Mary Anne à Beckett (29 April 1815 – 11 December 1863) was an English composer, primarily known for opera. She was the wife of the writer Gilbert à Beckett, who provided the libretti for two of her operas. Their children included the writers

Gilbert Arthur à Beckett Gilbert Arthur à Beckett (April 7, 1837 – October 15, 1891) was an English writer. Biography Beckett was born at Portland House Hammersmith, on 7 April 1837, the eldest son of the civil servant and humorist Gilbert Abbott à Beckett and t ...

and

Arthur William à Beckett Arthur William à Beckett (25 October 1844 – 14 January 1909) was an English journalist and intellectual. Biography He was a younger son of Gilbert Abbott à Beckett and Mary Anne à Beckett, brother of Gilbert Arthur à Beckett and educate ...

. Her theatrical connections included her brother, the actor and producer impresario

Augustus Glossop Harris Augustus Frederick Glossop Harris (5 June 1825 – 19 April 1873) was a British actor, writer, and theatre manager. Born in Portici, Naples, Italy, on 5 June 1825, he was the son of Joseph Glossop, first manager of the Royal Coburg Theatre (now ...

, and his eldest son, also an impresario, Sir Augustus Harris.

Biography

Mary Anne à Beckett was born in London, the eldest daughter of Joseph Glossop and his wife, Elizabeth, ''née'' Feron. Among their other children was the future actor and producer

, whose elder son was the impresario Sir Augustus Harris.Knight, Josep
"Harris, Augustus Frederick Glossop (1826–1873)"
rev. Nilanjana Banerji, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004, retrieved 21 April 2014 Glossop, a man of doubtful financial means, was at various times lessee of the Royal Coburg Theatre (now called

the Old Vic The Old Vic is a 1,000-seat, nonprofit organization, not-for-profit producing house, producing theatre in Waterloo, London, Waterloo, London, England. Established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, and renamed in 1833 the Royal Victoria Th ...

), and manager of

La Scala, Milan La Scala (, , ; abbreviation in Italian of the official name ) is a famous opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the ' (New Royal-Ducal Theatre alla Scala). The premiere performan ...

, and the

Teatro San Carlo The Real Teatro di San Carlo ("Royal Theatre of Saint Charles"), as originally named by the Bourbon monarchy but today known simply as the Teatro (di) San Carlo, is an opera house in Naples, Italy, connected to the Royal Palace and adjacent t ...

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

. His wife, the daughter of an ''émigré'' from the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

, sang professionally under her maiden name, "Madame Feron". In January 1835 Mary Anne married Gilbert à Beckett, a writer and magistrate.à Beckett, p. 54 They had two daughters and four sons, including

and

. Mary Anne à Beckett composed songs, piano pieces, incidental music, and three operas: ''

Agnes Sorel Agnes or Agness may refer to: People * Agnes (name), the given name, and a list of people named Agnes or Agness * Wilfrid Marcel Agnès (1920–2008), Canadian diplomat Places *Agnes, Georgia, United States, a ghost town * Agnes, Missouri, Unite ...

'' (1835), ''Little Red Riding Hood'' (1842) and ''The Young Pretender'' (1846). The most successful of these was the first, described as "an operatic farce", loosely based on the life of

Agnès Sorel Agnès Sorel (; 1422 – 9 February 1450), known by the sobriquet ''Dame de beauté'' (Lady of Beauty), was a favourite and chief mistress of King Charles VII of France, by whom she bore four daughters. She is considered the first officially r ...

, mistress of

Charles VII of France Charles VII (22 February 1403 – 22 July 1461), called the Victorious (french: le Victorieux) or the Well-Served (), was King of France from 1422 to his death in 1461. In the midst of the Hundred Years' War, Charles VII inherited the throne of F ...

. The piece, with words by the composer's husband, was the first production at

John Braham John Braham may refer to: * John Braham (MP) (1417), MP for Suffolk *John Braham (tenor) John Braham ( – 17 February 1856) was an English tenor opera singer born in London. His long career led him to become one of Europe's leading opera stars. ...

St James's Theatre The St James's Theatre was in King Street, St James's, London. It opened in 1835 and was demolished in 1957. The theatre was conceived by and built for a popular singer, John Braham; it lost money and after three seasons he retired. A succ ...

in London in 1835. The anonymous reviewer in ''

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 ...

