Frank Wyatt
Encyclopedia
Frank Wyatt was an English
actor, singer, theatre manager and playwright.
In a two-decade career on stage, Wyatt is best remembered for his roles with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company
from 1889 to 1891, and in particular for creating the role of the Duke of Plaza-Toro in Gilbert and Sullivan
's hit comic opera
The Gondoliers
. Later, Wyatt and his wife owned and managed the Trafalgar Square Theatre (known after 1895 as the Duke of York's Theatre).
in London
, England
. He studied art at the Royal Academy
and became an illustrator on the Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News
and successfully exhibited and sold paintings.
In 1877, Wyatt began a stage career in a one-line part in the farce
On Bail by W. S. Gilbert
at the Criterion Theatre
, where he continued to play in farces for three years under Charles Wyndham
. Over the next two decades, Wyatt appeared regularly before London audiences in burlesques at the Gaiety Theatre, London
and character roles in plays and operettas in various West End theatre
s. In 1880, he played Punch in the pantomime
Mother Goose and the Enchanted Beauty at Drury Lane Theatre
with Arthur Roberts and Kate Santley
. In 1884, he was praised for "by far the best piece of comic character-drawing" in creating his role of Captaine Coqueluche in H. B. Farnie's adaptation of Edmond Audran
's operetta The Grand Mogul, starring Florence St. John
, Fred Leslie and Roberts. Also in 1884, he had a success in a Shakespeare
role with Henry Irving
, Andrew Aguecheek in Twelfth Night at the Lyceum Theatre, London. In 1885, he created the role of Ravennes in Erminie
.
at his home in London to read through the draft of his new opera, The Gondoliers
. In the evening they both went to see Wyatt performing the role of Don Trocadero in the operetta Paul Jones, in which he had received good notices, as they were looking for a replacement for George Grossmith
, who was leaving the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company
in August. Satisfied by what they had seen, Wyatt was subsequently invited to join the D'Oyly Carte organisation on a two-year contract to create the role of the Duke of Plaza-Toro at the Savoy Theatre
in the original production of The Gondoliers. Wyatt appeared in the role from December 1889 to June 1891. Punch
said of his performance: "Mr. Frank Wyatt, as 'the new boy' at the Savoy School, doesn't, as yet, seem quite happy; but it cannot be expected that he should feel 'quite at home', when he has only recently arrived at a new school." H. M. Walbrook recalled, however, that Wyatt was "a tall, handsome, nimble and very polished comedian, who immediately acted, sang and danced the part of the Duke of Plaza Toro as it has never been rendered since."
Gilbert and Sullivan reviewer Michael Walters claimed that Wyatt was cast by Gilbert because he was a good actor, but that he could not sing, so in performances he spoke the words in time with the tune. However, none of Wyatt's reviews mentions this, and on the contrary, they describe his effectiveness in songs allotted to him. Wyatt next created the role of Baboo Currie in The Nautch Girl
by Dance
and Solomon
, playing the part from June to December 1891, when his contract with D'Oyly Carte ended.
From January to July 1892 he appeared at the Lyric Theatre as Arrostino Annegato in The Mountebanks by Gilbert and Alfred Cellier
. He then played Woodpecker Tapping in Haste to the Wedding
, a short-lived comic opera by Gilbert and George Grossmith at the Criterion Theatre
. Also in 1892, he appeared in London in Ma Mie Rosette by Ivan Caryll
and George Dance
, together with Jessie Bond
and Courtice Pounds
On tour, Wyatt appeared in Ma'm'zelle Nitouche in 1893. Later that year, he returned to London in a farce called A Screw Loose at the Vaudeville Theatre
. In 1896, Wyatt was seen in The Star of India at Princess's Theatre, London
. He appeared in The Mermaids and other pieces in 1897 at the Avenue Theatre. His appearances became fewer after this, although he performed in new works as late as 1900 in The Gay Pretenders by George Grossmith, Jr.
at the Globe Theatre.
