Charles Zachary Barnett (c1813 – 1849) was an English librettist and playwright of Jewish descent notable for writing the

libretti A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major litu ...

for two operas by his brother the composer John Barnett as well as for his early theatrical adaptations of the works of

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

. He was the son of a Hungarian mother and Bernhard Beer, a Prussian Jew who changed his surname to Barnett on settling in England as a diamond merchant and jeweller. According to some he was a cousin of the composer

Giacomo Meyerbeer Giacomo Meyerbeer (born Jakob Liebmann Beer; 5 September 1791 – 2 May 1864) was a German opera composer, "the most frequently performed opera composer during the nineteenth century, linking Mozart and Wagner". With his 1831 opera ''Robert le di ...

. Charles Zachary Barnett was the younger brother of the composer John Barnett, for whom he wrote the libretti for two of his operas, ''

Fair Rosamond Rosamund Clifford (before 1150 – ), often called "The Fair Rosamund" or "Rose of the World" (Latin: ''rosa mundi''), was a medieval English noblewoman and mistress of Henry II, King of England, who became famous in English folklore. Life ...

'' (1837), in which he 'perversely reduced the story to the level of burlesque'; and ''

Farinelli Farinelli (; 24 January 1705 – 16 September 1782) was the stage name of Carlo Maria Michelangelo Nicola Broschi (), a celebrated Italian castrato singer of the 18th century and one of the greatest singers in the history of opera. Farinelli h ...

'' (1839). He also wrote several plays including early adaptations of the works of

, such as the three-act burletta ''Oliver Twist; Or, The Parish Boy's Progress'', which opened at the

Theatre Royal, Marylebone The Theatre Royal, Marylebone (also known as the Marylebone Theatre, among other names) was a Victorian era theatre in the Marylebone area of London. Built in 1831, at various other times it was a music hall, a cinema and warehouse until it was ...

on 21 May 1838.Theatres in Victorian London - Victorian Web
/ref> It was only the second stage production of the work, as Dickens had not yet completed the novel. Barnett also wrote ''A Christmas Carol: Or, the Miser's Warning!'', a two-act adaptation of ''

A Christmas Carol ''A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas'', commonly known as ''A Christmas Carol'', is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. ''A Christmas C ...

'' first produced at the

Surrey Theatre The Surrey Theatre, London began life in 1782 as the Royal Circus and Equestrian Philharmonic Academy, one of the many circuses that provided entertainment of both horsemanship and drama (hippodrama). It stood in Blackfriars Road, near the jun ...

on 5 February 1844, just weeks after the publication of the novella.''A Christmas Carol, or, the Miser's Warning!''

Project Gutenberg Project Gutenberg (PG) is a Virtual volunteering, volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, as well as to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks." It was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael S. Hart and is the ...

eBook Other plays written by Barnett include ''The Banks of Allan Water, or the Death of Fair Eleanor'' (1831), performed at the Pavilion Theatre at Mile End; and a drama based on the Rothschilds - ''The Rise of the Rothschildes: Or, The Honest Jew of Frankfort'' (1838). Other dramas from the pen of Barnett included ''The Drum of Fate or Sarah the Jewess'' (1838); ''The Minister's Dream or the Jew of Plymouth'' (1838); ''Linda''; ''The Pearl of Savoy'', adaptation of Rossi's libretto ''

Linda di Chamounix ''Linda di Chamounix'' is an operatic ''melodramma semiserio'' in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. The Italian libretto was written by Gaetano Rossi. It premiered in Vienna, at the Kärntnertortheater, on 19 May 1842. Performance history ''Li ...

''; ''Victorine of Paris''; ''Dominique'', and ''Bohemians of Paris''.Rubens, (1974) p. 153

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barnett, Charles Zachary 1813 births 1849 deaths English Jews English lyricists 19th-century English dramatists and playwrights English male dramatists and playwrights English opera librettists