'' dismissed the libretto as "cold, dull and comfortless", but praised some of the music as "evinc ngno inconsiderable share of taste and skill"."The St James's Theatre", ''The Times'', 15 December 1835, p. 5 The composer turned down the suggestion that she should conduct the performances herself, declining to make public appearances, but her sister made her debut, very successfully, in this production. ''Little Red Riding Hood'', with libretto by Gilbert à Beckett, opened at the Surrey Theatre in August 1842. A reviewer in ''The Musical World'' praised the music, and commented that though it was not conspicuously original it was "adroitly put together, and … is consequently preferable to some loftier doings in loftier places, which, in their aim to be very original, are far less pleasing in their material, and far more clumsily dovetailed." The music for the last of her three operas ''The Young Pretender'' was, like that of its 1835 predecessor, better received than the libretto (which was by

Mark Lemon Mark Lemon (30 November 1809, in London – 23 May 1870, in Crawley) was the founding editor of both ''Punch'' and '' The Field''. He was also a writer of plays and verses. Biography Lemon was born in Marylebone, Westminster, Middlesex, ...

). ''The Times'' praised "some pretty pieces of vocal music in light Italian style"; the reviewer in ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

'' considered the score, "not original in its melodies nor scientific in its construction", but reserved his severest censure for Lemon's libretto: "as dreary a production as it is possible to imagine in any work professing to be a drama". The following year she published ''The Music Book'', a collection of twenty original songs, quadrilles and waltzes by her and her male British contemporaries. Gilbert à Beckett died in 1856, and in July 1857 his widow was given a civil list pension of £100 in recognition of her husband's contributions to society as a magistrate and writer. Lemon was one of the trustees of the pension.

Compositions

Operas and incidental music

*''

'', opera. 1836, St James's Theatre London *Incidental music to ''Mabel's Curse'' by Anna Maria Fielding, 1837, St James's Theatre *Incidental music (with

George Stansbury George Frederick Stansbury (7 June 1800 – 3 June 1845) was a British composer, musical director and arranger and an operatic singer. Although contemporary reviewers described his voice as of "poor quality", he was nevertheless an excellent m ...

) to ''Wanted, a Brigand, or, A visit from Fra-Diavolo'', 1837. Musical burletta in one act by Gilbert A'Beckett, St James's Theatre. *''Little Red Riding Hood''. A Fairy Opera, 1842, Surrey Theatre, London *''The Young Pretender'', musical play with libretto by Mark Lemon, 1846, Haymarket Theatre, London.

Songs and Duets

*"Vainly to me of love you speak". Duet. Words by Gilbert A'Beckett. c 1840 *"Farewell dear scenes". Ballad. 1842 *"Wherefore maiden art thou straying?" .Rondo.1842 *"Tis not the sparkling diadem". Ballad. 1842 *"When mem'ry through the mist of tears". 1843 *"Dear scenes of happier hours". Ballad. 1845 *"My home must be where'er thou art". Words by Mark Lemon, 1846 *"I dream of thee". Song. Words by Barry Cornwall. 1847 *"Love me if I live". Song. Words by Barry Cornwall. 1847 *"My home must be where'er thou art". Song. Words by Mark Lemon. 1847 *"Lightly won is lightly held". Duett. Words by Mark Lemon. 1847 *"A maiden from her lonely bow'r". Ballad. Words by Mark Lemon. 1847 *"One kindly word before we part. Ballad. Words by Mark Lemon. 1847 *"Ne'er think that I'll forget thee". Words by the composer. Ballad. 1850 *"It is o'er, that happy dream". Ballad. Words by Bertie Vyse. 1851 *"Do not smile". Ballad. Words by J D Douglas. 1851 *"And must we then in silence meet". Ballad. Words by the composer. 1851 *"Dear scenes of happier hours". Ballad. Words by Gilbert A'Beckett. 1854 *"Oh! come again sweet summer time". Ballad. Words by William A'Beckett. 1854 *"Take back thy gift". Ballad. Words by Gilbert A'Beckett. 1854 *"Dear scenes of happier hours" .Ballad . Words by Gilbert A'Beckett.1854 *"Dear Italy". Ballad. Words by Gilbert A'Beckett. 1856 *"Dear old England". A patriotic song . Words by Mrs V Roberts. 1859

Piano pieces

*"The Casino Waltz". 1847 *"The Ridotto Waltz". 1847 *"The Royal Nursery Quadrilles, or Popular Nursery Tunes". 1851. ::Source: ''Music und Gender im Internet''."Mary Anne A'Beckett"
Musik und Gender im Internet (in German), retrieved 21 April 2014

Notes and references

;Notes ;References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Abeckett, Mary Anne 1817 births 1863 deaths English classical composers English opera composers Women classical composers Musicians from London 19th-century classical composers 19th-century English musicians Women opera composers 19th-century British composers 19th-century women composers