's own comic opera Happy Hampstead. He also wrote a grand opera
called Galatea that was produced by the Carl Rosa Opera Company
. In 1892, the Trafalgar Square Theatre (renamed the Duke of York's Theatre in 1895) was built for Melnotte and Wyatt and was managed by them intermittently thereafter until her death in 1935. Violet and Frank Wyatt had one son, Nevil Francis Gunning Wyatt. Wyatt's half sister was Ivy Bonheur, a principal soprano
with D'Oyly Carte touring companies in 1887–88, whose birth name was Eveline Medora Gunning.
Wyatt died in a nursing home in London in 1926 at the age of 73.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
actor, singer, theatre manager and playwright.
In a two-decade career on stage, Wyatt is best remembered for his roles with 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...
from 1889 to 1891, and in particular for creating the role of the Duke of Plaza-Toro in 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...
's hit comic opera
Comic opera
Comic opera denotes a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending.Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a new operatic genre, opera buffa, emerged as an alternative to opera seria...
The Gondoliers
The Gondoliers
The Gondoliers; or, The King of Barataria is a Savoy Opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It premiered at the Savoy Theatre on 7 December 1889 and ran for a very successful 554 performances , closing on 30 June 1891...
. Later, Wyatt and his wife owned and managed the Trafalgar Square Theatre (known after 1895 as the Duke of York's Theatre).
Biography
Wyatt was born Francis Nevill Gunning in GreenwichGreenwich
Greenwich is a district of south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich.Greenwich is best known for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich Meridian and Greenwich Mean Time...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. He studied art at the Royal Academy
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
and became an illustrator on the Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News
Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News
The Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News was an English weekly magazine founded in 1874 and published in London. In 1945 it changed its name to the Sport and Country, and in 1957 to the Farm and Country, before closing in 1970....
and successfully exhibited and sold paintings.
In 1877, Wyatt began a stage career in a one-line part in the farce
Farce
In theatre, a farce is a comedy which aims at entertaining the audience by means of unlikely, extravagant, and improbable situations, disguise and mistaken identity, verbal humour of varying degrees of sophistication, which may include word play, and a fast-paced plot whose speed usually increases,...
On Bail by W. S. Gilbert
W. S. Gilbert
Sir William Schwenck Gilbert was an English dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for his fourteen comic operas produced in collaboration with the composer Sir Arthur Sullivan, of which the most famous include H.M.S...
at the Criterion Theatre
Criterion Theatre
The Criterion Theatre is a West End theatre situated on Piccadilly Circus in the City of Westminster, and is a Grade II* listed building. It has an official capacity of 588.-Building the theatre:...
, where he continued to play in farces for three years under Charles Wyndham
Charles Wyndham
Sir Charles Wyndham was an English actor-manager, born as Charles Culverwell in Liverpool, the son of a doctor. He was educated abroad, at King's College London and at the College of Surgeons and the Peter Street Anatomical School, Dublin...
. Over the next two decades, Wyatt appeared regularly before London audiences in burlesques at the Gaiety Theatre, London
Gaiety Theatre, London
The Gaiety Theatre, London was a West End theatre in London, located on Aldwych at the eastern end of the Strand. The theatre was established as the Strand Musick Hall , in 1864 on the former site of the Lyceum Theatre. It was rebuilt several times, but closed from the beginning of World War II...
and character roles in plays and operettas in various West End theatre
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
s. In 1880, he played Punch in the pantomime
Pantomime
Pantomime — not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime—is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is mostly performed during the...
Mother Goose and the Enchanted Beauty at Drury Lane Theatre
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane is a West End theatre in Covent Garden, in the City of Westminster, a borough of London. The building faces Catherine Street and backs onto Drury Lane. The building standing today is the most recent in a line of four theatres at the same location dating back to 1663,...
with Arthur Roberts and 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:...
. In 1884, he was praised for "by far the best piece of comic character-drawing" in creating his role of Captaine Coqueluche in H. B. Farnie's adaptation of Edmond Audran
Edmond Audran
Achille Edmond Audran was a French composer best known for several internationally successful operettas, including Les noces d'Olivette , La mascotte , Gillette de Narbonne , La cigale et la fourmi , Miss Helyett , and La poupée .After Audran's initial success in Paris, his works also became a...
