such as Tibet. The customs of the country permit every wife to have four husbands. The reviewer from The Era did not find the piece "refined" enough for his taste.
Desprez's best work as a lyricist was The Nautch Girl
The Nautch Girl
thumb|right|250px|Solomon , with Gilbert and Sullivan irate at his success at the SavoyThe Nautch Girl, or, The Rajah of Chutneypore is a comic opera in two acts, with a book by George Dance, lyrics by Dance and Frank Desprez and music by Edward Solomon...
, or, The Rajah of Chutneypore, which played at the Savoy Theatre in 1891-92.
Poet, essayist, journalist, and editor
Desprez' best-known work, however, is a poem, Lasca, about a Mexican girl and her cowboy sweetheart caught in a cattle stampede "in Texas down by the Rio Grande." The ballad-like poem, first published in a London magazine in 1882, has often been reprinted, usually with deletions and changes, and recited in many parts of the English-speaking world. Between 1873 and 1882 at least four other of Desprez's poems had been published, two of which are about Texas.In 1884, Desprez began writing for The Era, London's foremost theatre paper, and he became its editor in 1893, a position he held until illness forced him to retire in 1913. Desprez also wrote dozens of essays on travel, art, music, and famous personalities that were published in English periodicals, most of them between 1905 and 1914.
Desprez died in London at the age of 63.
Theatrical Works
- 1875 La fille de Madame AngotLa fille de Madame AngotLa fille de Madame Angot is an opéra comique in three acts by Charles Lecocq. The French text was by Clairville, Paul Siraudin and Victor Koning.-Performance history:...
(Jacques OffenbachJacques OffenbachJacques Offenbach was a Prussian-born French composer, cellist and impresario. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s–1870s and his uncompleted opera The Tales of Hoffmann. He was a powerful influence on later composers of the operetta genre, particularly Johann Strauss, Jr....
), English version (Royalty TheatreRoyalty TheatreThe Royalty Theatre was a small London theatre situated at 73 Dean Street, Soho and opened on 25 May 1840 as Miss Kelly's Theatre and Dramatic School and finally closed to the public in 1938. The architect was Samuel Beazley, a resident in Soho Square, who also designed St James's Theatre, among...
) - 1876 Happy Hampstead (Richard D'Oyly CarteRichard D'Oyly CarteRichard D'Oyly Carte was an English talent agent, theatrical impresario, composer and hotelier during the latter half of the Victorian era...
) 1 act, Alexandra Theatre, Liverpool - 1878 After All!After All!After All! is a one-act comic opera with a libretto by Frank Desprez and music by Alfred Cellier. It was first performed at the Savoy Theatre under the management of Richard D'Oyly Carte, along with H.M.S...
(Alfred CellierAlfred CellierAlfred Cellier was an English composer, orchestrator and conductor.In addition to conducting and music directing the original productions of several of the most famous Gilbert and Sullivan works and writing the overtures to some of them, Cellier conducted at many theatres in London, New York and...
) 1 act, (Opera ComiqueOpera ComiqueThe Opera Comique was a 19th-century theatre constructed in Westminster, London, between Wych Street and Holywell Street with entrances on the East Strand. It opened in 1870 and was demolished in 1902, to make way for the construction of the Aldwych and Kingsway...
) - 1879 Tita in ThibetTita in ThibetTita in Thibet is an English two-act musical play by Frank Desprez. It opened at the Royalty Theatre in London on 1 January 1879....
, aka Brum, a Birmingham Merchant, Royalty Theatre - 1880 In the SulksIn the SulksIn the Sulks is a one-act comic opera with a libretto by Frank Desprez and music by Alfred Cellier. It was first performed at the Opera Comique on 21 February 1880; revived 3 April 1880 to 2 April 1881 as a curtain raiser to The Pirates of Penzance, and again from 23 or 25 April to 2 May 1881 and...
(Cellier) 1 act ,Opera Comique - 1881 Quite an AdventureQuite an AdventureQuite an Adventure is a one-act comic opera by Edward Solomon with a libretto by Frank Desprez. The farcical plot concerns a house-guest who mistakes his hostess's husband for an intruder....
