William John Charles Pitcher (21 March 1858 – 2 March 1925), known as Wilhelm or C. Wilhelm, was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

artist, costume and scenery designer, best known for his designs for ballets,

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...

comic operas Comic opera, sometimes known as light opera, is a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending and often including spoken dialogue. Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a ne ...

and

Edwardian musical comedies Edwardian musical comedy was a form of British musical theatre that extended beyond the reign of King Edward VII in both directions, beginning in the early 1890s, when the Gilbert and Sullivan operas' dominance had ended, until the rise of the A ...

Life and career

Wilhelm was born at Northfleet, in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, England, the son of a shipbuilder."Mr. Pitcher's Art" - Obituary ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'', 3 March 1925 The young artist showed early promise, and J. R. Planché recommended him to design for the

Theatre Royal, Drury Lane The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) and backs onto Dr ...

. There, Wilhelm created costumes, beginning in 1877, for numerous works, including the famous pantomimes of Sir

Augustus Harris Sir Augustus Henry Glossop Harris (18 March 1852 – 22 June 1896) was a British actor, impresario, and dramatist, a dominant figure in the West End theatre of the 1880s and 1890s. Born into a theatrical family, Harris briefly pursued a comme ...

and for others until 1897, including the spectacular drama, ''Armada'' (1888)."Famous Ballet Designer - Identity of 'C. Wilhelm' Revealed", ''

'', 1 June 1920, p. 14 He also designed costumes for various

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Bri ...

artists and for many London theatres, including

Her Majesty's Theatre Her Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre situated on Haymarket, London, Haymarket in the City of Westminster, London. The present building was designed by Charles J. Phipps and was constructed in 1897 for actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, ...

, The Coliseum and

The Crystal Palace The Crystal Palace was a cast iron and plate glass structure, originally built in Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park, London, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. The exhibition took place from 1 May to 15 October 1851, and more than 14,000 exhibit ...

, and for three pantomimes at the Lyceum Theatre. For

Robert Courtneidge Robert Courtneidge (29 June 1859 – 6 April 1939) was a British theatrical manager-producer and playwright. He is best remembered as the co-author of the light opera ''Tom Jones (Edward German), Tom Jones'' (1907) and the producer of ''The Arc ...

Manchester, England Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, Wilhelm designed two

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 nation ...

plays: ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict amon ...

'' and ''

As You Like It ''As You Like It'' is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 has b ...

''. Wilhelm also designed costumes for numerous pantomimes, including ''Cinderella'', ''

Dick Whittington Richard Whittington (c. 1354–1423) of the parish of St Michael Paternoster Royal, City of London, was an English merchant and a politician of the late medieval period. He is also the real-life inspiration for the English folk tale ''Dick ...

'' and ''Blue Beard''. He was the designer for some of the costumes in several of the original

Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan was a Victorian era, Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900), who jointly created fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which ...

operas at the

Savoy Theatre The Savoy Theatre is a West End theatre in the Strand in the City of Westminster, London, England. The theatre was designed by C. J. Phipps for Richard D'Oyly Carte and opened on 10 October 1881 on a site previously occupied by the Savoy Pala ...

in the 1880s, including ''

Iolanthe ''Iolanthe; or, The Peer and the Peri'' () is a comic opera with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, first performed in 1882. It is one of the Savoy operas and is the seventh of fourteen operatic collaborations by Gilbert ...

'', ''

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 5 January 1884, for a ru ...

'', ''

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 Lo ...

'' (revival), ''

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 Gilbert and Sullivan, operatic collaborations. It opened on 14 March 1885, in London, whe ...

'', and ''

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 tog ...

''. He also designed costumes for ''

Jane Annie ''Jane Annie, or The Good Conduct Prize'' is a comic opera written in 1893 by J. M. Barrie and Arthur Conan Doyle, with music by Ernest Ford, a conductor and occasional composer. When the Gilbert and Sullivan partnership disbanded after the p ...