's operetta The Grand Mogul, starring Florence St. John
Florence St. John
Florence St. John , was an English singer and actress of the late Victorian and Edwardian eras famous for her roles in operetta, musical burlesque, music hall, opera and, later, comic plays.-Life and career:...
, Fred Leslie and Roberts. Also in 1884, he had a success in a Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
role with Henry Irving
Henry Irving
Sir Henry Irving , born John Henry Brodribb, was an English stage actor in the Victorian era, known as an actor-manager because he took complete responsibility for season after season at the Lyceum Theatre, establishing himself and his company as...
, Andrew Aguecheek in Twelfth Night at the Lyceum Theatre, London. In 1885, he created the role of Ravennes in Erminie
Erminie
Erminie is a comic opera in two acts composed by Edward Jakobowski with a libretto by Claxson Bellamy and Harry Paulton, based loosely on Charles Selby's 1834 Robert Macaire...
.
D'Oyly Carte and later theatre career
On 8 June 1889, W. S. Gilbert visited Arthur SullivanArthur Sullivan
Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan MVO was an English composer of Irish and Italian ancestry. He is best known for his series of 14 operatic collaborations with the dramatist W. S. Gilbert, including such enduring works as H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado...
at his home in London to read through the draft of his new opera, The Gondoliers
The Gondoliers
The Gondoliers; or, The King of Barataria is a Savoy Opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It premiered at the Savoy Theatre on 7 December 1889 and ran for a very successful 554 performances , closing on 30 June 1891...
. In the evening they both went to see Wyatt performing the role of Don Trocadero in the operetta Paul Jones, in which he had received good notices, as they were looking for a replacement for George Grossmith
George Grossmith
George Grossmith was an English comedian, writer, composer, actor, and singer. His performing career spanned more than four decades...
, who was leaving 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...
in August. Satisfied by what they had seen, Wyatt was subsequently invited to join the D'Oyly Carte organisation on a two-year contract to create the role of the Duke of Plaza-Toro at 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,...
in the original production of The Gondoliers. Wyatt appeared in the role from December 1889 to June 1891. Punch
Punch (magazine)
Punch, or the London Charivari was a British weekly magazine of humour and satire established in 1841 by Henry Mayhew and engraver Ebenezer Landells. Historically, it was most influential in the 1840s and 50s, when it helped to coin the term "cartoon" in its modern sense as a humorous illustration...
said of his performance: "Mr. Frank Wyatt, as 'the new boy' at the Savoy School, doesn't, as yet, seem quite happy; but it cannot be expected that he should feel 'quite at home', when he has only recently arrived at a new school." H. M. Walbrook recalled, however, that Wyatt was "a tall, handsome, nimble and very polished comedian, who immediately acted, sang and danced the part of the Duke of Plaza Toro as it has never been rendered since."
Gilbert and Sullivan reviewer Michael Walters claimed that Wyatt was cast by Gilbert because he was a good actor, but that he could not sing, so in performances he spoke the words in time with the tune. However, none of Wyatt's reviews mentions this, and on the contrary, they describe his effectiveness in songs allotted to him. Wyatt next created the role of Baboo Currie in 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...
by Dance
George Dance
George Dance may refer to:* George Dance the Elder, English architect* George Dance the Younger, English architect, son of George Dance the Elder* George Dance , Canadian politician* George Dance , English lyricist and librettist...
and 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...
, playing the part from June to December 1891, when his contract with D'Oyly Carte ended.
From January to July 1892 he appeared at the Lyric Theatre as Arrostino Annegato in The Mountebanks by Gilbert and 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...
. He then played Woodpecker Tapping in Haste to the Wedding
Haste to the Wedding
Haste to the Wedding is a three-act comic opera with a libretto by W. S. Gilbert and music by George Grossmith, based on Gilbert's 1873 play, The Wedding March. The opera was the most ambitious piece of composition undertaken by Grossmith....
