Seedo
Encyclopedia
Seedo (ca. 1700 ca. 1754 Potsdam
) was a German
composer
who worked primarily in England
. He was the son of Samuel Peter Sidow, a musician employed by the Elector of Brandenburg
. By the mid-1720s Seedo was working at the Little Theatre
in the Haymarket. In 1727 he married the singer Maria Manina, who had small parts in London’s Italian operas beginning in 1711. Between 1731 and 1734, Seedo worked on Drury Lane
imitations. He wrote several successful stage works of which his ballad opera
, The Devil to Pay, was the most successful. When the work initially premiered it was a failure, but when the composer cut the work significantly from a full opera of 42 airs to an afterpiece of 16 airs it became a hit. Apart from The Beggar's Opera
, The Devil to Pay was by far the most popular ballad opera of the 18th century. The work was given regular London performances until well into the 19th century and a translation by C.W. von Borcke became popular in Germany as well. Von Borcke's translation was a major influence on the development of singspiel
.
Potsdam
Potsdam is the capital city of the German federal state of Brandenburg and part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. It is situated on the River Havel, southwest of Berlin city centre....
) was a German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
who worked primarily in 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 was the son of Samuel Peter Sidow, a musician employed by the Elector of Brandenburg
Brandenburg
Brandenburg is one of the sixteen federal-states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...
. By the mid-1720s Seedo was working at the Little Theatre
Little Theatre
The Little Theatre in Rochester, New York, commonly known as "The Little" is a movie theatre located on historic East Avenue in downtown Rochester, New York and a modest non-profit multiplex specializing in art film, including independent and foreign productions outside the United States.Founded in...
in the Haymarket. In 1727 he married the singer Maria Manina, who had small parts in London’s Italian operas beginning in 1711. Between 1731 and 1734, Seedo worked on Drury Lane
Drury Lane
Drury Lane is a street on the eastern boundary of the Covent Garden area of London, running between Aldwych and High Holborn. The northern part is in the borough of Camden and the southern part in the City of Westminster....
imitations. He wrote several successful stage works of which his ballad opera
Ballad opera
The term ballad opera is used to refer to a genre of English stage entertainment originating in the 18th century and continuing to develop in the following century and later. There are many types of ballad opera...
, The Devil to Pay, was the most successful. When the work initially premiered it was a failure, but when the composer cut the work significantly from a full opera of 42 airs to an afterpiece of 16 airs it became a hit. Apart from The Beggar's Opera
The Beggar's Opera
The Beggar's Opera is a ballad opera in three acts written in 1728 by John Gay with music arranged by Johann Christoph Pepusch. It is one of the watershed plays in Augustan drama and is the only example of the once thriving genre of satirical ballad opera to remain popular today...
, The Devil to Pay was by far the most popular ballad opera of the 18th century. The work was given regular London performances until well into the 19th century and a translation by C.W. von Borcke became popular in Germany as well. Von Borcke's translation was a major influence on the development of singspiel
Singspiel
A Singspiel is a form of German-language music drama, now regarded as a genre of opera...
.
Sources
- Roger Fiske/Irena Cholij. The New Grove Dictionary of OperaNew Grove Dictionary of OperaThe New Grove Dictionary of Opera is an encyclopedia of opera, considered to be one of the best general reference sources on the subject. It is the largest work on opera in English, and in its printed form, amounts to 5,448 pages in four volumes....
, edited by Stanley Sadie (1992), ISBN 0-333-73432-7 and ISBN 1-56159-228-5