Frank Osmond Carr (23 April 1858 – 29 August 1916), known as F. Osmond Carr, was an English

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 ...

who wrote the music for several

Victorian burlesques Victorian burlesque, sometimes known as travesty or extravaganza, is a genre of theatrical entertainment that was popular in Victorian England and in the New York theatre of the mid-19th century. It is a form of parody in which a well-known oper ...

before turning to the new genre of

Edwardian musical comedy 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 ...

, and also composing some

comic opera 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 ...

s. He often worked with the lyricist

Adrian Ross Arthur Reed Ropes (23 December 1859 – 11 September 1933), better known under the pseudonym Adrian Ross, was a prolific writer of lyrics, contributing songs to more than sixty British musical comedies in the late 19th and early 20th centuries ...

, and several of his pieces were created for the producer

George Edwardes George Joseph Edwardes (né Edwards; 8 October 1855 – 4 October 1915) was an English theatre manager and producer of Irish ancestry who brought a new era in musical theatre to the British stage and beyond. Edwardes started out in theatre ma ...

Life and career

Carr was born in

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

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

, England.F. Osmond Carr profile
at the British Musical Theatre website of The Gilbert and Sullivan Archive (2004) His parents were George Saxton Carr, a schoolmaster and Margaret Durden Carr, née Painter.Lamb, Andrew.
"Carr, Frank Osmond (1858–1916)"
''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004, accessed 7 Oct 2008, He attended

New College, Oxford New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at th ...

, and

Downing College, Cambridge Downing College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge and currently has around 650 students. Founded in 1800, it was the only college to be added to Cambridge University between 1596 and 1869, and is often described as the olde ...

, receiving a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree in 1883 and apparently returning to Oxford to receive a music degree there in 1884. He continued his studies at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

, earning a Cambridge

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

and

B.Mus. Bachelor of Music (BM or BMus) is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or music school, conservatory upon completion of a program of study in music. In the United States, it is a professional degree, and the majority of work consi ...

in 1886 and gained a doctorate in music at Oxford in 1891. An active

Freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

, he was initiated into Isaac Newton University Lodge in 1887."Eccentric Lodge, No. 2488"
''The Freemason's Chronicle'', 13 October 1894 Carr's first produced work (with lyricist

) was the

burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.

''Faddimir, or the Triumph of Orthodoxy'' at the

Vaudeville Theatre The Vaudeville Theatre is a West End theatre on the Strand in the City of Westminster. As the name suggests, the theatre held mostly vaudeville shows and musical revues in its early days. It opened in 1870 and was rebuilt twice, although each ...

in London in 1889, which gained the attention of producer

. Edwardes began to commission songs from Carr and Ross, including a song for his next Gaiety Theatre burlesque ''

Ruy Blas and the Blasé Roué ''Ruy Blas and the Blasé Roué'' is a Victorian burlesque, burlesque written by A. C. Torr and Herbert F. Clark with music by Meyer Lutz. It is based on the Victor Hugo drama ''Ruy Blas''. The piece was produced by George Edwardes. As with man ...

''. They next wrote the score for a burlesque of ''Joan of Arc, or, The merry maid of Orleans'' (1891), and then the songs for what many historians consider the first British musical comedy, '' In Town'' (1892). Carr also composed another burlesque that year, ''Blue Eyed Susan'', for the

Prince of Wales Theatre The Prince of Wales Theatre is a West End theatre in Coventry Street, near Leicester Square in London. It was established in 1884 and rebuilt in 1937, and extensively refurbished in 2004 by Sir Cameron Mackintosh, its current owner. The theatre ...

. Carr next composed two successful musicals for producer Fred Harris: ''

Morocco Bound ''Morocco Bound'' is a farcical English Edwardian musical comedy in two acts by Arthur Branscombe, with music by F. Osmond Carr and lyrics by Adrian Ross. It opened at the Shaftesbury Theatre in London, on 13 April 1893, under the management o ...

'' (1893), a model for the music-hall-influenced "variety musicals" to come, and ''

Go-Bang ''Go-Bang'' is an English musical comedy with words by Adrian Ross and music by F. Osmond Carr. The piece was produced by Fred Harris and opened at the Trafalgar Square Theatre on 10 March 1894. It ran for 159 performances. The show starred H ...

'' (1894), both with lyrics by Ross. 1n 1894, Edwardes engaged Carr to write the music for ''

His Excellency Excellency is an honorific style (manner of address), style given to certain high-level officers of a sovereign state, officials of an international organization, or members of an aristocracy. Once entitled to the title "Excellency", the holder ...

'', a

with a libretto by

W. S. Gilbert Sir William Schwenck Gilbert (18 November 1836 – 29 May 1911) was an English dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for his collaboration with composer Arthur Sullivan, which produced fourteen comic operas. The most f ...

. This was a moderate success and enjoyed international productions. Carr's musicals in the late 1890s, included ''Billy'' (1895), ''My Girl'' (1896 with Ross), ''Biarritz'' (1896 with Ross and

Jerome K Jerome Jerome Klapka Jerome (2 May 1859 – 14 June 1927) was an English writer and humourist, best known for the comic Travel literature, travelogue ''Three Men in a Boat'' (1889). Other works include the essay collections ''Idle Thoughts of an Idle ...

), a vehicle for

Little Tich Harry Relph (21 July 186710 February 1928),Russell, Dav"Relph, Harry (1867–1928)" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004, online edition, January 2011. Retrieved 1 August 2013 professionally known as Littl ...

called ''Lord Tom Noddy'' (1896, with George Dance), ''Thrillby'' to a book by

Joseph W. Herbert Joseph William Herbert (27 November 1863–18 February 1923) was a British-born American director, silent-film actor, singer and dramatist notable for being the first person to play Ko-Ko in America in a pirate production of Gilbert and Sulli ...

(1897) and ''The Maid of Athens'' (1897, produced by Carr). All were unsuccessful, although a number of individual songs from these musicals became popular, and some toured the British provinces. Carr's post-1900 pieces included ''The Southern Belle'' (1901), ''The Rose of the Riviera'' (1903), ''Miss Mischief'' (1904) and ''The Scottish Bluebells'' (1906), all of which had at least a provincial success, but he never regained his early popularity. Carr also wrote many separate songs and some instrumental pieces. He also produced the score for a

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

produced at the Empire Theatre in 1907 called ''Sir Roger de Coverley''. He retired to the country in 1916 but almost immediately died of a heart attack in

Uxbridge Uxbridge () is a suburban town in west London and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon. Situated west-northwest of Charing Cross, it is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Uxbrid ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

, England, at the age of 58.

Notes

References

*Gänzl, Kurt. ''The encyclopedia of the musical theatre'', 2nd edn, 3 vols. (2001) *Parker, J. (ed.) ''Who's who in the theatre'', 3rd ed. (1916) *''The Stage'' obituary, 31 August 1916

External links

Profile of Carr

List of Carr works

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Carr, Frank Osmond People associated with Gilbert and Sullivan English composers 1858 births 1916 deaths Alumni of New College, Oxford 19th-century English musicians British Freemasons Members of Isaac Newton University Lodge