, a short-lived comic opera by Gilbert and George Grossmith at the Criterion Theatre
Criterion Theatre
The Criterion Theatre is a West End theatre situated on Piccadilly Circus in the City of Westminster, and is a Grade II* listed building. It has an official capacity of 588.-Building the theatre:...
. Also in 1892, he appeared in London in Ma Mie Rosette by Ivan Caryll
Ivan Caryll
Félix Marie Henri Tilkin , better known by his pen name Ivan Caryll, was a Belgian composer of operettas and Edwardian musical comedies in the English language...
and George Dance
George Dance
George Dance may refer to:* George Dance the Elder, English architect* George Dance the Younger, English architect, son of George Dance the Elder* George Dance , Canadian politician* George Dance , English lyricist and librettist...
, together with Jessie Bond
Jessie Bond
Jessie Bond was an English singer and actress best known for creating the mezzo-soprano soubrette roles in the Gilbert and Sullivan comic operas. She spent twenty years on the stage, the bulk of them with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company.Musical from an early age, Bond began a concert singing...
and Courtice Pounds
Courtice Pounds
Charles Courtice Pounds , better known by the stage name Courtice Pounds, was an English singer and actor known for his performances in the tenor roles of the Savoy Operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company and his later roles in Shakespeare plays and Edwardian musical comedies.As a young member...
On tour, Wyatt appeared in Ma'm'zelle Nitouche in 1893. Later that year, he returned to London in a farce called A Screw Loose at the Vaudeville Theatre
Vaudeville Theatre
The Vaudeville Theatre is a West End theatre on The Strand in the City of Westminster. As the name suggests, the theatre held mostly vaudeville shows and musical revues in its early days. It opened in 1870 and was rebuilt twice, although each new building retained elements of the previous...
. In 1896, Wyatt was seen in The Star of India at Princess's Theatre, London
Princess's Theatre, London
The Princess's Theatre or Princess Theatre was a theatre in Oxford Street, London. The building opened in 1828 as the "Queen's Bazaar" and housed a diorama by Clarkson Stanfield and David Roberts. It was converted into a theatre and opened in 1836 as the Princess's Theatre, named for then Princess...
. He appeared in The Mermaids and other pieces in 1897 at the Avenue Theatre. His appearances became fewer after this, although he performed in new works as late as 1900 in The Gay Pretenders by George Grossmith, Jr.
George Grossmith, Jr.
George Grossmith, Jr. was a British actor, theatre producer and manager, director, playwright and songwriter, best remembered for his work in and with Edwardian musical comedies...
at the Globe Theatre.
Writing and theatre management
Wyatt also wrote a number of plays, the best known being The Two Recruits (1890) and Our Regiment, both of which were produced at Toole's Theatre under the management of his wife, Violet Melnotte (1855–1935), a former actress who had appeared in 1877 in Richard D'Oyly CarteRichard 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...
's own comic opera Happy Hampstead. He also wrote a grand opera
Grand Opera
Grand opera is a genre of 19th-century opera generally in four or five acts, characterised by large-scale casts and orchestras, and lavish and spectacular design and stage effects, normally with plots based on or around dramatic historic events...
called Galatea that was produced by the Carl Rosa Opera Company
Carl Rosa Opera Company
The Carl Rosa Opera Company was founded in 1873 by Carl August Nicholas Rosa, a German-born musical impresario, to present opera in English in London and the British provinces. The company survived Rosa's death in 1889, and continued to present opera in English on tour until 1960, when it was...
. In 1892, the Trafalgar Square Theatre (renamed the Duke of York's Theatre in 1895) was built for Melnotte and Wyatt and was managed by them intermittently thereafter until her death in 1935. Violet and Frank Wyatt had one son, Nevil Francis Gunning Wyatt. Wyatt's half sister was Ivy Bonheur, a principal soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
with D'Oyly Carte touring companies in 1887–88, whose birth name was Eveline Medora Gunning.
Wyatt died in a nursing home in London in 1926 at the age of 73.