Walter Alfred Slaughter (17 February 1860 – 2 March 1908) was an English conductor and composer of

musical comedy Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...

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 ...

and children's shows. He was engaged in the West End as a composer and musical director from 1883 to 1904.

Life and career

Youth and education

Slaughter was born in

Fitzroy Square Fitzroy Square is a Georgian square in London. It is the only one in the central London area known as Fitzrovia. The square is one of the area's main features, this once led to the surrounding district to be known as Fitzroy Square or Fitzro ...

, London.''The Musical Herald'', 1 December 1906, p. 359 He attended the

City of London School , established = , closed = , type = Public school Boys' independent day school , president = , head_label = Headmaster , head = Alan Bird , chair_label = Chair of Governors , chair = Ian Seaton , founder = John Carpenter , speciali ...

, and sang in the choir of St. Andrew's Church, Wells Street under

Joseph Barnby Sir Joseph Barnby (12 August 183828 January 1896) was an English composer and conductor. Life Barnby was born at York, as a son of Thomas Barnby, who was an organist. Joseph was a chorister at York Minster from the age of seven, was educated ...

.Obituary, ''The Musical Herald'', 1 April 1908, p. 105 After leaving school, he worked in a wine merchant's office and then for the music publishers Metzler.''

The Strand Magazine ''The Strand Magazine'' was a monthly British magazine founded by George Newnes, composed of short fiction and general interest articles. It was published in the United Kingdom from January 1891 to March 1950, running to 711 issues, though the ...

'', 4 July 1892, p. 85 While there, he studied music under

Alfred Cellier Alfred Cellier (1 December 184428 December 1891) was an English composer, orchestrator and conductor. In addition to conducting and music directing the original productions of several of the most famous Gilbert and Sullivan works and writing th ...

Berthold Tours Berthold Tours (Rotterdam, Dec 17, 1838 – London, Mar 11, 1897) was a Dutch-born English violinist, composer and music editor. His first music teacher was his father, Barthelemy Tours (1797-1864), who was organist of the Groote or St Laurens Ker ...

, and

Georges Jacobi Georges Jacobi (3 February 1840 –13 September 1906) was a German violinist, composer and conductor who was musical director of the Alhambra Theatre in London from 1872 to 1898. His best-known work was probably ''The Black Crook'' (1872) writt ...

, the musical director of the

Alhambra Theatre The Alhambra was a popular theatre and music hall located on the east side of Leicester Square, in the West End of London. It was built originally as the Royal Panopticon of Science and Arts opening on 18 March 1854. It was closed after two yea ...

. He was also brought into frequent contact with

Arthur Sullivan Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan (13 May 1842 – 22 November 1900) was an English composer. He is best known for 14 comic opera, operatic Gilbert and Sullivan, collaborations with the dramatist W. S. Gilbert, including ''H.M.S. Pinaf ...

, who gave him much encouragement and friendly advice. Slaughter once asked Sullivan the best way to study composition; Sullivan replied, "Take off your gloves, go into the orchestra and study it there, as an engineer studies his business in the engine room." Slaughter married Luna Lauri ("Mlle. Luna"), one of the two famous dancing daughters of John Lauri, ballet-master at the Alhambra Theatre. Their daughter, Marjorie Slaughter, also became a composer.

Early career

Slaughter served as the organist at St. Andrew's and as a cellist and pianist in

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 ...

s prior to becoming a musical director in

West End theatre West End theatre is mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres in and near the West End of London.Christopher Innes, "West End" in ''The Cambridge Guide to Theatre'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998), pp. 1194–1 ...

productions. Before he was 20, he had composed three ballets for the South London Palace. His early works also included some individual songs, one of which was the popular "The Dear Homeland". He composed the music for the successful all-women one-act '' opera di camera'' ''An Adamless Eden'' (1882 at the

Opera Comique The Opera Comique was a 19th-century theatre constructed in Westminster, London, between Wych Street, Holywell Street and the Strand. It opened in 1870 and was demolished in 1902, to make way for the construction of the Aldwych and Kingsway. ...