(Edward SolomonEdward SolomonEdward Solomon was a prolific English composer, as well as a conductor, orchestrator and pianist. Though he died before his fortieth birthday, he wrote dozens of works produced for the stage, including several for the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, such as The Nautch Girl, among others.-Early...
) 1 act Olympic TheatreOlympic TheatreThe Olympic Theatre, sometimes known as the Royal Olympic Theatre, was a 19th-century London theatre, opened in 1806 and located at the junction of Drury Lane, Wych Street, and Newcastle Street. The theatre specialised in comedies throughout much of its existence...
; Revived in 1894 (Savoy TheatreSavoy TheatreThe Savoy Theatre is a West End theatre located in the Strand in the City of Westminster, London, England. The theatre opened on 10 October 1881 and was built by Richard D'Oyly Carte on the site of the old Savoy Palace as a showcase for the popular series of comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan,...
) - 1881 Mock TurtlesMock Turtles (opera)Mock Turtles is a one-act comic opera with a libretto by Frank Desprez and music by Eaton Faning. It was first produced at the Savoy Theatre on 11 October 1881 as a curtain raiser to Patience, then from 26 November 1882 to 30 March 1883 with Iolanthe. The piece also toured from December 1881...
(Eaton FaningEaton FaningJoseph Eaton Faning , known as Eaton Faning, was an English composer and teacher. The son of a music teacher, he became the organist of a church at the age of twelve. He attended the Royal Academy of Music, where his teachers included Arthur Sullivan. He was an outstanding student, winning many...
) 1 act, Savoy Theatre - 1883 Lurette (Belle Lurette) English version w/ Alfred Murray, H S Leigh (Avenue Theatre)
- 1883 A Private WireA Private WireA Private Wire is a one-act musical "vaudeville" operetta with a libretto by Frank Desprez and Arnold Felix and music by Percy Reeve. It was first produced at the Savoy Theatre on 31 March 1883 to 1 January 1884 as a companion piece to Gilbert and Sullivan's Iolanthe...
(Percy ReevePercy ReevePercy Reeve was an English composer and music critic. Reeve wrote several successful operettas, often as companion pieces to longer works, as well as music for other theatrical pieces and serious music during the last two decades of the 19th century...
/w Arnold Felix) 1 act, Savoy Theatre - 1885 Round and Square (Solomon) Performed on tour by two touring companies
- 1886 The CarpThe Carp (opera)The Carp is a one-act comic opera with a libretto by Frank Desprez and music by Alfred Cellier. It was first produced at the Savoy Theatre from 13 February 1886 to 19 January 1887, as a companion piece to The Mikado. It was then revived as companion to Ruddigore from 21 February 1887 to 5...
(Cellier) 1 act Savoy Theatre - 1888 Mrs. Jarramie's GenieMrs. Jarramie's GenieMrs. Jarramie's Genie is a one-act comic opera with a libretto by Frank Desprez and music by Alfred Cellier and François Cellier. The piece was first presented at the Savoy Theatre on 14 February 1888, as a curtain raiser to the revival of H.M.S. Pinafore...
(A. Cellier and Francois CellierFrançois CellierFrançois Arsène Cellier , often called Frank, was an English conductor and composer. He is best known for his tenure as music director and conductor of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company during the original runs and early revivals of the Savoy operas.-Life and career:Cellier was born in South Hackney,...
) 1 act Savoy Theatre - 1889 Delia (Procida Bucalossi) Bristol (as `F Soulbieu')
- 1891 The Nautch GirlThe Nautch Girlthumb|right|250px|Solomon , with Gilbert and Sullivan irate at his success at the SavoyThe Nautch Girl, or, The Rajah of Chutneypore is a comic opera in two acts, with a book by George Dance, lyrics by Dance and Frank Desprez and music by Edward Solomon...
(Solomon and George DanceGeorge Dance (dramatist)George Dance was an English lyricist and librettist in the 1890s and an important theatrical manager at the beginning of the 20th century....
), Savoy Theatre - 1892 Brother George (Bucalossi), Portsmouth