Alfred Reynolds (1884–1969) was a composer of light music for the theatre. He was born in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

and educated at Merchant Taylors' School and later in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. He studied with Engelbert Humperdinck in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

. In 1910, he conducted Oscar Straus's ''

The Chocolate Soldier ''The Chocolate Soldier'' (German: ''Der tapfere Soldat''

he courageous soldier He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...

or ''Der Praliné-Soldat'') is an operetta composed in 1908 by Oscar Straus (composer), Oscar Straus based on George Bernard Shaw's 1894 play, ''Arms and the Man' ...

'', which he toured in England. He was said to be the youngest operatic conductor in England. He composed for and participated in wartime charity concerts. In 1920-21, Reynolds toured the Far East with the Royal Opera. On his return, he wrote the music for

Baroness Orczy Baroness Emma Orczy (full name: Emma Magdolna Rozália Mária Jozefa Borbála Orczy de Orci) (; 23 September 1865 – 12 November 1947), usually known as Baroness Orczy (the name under which she was published) or to her family and friends as Em ...

's play, ''Leatherface''. Reynolds worked on the revival of 18th century ballad operas. In 1923 he became Musical Director of the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith, where he performed revivals of Sheridan's ''

The Duenna ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'' (1924), '' Lionel And Clarissa'' (1925), with music mainly by

Charles Dibdin Charles Dibdin (before 4 March 1745 – 25 July 1814) was an English composer, musician, dramatist, novelist, singer and actor. With over 600 songs to his name, for many of which he wrote both the lyrics and the music and performed them himself, ...

, and '' Love in a Village'' (1928), with music by

Thomas Arne Thomas Augustine Arne (; 12 March 17105 March 1778) was an English composer. He is best known for his patriotic song " Rule, Britannia!" and the song "A-Hunting We Will Go", the latter composed for a 1777 production of '' The Beggar's Opera'', wh ...

. He wrote incidental music for several plays, including those by

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (, ; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, , ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and worl ...

, Farquhar,

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

and

Goldsmith A goldsmith is a metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Nowadays they mainly specialize in jewelry-making but historically, goldsmiths have also made silverware, platters, goblets, decorative and servicea ...

, and review music for

Nigel Playfair Sir Nigel Ross Playfair (1 July 1874 – 19 August 1934) was an English actor and director, known particularly as actor-manager of the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith, in the 1920s. After acting as an amateur while practising as a lawyer, he turne ...

. The Lyric staged Reynolds's comic operas ''

The Fountain of Youth The Fountain of Youth is a mythical spring which allegedly restores the youth of anyone who drinks or bathes in its waters. Tales of such a fountain have been recounted around the world for thousands of years, appearing in the writings of Herod ...

'' and '' Derby Day''. Reynolds left the Lyric in 1932 for the

Birmingham Repertory Theatre Birmingham Repertory Theatre, commonly called Birmingham Rep or just The Rep, is a producing theatre based on Centenary Square in Birmingham, England. Founded by Barry Jackson, it is the longest-established of Britain's building-based theatre ...

. He wrote '' 1066 And All That'' (a musical based on the comic book by of that name) and a score for

The Swiss Family Robinson ''The Swiss Family Robinson'' (German: ''Der Schweizerische Robinson'') is a novel by Johann David Wyss, first published in 1812, about a Swiss family of immigrants whose ship en route to Port Jackson, Australia, goes off course and is shipwre ...

. In 1947, he wrote music for a Stratford-upon-Avon adaptation of '' Alice in Wonderland'' and ''

Through the Looking-Glass ''Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There'' (also known as ''Alice Through the Looking-Glass'' or simply ''Through the Looking-Glass'') is a novel published on 27 December 1871 (though indicated as 1872) by Lewis Carroll and the ...

''. A two-act comic opera, '' The Limpet in the Castle'', was premiered in 1958 at

Wombwell Wombwell () is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley in South Yorkshire, England. The town in the 2011 census was split between a ward called Wombwell, as well as small parts that fell under two other wards called Darfield (specifically ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

. Much of his theatre music has been played in the concert hall. Reynolds died aged 84 at

Bognor Regis Bognor Regis (), sometimes simply known as Bognor (), is a town and seaside resort in West Sussex on the south coast of England, south-west of London, west of Brighton, south-east of Chichester and east of Portsmouth. Other nearby towns i ...

on 18 October 1969.

References

Philip L. Scowcroft, ''Theatre Conductor and Composer: Alfred Reynolds (1884-1969)''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reynolds, Alfred English musical theatre composers English male composers 1969 deaths 1884 births 20th-century British male musicians 20th-century British musicians People educated at Merchant Taylors' Boys' School, Crosby