'' at the Savoy (1893) and for the

Olympia, London Olympia London, sometimes referred to as the Olympia Exhibition Centre, is an exhibition centre, event space and conference centre in West Kensington, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, London, England. A range of international ...

spectacles ''Nero'' (1889) and ''Venice'' (1891). Wilhelm was, perhaps, best known for his work for the Empire Theatre, London, from 1887 to 1915, where he designed both scenery and costumes for (and sometimes produced) numerous ballets, many of which starred Adeline Genée, and which established a fashion for stage design and were much imitated. His later costume designs included ''

The New Aladdin ''The New Aladdin'' is an Edwardian musical comedy in two acts by James T. Tanner and W. H. Risque, with music by Ivan Caryll, Lionel Monckton, and additional numbers by Frank E. Tours, and lyrics by Adrian Ross, Percy Greenbank, W. H. Risque, ...

'' (1906);

Edward German Sir Edward German (17 February 1862 – 11 November 1936) was an English musician and composer of Welsh descent, best remembered for his extensive output of incidental music for the stage and as a successor to Arthur Sullivan in the field of En ...

's opera '' Tom Jones'' (1907); ''Peter Pan'' (the famous mermaid costumes for the 1905 revival); and '' The Arcadians'' (1909) and ''The Mousmé'' (1911), among other musical comedies. Wilhelm's costume designs were seen on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

in ''

'' (1887), ''

A Runaway Girl ''A Runaway Girl'' is a musical comedy in two acts written in 1898 by Seymour Hicks and Harry Nicholls. The composer was Ivan Caryll, with additional music by Lionel Monckton and lyrics by Aubrey Hopwood and Harry Greenbank. It was produced b ...

'' (1898–99), ''

The Toreador ''The Toreador'' is an Edwardian musical comedy in two acts by James T. Tanner and Harry Nicholls, with lyrics by Adrian Ross and Percy Greenbank and music by Ivan Caryll and Lionel Monckton. It opened at the Gaiety Theatre in London, mana ...

'' (1902), ''

Three Little Maids ''Three Little Maids'' is an English musical by Paul Rubens (composer), Paul Rubens with additional songs by Percy Greenbank and Howard Talbot. The story concerns three simple curate#Anglican Communion, curate's daughters who go to London to ea ...

'' (1903), ''The Babes and the Baron'' (1905–06), ''

The Red Mill ''The Red Mill'' is an operetta written by Victor Herbert, with a libretto by Henry Blossom. The farcical story concerns two American vaudevillians who wreak havoc at an inn in Holland, interfering with two marriages; but all ends well. The musica ...

'' (1906–07), ''The Soul Kiss'' (1908), ''The Silver Star'' (1909–10), ''The Old Town'' (1910), ''The Arcadians'' (1910), '' The Girl in the Train'' (1910), ''The Lady of the Slipper'' (1912–13), ''Chin Chin'' (1914–15), ''The Yankee Princess'' (1922), ''Stepping Stones'' (scenic and costume design, 1923–24) and ''

Madame Pompadour Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour (, ; 29 December 1721 – 15 April 1764), commonly known as Madame de Pompadour, was a member of the French court. She was the official chief mistress of King Louis XV from 1745 to 1751, and rema ...

'' (1924–25). accessed 5 Jan 2008 London's ''

'' wrote, "Wilhelm excelled especially in rendering the spirit and detail of historical periods, but he had also an amusing skill in turning modern costumes to his fantastic purposes.... to his imaginative gifts he added remarkable precision and firmness in execution and great ingenuity in the treatment of colour." Wilhelm also contributed a number of articles on the art of the theatre to ''The Magazine of Art'', including "Art in Ballet" (1895). In his last years, he focused on watercolour painting, especially of flowers and plant life, and illustrating children's books, including ''The Child of the Air'', and he was elected to the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours in 1920. He died in London just short of his 67th birthday and is buried in

Brompton cemetery Brompton Cemetery (originally the West of London and Westminster Cemetery) is a London cemetery, managed by The Royal Parks, in West Brompton in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is one of the Magnificent Seven cemeteries. Estab ...

Notes

External links

Numerous designs and notes by Wilhelm, 1890s
* ttps://www.gsarchive.net/iolanthe/html/index.html Wilhelm designs for ''Iolanthe'', 1882br>Information about the portrayal of Wilhelm in the film ''Topsy-Turvey''Wilhelm
at the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilhelm People associated with Gilbert and Sullivan British costume designers 1858 births 1925 deaths People from Northfleet