), which was produced in Britain and in America (1884) by Lila Clay's ladies' company. He also provided additional music in 1883, for the English adaptation of

Edmond Audran Achille Edmond Audran (12 April 184017 August 1901) was a French composer best known for several internationally successful comic operas and operettas. After beginning his career in Marseille as an organist, Audran composed religious music and ...

's ''

Gillette de Narbonne ''Gillette de Narbonne'' is an '' opéra comique'' in three acts, with music by Edmond Audran and words by Alfred Duru and Henri Chivot. It is based on a fabliau from ''The Decameron'' and depicts a rejected bride posing as another woman to de ...

''. After several one-act works, including ''Sly and Shy'' (1883), ''The Casting Vote'' (1885) and ''Marie's Honeymoon'' (1885), he wrote the score for what became the most successful musical version of ''

Alice in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creatur ...

'', in 1886, to a book and lyrics by

Henry Savile Clarke Henry Savile Clarke (14 February 1841 – 5 October 1893) was an English dramatist, journalist and critic. He produced and wrote the lyrics and book for the first professional dramatisation of ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' and ''Throug ...

. He also wrote a work called ''Sappho'' that year for the Opera Comique, which was not as well received because of a weak libretto. Slaughter later wrote the score to the medieval

''Marjorie'' produced by the

Carl Rosa Opera Company The Carl Rosa Opera Company was founded in 1873 by Carl Rosa, a German-born musical impresario, and his wife, British operatic soprano Euphrosyne Parepa-Rosa to present opera in English in London and the British provinces. The company premiere ...

in 1890 (

Prince of Wales's Theatre The Scala Theatre was a theatre in Charlotte Street, London, off Tottenham Court Road. The first theatre on the site opened in 1772, and the theatre was demolished in 1969, after being destroyed by fire. From 1865 to 1882, the theatre was kn ...

, 193 performances), and contributed to the Gaiety Theatre's ''

Cinderella "Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...

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.

, '' Cinder-Ellen Up-too-Late'' in 1891 and ''King Kodak'' in 1894. In 1893 he composed the score for a musical farce, ''Peggy's Plot'', for the German Reeds. At the same time, Slaughter composed

incidental music Incidental music is music in a play, television program, radio program, video game, or some other presentation form that is not primarily musical. The term is less frequently applied to film music, with such music being referred to instead as t ...

for plays, including those produced at the

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 suc ...

, while he was employed as the musical director there, including, in 1890, Walter Frith's ''Molierè'' and Quinton and Hamilton's ''Lord Anerley''; in 1891, Haddon Chambers's ''The Idler''; and in 1892,

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...

's ''

Lady Windermere's Fan ''Lady Windermere's Fan, A Play About a Good Woman'' is a four-act comedy by Oscar Wilde, first performed on Saturday, 20 February 1892, at the St James's Theatre in London. The story concerns Lady Windermere, who suspects that her husband i ...

'' and ''Donna Luiza'' (with

Basil Hood Basil Willett Charles Hood (5 April 1864 – 7 August 1917) was a British dramatist and lyricist, perhaps best known for writing the libretti of half a dozen Savoy Operas and for his English adaptations of operettas, including ''The Merry Wi ...

as librettist).

Peak years

Slaughter's breakthrough success came in 1895 in collaboration with Hood with the musical comedy '' Gentleman Joe, The Hansom Cabbie'' as a vehicle for the low comic Arthur Roberts.

Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...

dismissed the score in '' The Saturday Review'': "The music, by Mr. Walter Slaughter, does not contain a single novel, or even passably fresh point, either in melody, harmony or orchestration." However, the show ran for 391 performances and enjoyed a New York production the following year. This was followed in 1896 by another collaboration with Hood that produced '' The French Maid'', which debuted at

Terry's Theatre Terry's Theatre was a West End theatre in the Strand, in the City of Westminster, London. Built in 1887, it became a cinema in 1910 before being demolished in 1923. History The theatre was built in 1887, near Fountain's Court, on the site of a ...

and was a long-lived international success (480 performances in London, and a long-running New York production), and the less successful ''Belinda''. He also wrote incidental music to

Henry James Henry James ( – ) was an American-British author. He is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language. He was the ...

