Reginald Somerville
Encyclopedia
Reginald Somerville was an English actor and composer. He is known for writing many drawing-room ballads such as "God Sends the Night", "Yestereve", "Zaida: A Song of the Desert" and "The Lark and the Nightingale", as well as a handful of operas.
and teacher Giulio Moretti. He co-wrote music with A. McLean and G. W. Byng for the musical farce, A White Silk Dress, opening at London's Prince of Wales's Theatre on 3 October 1896. In collaboration with the librettist Guy Eden, he wrote The 'Prentice Pillar, a romantic opera in one act in 1899. Somerville's "The Ballad of Thyra Lee", a dramatic scene, premiered in 1900, was given at a Royal Philharmonic Society
concert in May 1903. Also 1903, he played opposite Marie Studholme
in The School Girl
. In 1909, his opera The Mountaineers
was premiered at the Savoy Theatre
in London. It had a two month run and a provincial tour in late 1910.
After the First World War, Somerville wrote Antoine, an opera that he considered his best work, which was produced at the Lyceum Theatre, London, by the Carl Rosa Opera Company
. The plot of the opera featured a blind sailor who has his sight miraculously restored only to discover his wife eloping with a rich lover. He also wrote both the music and lyrics for a three act opera titled David Garrick, which was founded on T. W. Robertson's well-known comedy of the same name
. It was premiered in 1920 by the Carl Rosa company and then presented under Somerville's management in the West End
, substantially re-written to suit the light-music audience. The work was revived in 1932. In 1924, he wrote The Love Doctor, a "musical show with a story", which was toured on the Moss' Empires circuit and played in London at the Chelsea Palace Theatre in 1925.
Somerville's work as a composer dried up with the advent of sound films in the mid-1920s, and he took to teaching, but he became ill, ran into debt and was declared bankrupt in 1934. The bankruptcy was discharged in 1937.
He died on 8 July 1948 at St John's nursing home, Tankerton-on-Sea, in Kent
.
Songs by Somerville include: "All the Way to Coventry" (1913); "Call the yowes to the knowes" (1891); "God Sends the Night" (1908); "The Hour I love the best of all" (1924); "The Lark and the Nightingale" (1900); "The Laughing Waves" (1900); "A Memory" (1891); "The Song of Kent" (1921); "Songs of Friendship" (1909); "The Amber Necklace" (1917); "When Dreams come true" (1913); "Wherever I may be" (1913); "Who Rides for the King" (1911); and "Zaïda" (1914).
Biography
Somerville received musical training under the Italian tenorTenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
and teacher Giulio Moretti. He co-wrote music with A. McLean and G. W. Byng for the musical farce, A White Silk Dress, opening at London's Prince of Wales's Theatre on 3 October 1896. In collaboration with the librettist Guy Eden, he wrote The 'Prentice Pillar, a romantic opera in one act in 1899. Somerville's "The Ballad of Thyra Lee", a dramatic scene, premiered in 1900, was given at a Royal Philharmonic Society
Royal Philharmonic Society
The Royal Philharmonic Society is a British music society, formed in 1813. It was originally formed in London to promote performances of instrumental music there. Many distinguished composers and performers have taken part in its concerts...
concert in May 1903. Also 1903, he played opposite Marie Studholme
Marie Studholme
Marie Studholme , born Caroline Maria Lupton or Marion Lupton, was an English actress and singer known for her supporting and sometimes starring roles in Victorian and Edwardian musical comedy...
in The School Girl
The School Girl
The School Girl is a musical comedy, in two acts, composed by Leslie Stuart with a book by Henry Hamilton and Paul M. Potter, and lyrics by Charles H. Taylor and others...
. In 1909, his opera The Mountaineers
The Mountaineers (opera)
The Mountaineers is an English "romantic comic opera" in three acts with a libretto by Australian-born Guy Eden and Reginald Somerville , lyrics by Eden and music by Somerville. It opened at the Savoy Theatre in London on 29 September 1909, under the management of C. H. Workman, and ran for a...
was premiered 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 London. It had a two month run and a provincial tour in late 1910.
After the First World War, Somerville wrote Antoine, an opera that he considered his best work, which was produced at the Lyceum Theatre, London, 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...
. The plot of the opera featured a blind sailor who has his sight miraculously restored only to discover his wife eloping with a rich lover. He also wrote both the music and lyrics for a three act opera titled David Garrick, which was founded on T. W. Robertson's well-known comedy of the same name
David Garrick (play)
David Garrick is a comic play written in 1864 by Thomas William Robertson about the famous 18th century actor and theatre manager, David Garrick....
. It was premiered in 1920 by the Carl Rosa company and then presented under Somerville's management in the West End
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...
, substantially re-written to suit the light-music audience. The work was revived in 1932. In 1924, he wrote The Love Doctor, a "musical show with a story", which was toured on the Moss' Empires circuit and played in London at the Chelsea Palace Theatre in 1925.
Somerville's work as a composer dried up with the advent of sound films in the mid-1920s, and he took to teaching, but he became ill, ran into debt and was declared bankrupt in 1934. The bankruptcy was discharged in 1937.
He died on 8 July 1948 at St John's nursing home, Tankerton-on-Sea, in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
.
Instrumental works and songs
Somerville's published works for piano include: "Alpine Roses – Morceau" (1913); "Automobile waltz" (1912); "Carina – Morceau pizzicato pour Piano" (1911); "The Honey Bee – Humoresque for the piano" (1924); "Intermezzo" (1922); "The Mountaineers – Pianoforte Selection" (1913); "Three Dances" (1922); and "Three Light Pieces for Piano: Bagatelle, Melody, and Valse" (1911). Among his orchestral works are "Four Fancies – Suite" (1925); "Funeral of a Flea" (1928); "Nucleus Themes, No. 1" (1927); "Razzle-Dazzle" (1928); and "Two Grotesque Recitations (1927)".Songs by Somerville include: "All the Way to Coventry" (1913); "Call the yowes to the knowes" (1891); "God Sends the Night" (1908); "The Hour I love the best of all" (1924); "The Lark and the Nightingale" (1900); "The Laughing Waves" (1900); "A Memory" (1891); "The Song of Kent" (1921); "Songs of Friendship" (1909); "The Amber Necklace" (1917); "When Dreams come true" (1913); "Wherever I may be" (1913); "Who Rides for the King" (1911); and "Zaïda" (1914).