Henry Robinson Allen (1809 – 27 November 1876) was an Irish-born operatic tenor.

Biography

Allen was born in Cork, Ireland and received his musical education at the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of ...

, London. His debut took place on 11 January 1831, as Basilio in a performance of

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

's ''

The Marriage of Figaro ''The Marriage of Figaro'' ( it, Le nozze di Figaro, links=no, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' (opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premie ...

'' by the students of the Academy at the King's Theatre. He first attracted public attention by his performance, on 5 February 1842, of Damon on the production of ''

Acis and Galatea (Handel) ''Acis and Galatea'' ( HWV 49) is a musical work by George Frideric Handel with an English text by John Gay. The work has been variously described as a serenata, a masque, a pastoral or pastoral opera, a "little opera" (in a letter by the c ...

'' under

William Macready William Charles Macready (3 March 179327 April 1873) was an English actor. Life He was born in London the son of William Macready the elder, and actress Christina Ann Birch. Educated at Rugby School where he became headboy, and where now the ...

Drury Lane Drury Lane is a street on the eastern boundary of the Covent Garden area of London, running between Aldwych and High Holborn. The northern part is in the borough of Camden and the southern part in the City of Westminster. Notable landmarks ...

. In

John Edmund Cox John Edmund Cox (1812–1890), also Edmond, was an English cleric and antiquarian, best known as an editor of the works of Thomas Cranmer. Life He was the eldest son of John (or George) Cox of Norwich, a furniture maker. In his musical memoirs, Co ...

's ''Musical Recollections'', he is identified as "the only person worth listening to, in spite of the limited powers of his organ".. In 1843, under the same management, he played Acis and Phaon in

Giovanni Pacini Giovanni Pacini (11 February 17966 December 1867) was an Italian composer, best known for his operas. Pacini was born in Catania, Sicily, the son of the buffo Luigi Pacini, who was to appear in the premieres of many of Giovanni's operas. The fami ...

's opera '' Saffo'', when the heroine on each occasion was

Clara Novello Clara Anastasia Novello (10 June 1818 – 12 March 1908) was an acclaimed soprano, the fourth daughter of Vincent Novello, a musician and music publisher, and his wife, Mary Sabilla Hehl. Her acclaimed soprano and pure style made her one o ...

, and later in the autumn he played at the

Princess's Theatre The Princess's Theatre or Princess Theatre was a theatre in Oxford Street Oxford Street is a major road in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, running from Tottenham Court Road to Marble Arch via Oxford Circus. It is Europ ...

as Edward III in the English version of Balfe's ''Le Puits d'Amour''. From that time until the close of

John Medex Maddox John Medex Maddox (1789–1861) was a Victorian-era playwright and one-time manager of the Princess's Theatre, London, Princess's Theatre in London's Oxford Street. Of Jews, Jewish descent, Maddox had been born John Medex and used "Maddox" as an ...

's management in 1850, Allen was continually engaged at the Princess's, where, owing to its small size, he was heard to advantage. He played in ''

Don Giovanni ''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; Vienna (1788) title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanis ...

'', ''

Otello ''Otello'' () is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on Shakespeare's play ''Othello''. It was Verdi's penultimate opera, first performed at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, on 5 February 1887. Th ...

'', ''

Anna Bolena ''Anna Bolena'' is a tragic opera (''tragedia lirica'') in two acts composed by Gaetano Donizetti. Felice Romani wrote the Italian libretto after Ippolito Pindemonte's ''Enrico VIII ossia Anna Bolena'' and Alessandro Pepoli's ''Anna Bolena'', both ...

'',

Ferdinand Hérold Louis Joseph Ferdinand Herold (28 January 1791 – 19 January 1833), better known as Ferdinand Hérold (), was a French composer. He was celebrated in his lifetime for his operas, of which he composed more than twenty, but he also wrote ballet mus ...

's ''Marie'', ''La Barcarole'', ''

Les Diamants de la couronne ''Les diamants de la couronne'' (''The Crown Diamonds'') is an ''opéra comique'' by the French composer Daniel Auber, first performed by the Opéra-Comique at the second Salle Favart in Paris on 6 March 1841. The libretto (in three acts) is by ...

'', Auber's ''La Sirène'', etc.; Halévy's ''

Le Val d'Andorre ''Le val d'Andorre'' (The Valley of Andorra) is an opéra comique by Fromental Halévy with a libretto by Saint-Georges. Although today almost completely forgotten, it was one of Halévy's greatest successes, running for 165 performances and resto ...

'';

Michael William Balfe Michael William Balfe (15 May 1808 – 20 October 1870) was an Irish composer, best remembered for his operas, especially ''The Bohemian Girl''. After a short career as a violinist, Balfe pursued an operatic singing career, while he began to co ...

's ''The Castle of Aymon'';

Edward Loder Edward James Loder (10 July 1809 – 5 April 1865) was an English composer and conductor. His best remembered work is perhaps the 1855 opera ''Raymond and Agnes'', though his most successful opera during his lifetime was ''The Night Dancers''. ...

's ''Night Dancers''. In the early part of 1846 he was engaged at Drury Lane, where he played Basilius on 3 February in

George Alexander Macfarren Sir George Alexander Macfarren (2 March 181331 October 1887) was an English composer and musicologist. Life George Alexander Macfarren was born in London on 2 March 1813 to George Macfarren, a dancing-master, dramatic author and journalist, wh ...

's production of ''An Adventure of Don Quixote''. À propos of this part,

Henry Chorley Henry Fothergill Chorley (15 December 1808 – 16 February 1872) was an English literary, art and music critic, writer and editor. He was also an author of novels, drama, poetry and lyrics. Chorley was a prolific and important music and litera ...

, in the ''Athenæum'', considered him, both as singer and actor, as the most complete artist on the English operatic stage. Allen retired early from public life, and devoted himself to teaching and the composition of ballads, two of which became popular, viz. " Maid of Athens" and "When we two parted". He died at

Shepherd's Bush Shepherd's Bush is a district of West London, England, within the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham west of Charing Cross, and identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Although primarily residential in character, i ...

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Henry 1809 births 1876 deaths 19th-century Irish male opera singers Irish operatic tenors Musicians from Cork (city) 19th-century British male opera singers