's ''Guy Domville'' (1895) and ''The Prisoner of Zenda'' (1896) around this time. In 1897,

and Slaughter wrote a series of short children's musicals based on fairy tales that received warm reviews."'The Happy Life,' by Louis N. Parker, to be Produced at the Duke of York's Theatre"
''The New York Times'', December 5, 1897 Also with Hood, Slaughter wrote a farcical musical comedy, ''Dandy Dan the Lifeguardsman'' (1897, Lyric Theatre), another successful vehicle for Roberts, and ''Orlando Dando, The Volunteer'' (1898), a similar success for

Dan Leno George Wild Galvin (20 December 1860 – 31 October 1904), better known by the stage name Dan Leno, was a leading English music hall comedian and musical theatre actor during the late Victorian era. He was best known, aside from his music hall ...

at the Fulham Grand Theatre and then on tour. Next, Slaughter wrote three shows for 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 ...

managed by

Seymour Hicks Sir Edward Seymour Hicks (30 January 1871 – 6 April 1949), better known as Seymour Hicks, was a British actor, music hall performer, playwright, actor-manager and producer. He became known, early in his career, for writing, starring in and p ...

. The most successful of these was ''

Bluebell in Fairyland ''Bluebell in Fairyland'' is a Christmas-season children's entertainment described as "a musical dream play", in two acts, with a book by Seymour Hicks, lyrics by Aubrey Hopwood and Charles H. Taylor, and music by Walter Slaughter. It was produced ...

'' (1901), produced by

Charles Frohman Charles Frohman (July 15, 1856 – May 7, 1915) was an American theater manager and producer, who discovered and promoted many stars of the American stage. Notably, he produced ''Peter Pan'', both in London and the US, the latter production ...

and starring Hicks and his wife,

Ellaline Terriss Mary Ellaline Terriss, Lady Hicks (born Mary Ellaline Lewin, 13 April 1871 – 16 June 1971), known professionally as Ellaline Terriss, was a popular British actress and singer, best known for her performances in Edwardian musical comedies. Sh ...

. This turned out to be the most popular Christmas entertainment of its time and was continually revived for the next four decades. Other 1901 works were ''Little Miss Modesty'' and ''The English Rose''. '' An English Daisy'', written with Hicks, was produced on Broadway with a Kingston run in 1902. Slaughter wrote several more shows, including '' Little Hans Andersen'' with Hood (1903) and ''The Hooligan Band'' with

Charles H. Taylor Charles H. Taylor may refer to: * Charles Taylor (North Carolina politician) (born 1941), US congressman from North Carolina * Charles H. Taylor (Michigan politician) (1813–1889), American politician who served as the Michigan Secretary of State ...

(1906). He also served as the first musical director for

Oswald Stoll Sir Oswald Stoll (20 January 1866 – 9 January 1942) was an Australian-born British theatre manager and the co-founder of the Stoll Moss Group theatre company. He also owned Cricklewood Studios and film production company Stoll Pictures, wh ...

at the

London Coliseum The London Coliseum (also known as the Coliseum Theatre) is a theatre in St Martin's Lane, Westminster, built as one of London's largest and most luxurious "family" variety theatres. Opened on 24 December 1904 as the London Coliseum Theatre ...

from 1904 to 1906. He died in London in 1908 at the age of 48.

Notes

References

Biography of SlaughterListing of Slaughter shows from Flyrope.com

External links

* ttp://www.bllearning.co.uk/catalogues/evanion/Record.asp?EvanID=487&source=gallery.asp Poster for and description of "The Sioux" 1892, with music by Slaughterbr>List of library materials on Slaughter's works
{{DEFAULTSORT:Slaughter, Walter English musical theatre composers English male composers 1860 births 1908 deaths 19th-century English musicians 19th-century British male musicians