Adam Itzel Jr. (November 30, 1864 – September 5, 1893) was a 19th-century American

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Music * Conductor (music), a person who leads a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra. * ''Conductor'' (album), an album by indie rock band The Comas * Conduction, a type of structured free improvisation ...

, pianist, and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

active in Baltimore. He attended the Peabody Institute's Conservatory of Music, earning a certificate of proficiency in 1880 and (along with Hermine Hoen) the conservatory's first graduate degree 1882. He was the conductor of the Academy of Music's orchestra, and directed the touring McCall Opera Company. In 1890 he was hired to teach and conduct at Peabody. Composer

Eliza Woods Eliza McCalmont Woods (November 28, 1872 – February 9, 1961) was an American composer, pianist, and recipient of the Peabody Diploma for Distinguished Musicianship. Career A life-long resident of Baltimore, Maryland, Woods began studying at the ...

was one of his students. Itzel's best-known composition was the light opera ''The Tar and the Tartar.'' It premiered in Chicago in April 1891 with Digby Bell and

Helen Bertram Helen Bertram (born Lulu May Burt; August 30, 1865 – September 24, 1953) was an American actress and singer in comic opera and musical theatre. She was also known for her tumultuous private life. Early life Lula May Burt was born in 1865 (som ...

in the leads, then ran for 152 performances at New York's Palmer Theater. The show was not a critical success, but enjoyed popular success due to Bertram's scandalous barefoot dance. The show was performed across the continent by at least six companies.Thomas Allston Brown, A History of the New York Stage: From the First Performance in 1732 to 1901 (New York: Dodd, Mead and Company, 1903), v. 3, 343. After his death, it ran again for a week in 1894 at New York's

Union Square Theater Union Square Theatre was the name of two different theatres near Union Square, Manhattan, New York City. The first was a Broadway theatre that opened in 1870, was converted into a cinema in 1921 and closed in 1936.(8 October 1921)Two landmarks to ...

with Milton Aborn in the lead role. Adam Itzel died at the age of 29 of consumption in Baltimore, Maryland, September 5, 1893. A memorial concert was held at Peabody in February 1894; Daniel Gilman gave the commemorative address. The Peabody Archives at Johns Hopkins University hold his archives.

Selected works

* ''The Tar and the Tartar'' (libretto by

Harry B. Smith Harry Bache Smith (December 28, 1860 – January 1, 1936) was a writer, lyricist and composer. The most prolific of all American stage writers, he is said to have written over 300 librettos and more than 6000 lyrics. Some of his best-known works ...

) * '' Jack Sheppard'' (3-act opera, libretto by A. K. Fulton) * untitled 3-act opera, libretto by W. Day * ''The Baltimore'' (song, "Dedicated by The Sun of Baltimore to the gallant worship that beras the name of the Monumental City", commemorating the launch of the USS Baltimore (C-3))

References

1864 births 1893 deaths 19th-century American composers 19th-century American conductors (music) American male composers American musical theatre composers 19th-century deaths from tuberculosis Tuberculosis deaths in Maryland {{US-composer-19thC-stub