P. W. Halton
Encyclopedia
P. W. Halton was an Irish
-born conductor. He is best known for his long tenure as music director and conductor of D'Oyly Carte Opera Company
touring companies during the original runs and early revivals of the Savoy Operas
, including many of the New York premieres.
, Ireland, and died in Manchester, England. For nearly 25 years, Halton served as one of D'Oyly Carte's leading provincial musical directors. Halton was the father of Frederick J. Halton, the author of "The Gilbert & Sullivan Operas: A Concordance" (New York, Bass, 1935).
In the early to mid-1870s, Halton moved to London and worked in a music store, playing the organ in a local church, and giving music lessons. He also conducted at various music halls during this time. In 1876, he was hired as a conductor by the Theatre Royal, in Manchester.
. In 1880 he toured with Pinafore and The Sorcerer
, along with shorter companion pieces
, and in December 1880, the company began to play The Pirates of Penzance
. Among the companion pieces included on this tour was Halton's own composition Six and Six, a one-act operetta with words by B. T. Hughes.
In September 1881, Halton traveled to America to music direct Patience
, at the Standard Theatre in New York, until March 1882. During the last month he also conducted Henry Pottinger Stephens
and Edward Solomon
's Claude Duval
, alternating with Patience. He then returned to England to music direct Patience on tour until December 1883. Next, beginning in February 1884, was Princess Ida
. Then, beginning in February 1885, Trial by Jury
and Sorcerer were played in repertory with Princess Ida.
Back in New York, at the Fifth Avenue Theatre
, Halton music directed the American premiere of The Mikado
from August 1885 to April 1886. He then toured with Pinafore and The Mikado, first in England and then took in Germany and Austria, until January 1887. He then returned to New York and the Fifth Avenue Theatre, with most of the same principals, for the premiere of Ruddigore
, which ran until April. He was back to Germany, Austria, Holland and then Britain with Patience and The Mikado until December 1887.
In 1888, Halton toured with a repertory consisting at various times of Pinafore, Patience, The Mikado and Pirates, until October. On November 1, 1888, he began a tour of The Yeomen of the Guard
, which ran for over a year. In January 1890, Halton was back in New York music directing the ill-starred premiere of The Gondoliers
at the Park Theatre. The weak cast meant a disaster, and Carte and Halton assembled a new cast for a re-launch on February 18 at Palmer's Theatre, which was better received.
– an assignment that the patriotic Irishman accepted grudgingly. In October 1891, Iolanthe was added to the company's repertory, and from January to July 1892 they also included The Nautch Girl
. The company continued to add more shows: Patience in August 1892, Pirates in May 1893, Pinafore and Trial in January 1894, The Sorcerer in April 1895, the curtain raiser Cox and Box in May, and Princess Ida in December 1895. The repertoire was now eleven, and the tour continued through 1896.
In late November 1896, Halton sailed for South Africa for an ambitious tour through June 1897. It embraced all the Gilbert and Sullivan operas Halton had been conducting, except Princess Ida, and also included Utopia, Limited
and The Grand Duke
. Halton toured Britain from December 1897 with most of the Gilbert and Sullivan operas plus, briefly, His Majesty. Over the next six-and-a-half years, with Halton as their musical director, the same touring company played all the G & S operas except Ruddigore and The Grand Duke plus, in 1900, The Rose of Persia
.
Halton retired on June 18, 1904.
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
-born conductor. He is best known for his long tenure as music director and conductor of 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...
touring companies during the original runs and early revivals of the Savoy Operas
Savoy opera
The Savoy Operas denote a style of comic opera that developed in Victorian England in the late 19th century, with W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan as the original and most successful practitioners. The name is derived from the Savoy Theatre, which impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte built to house...
, including many of the New York premieres.
Life and career
Patrick William Halton was born in MullingarMullingar
Mullingar is the county town of County Westmeath in Ireland. The Counties of Meath and Westmeath Act of 1542, proclaimed Westmeath a county, separating it from Meath. Mullingar became the administrative centre for County Westmeath...
, Ireland, and died in Manchester, England. For nearly 25 years, Halton served as one of D'Oyly Carte's leading provincial musical directors. Halton was the father of Frederick J. Halton, the author of "The Gilbert & Sullivan Operas: A Concordance" (New York, Bass, 1935).
In the early to mid-1870s, Halton moved to London and worked in a music store, playing the organ in a local church, and giving music lessons. He also conducted at various music halls during this time. In 1876, he was hired as a conductor by the Theatre Royal, in Manchester.
Early years and premieres
In December 1879, D'Oyly Carte hired Halton in Hastings as music director for one of its touring companies, presenting H.M.S. PinaforeH.M.S. Pinafore
H.M.S. Pinafore; or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It opened at the Opera Comique in London, England, on 25 May 1878 and ran for 571 performances, which was the second-longest run of any musical...
. In 1880 he toured with Pinafore and The Sorcerer
The Sorcerer
The Sorcerer is a two-act comic opera, with a libretto by W. S. Gilbert and music by Arthur Sullivan. It was the British duo's third operatic collaboration. The plot of The Sorcerer is based on a Christmas story, An Elixir of Love, that Gilbert wrote for The Graphic magazine in 1876...
, along with shorter companion pieces
Savoy opera
The Savoy Operas denote a style of comic opera that developed in Victorian England in the late 19th century, with W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan as the original and most successful practitioners. The name is derived from the Savoy Theatre, which impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte built to house...
, and in December 1880, the company began to play The Pirates of Penzance
The Pirates of Penzance
The Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. The opera's official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on 31 December 1879, where the show was well received by both audiences...
. Among the companion pieces included on this tour was Halton's own composition Six and Six, a one-act operetta with words by B. T. Hughes.
In September 1881, Halton traveled to America to music direct Patience
Patience (opera)
Patience; or, Bunthorne's Bride, is a comic opera in two acts with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. First performed at the Opera Comique, London, on 23 April 1881, it moved to the 1,292-seat Savoy Theatre on 10 October 1881, where it was the first theatrical production in the...
, at the Standard Theatre in New York, until March 1882. During the last month he also conducted Henry Pottinger Stephens
Henry Pottinger Stephens
Henry Pottinger Stephens, also known as Henry Beauchamp , was an English dramatist and journalist. With a variety of partners, he wrote burlesques, comic operas and musical comedies that briefly rivalled the Savoy Operas in popular esteem.-Life and career:"Pot" Stephens was born in Barrow-on-Soar,...
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...
's Claude Duval
Claude Duval (opera)
Claude Duval – or Love and Larceny is a comic opera with music by Edward Solomon to a libretto by Henry Pottinger Stephens. The plot is loosely based on supposed events in the life of the eighteenth century highwayman, Claude Duval....
, alternating with Patience. He then returned to England to music direct Patience on tour until December 1883. Next, beginning in February 1884, was Princess Ida
Princess Ida
Princess Ida; or, Castle Adamant is a comic opera with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It was their eighth operatic collaboration of fourteen. Princess Ida opened at the Savoy Theatre on January 5, 1884, for a run of 246 performances...
. Then, beginning in February 1885, Trial by Jury
Trial by Jury
Trial by Jury is a comic opera in one act, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It was first produced on 25 March 1875, at London's Royalty Theatre, where it initially ran for 131 performances and was considered a hit, receiving critical praise and outrunning its...
and Sorcerer were played in repertory with Princess Ida.
Back in New York, at the Fifth Avenue Theatre
Fifth Avenue Theatre
Fifth Avenue Theatre was a Broadway theatre in New York City in the United States located at 31 West 28th Street and Broadway. It was demolished in 1939....
, Halton music directed the American premiere of The Mikado
The Mikado
The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen operatic collaborations...
from August 1885 to April 1886. He then toured with Pinafore and The Mikado, first in England and then took in Germany and Austria, until January 1887. He then returned to New York and the Fifth Avenue Theatre, with most of the same principals, for the premiere of Ruddigore
Ruddigore
Ruddigore; or, The Witch's Curse, originally called Ruddygore, is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It is one of the Savoy Operas and the tenth of fourteen comic operas written together by Gilbert and Sullivan...
, which ran until April. He was back to Germany, Austria, Holland and then Britain with Patience and The Mikado until December 1887.
In 1888, Halton toured with a repertory consisting at various times of Pinafore, Patience, The Mikado and Pirates, until October. On November 1, 1888, he began a tour of The Yeomen of the Guard
The Yeomen of the Guard
The Yeomen of the Guard; or, The Merryman and His Maid, is a Savoy Opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It premiered at the Savoy Theatre on 3 October 1888, and ran for 423 performances...
, which ran for over a year. In January 1890, Halton was back in New York music directing the ill-starred premiere of 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...
at the Park Theatre. The weak cast meant a disaster, and Carte and Halton assembled a new cast for a re-launch on February 18 at Palmer's Theatre, which was better received.
Later years
Halton was called back to England to begin touring in March, 1890 with The Gondoliers until December. After this, they added shows in repertory, including The Mikado in December 1890 and Yeomen in January 1891. On 4 September 1891, he conducted The Mikado for Queen Victoria at Balmoral CastleBalmoral Castle
Balmoral Castle is a large estate house in Royal Deeside, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is located near the village of Crathie, west of Ballater and east of Braemar. Balmoral has been one of the residences of the British Royal Family since 1852, when it was purchased by Queen Victoria and her...
– an assignment that the patriotic Irishman accepted grudgingly. In October 1891, Iolanthe was added to the company's repertory, and from January to July 1892 they also included 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...
. The company continued to add more shows: Patience in August 1892, Pirates in May 1893, Pinafore and Trial in January 1894, The Sorcerer in April 1895, the curtain raiser Cox and Box in May, and Princess Ida in December 1895. The repertoire was now eleven, and the tour continued through 1896.
In late November 1896, Halton sailed for South Africa for an ambitious tour through June 1897. It embraced all the Gilbert and Sullivan operas Halton had been conducting, except Princess Ida, and also included Utopia, Limited
Utopia, Limited
Utopia, Limited; or, The Flowers of Progress, is a Savoy Opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It was the second-to-last of Gilbert and Sullivan's fourteen collaborations, premiering on 7 October 1893 for a run of 245 performances...
and The Grand Duke
The Grand Duke
The Grand Duke; or, The Statutory Duel, is the final Savoy Opera written by librettist W. S. Gilbert and composer Arthur Sullivan, their fourteenth and last opera together. It premiered at the Savoy Theatre on March 7, 1896, and ran for 123 performances...
. Halton toured Britain from December 1897 with most of the Gilbert and Sullivan operas plus, briefly, His Majesty. Over the next six-and-a-half years, with Halton as their musical director, the same touring company played all the G & S operas except Ruddigore and The Grand Duke plus, in 1900, The Rose of Persia
The Rose of Persia
The Rose of Persia; or, The Story-Teller and the Slave, is a two-act comic opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by Basil Hood. It premiered at the Savoy Theatre on 29 November 1899, closing on 28 June 1900 after a profitable run of 211 performances...
.
Halton retired on June 18, 1904.
External links
- Profile of Halton
- www.gabrielleray.150m.com/ArchivePressText2003/20030208.html 1874 review of performance at the Royal Music Hall, with Halton conducting