Wilhelm Meyer Lutz (19 May 1829 – 31 January 1903) was a German-born British composer and conductor who is best known for light music, musical theatre and

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.

s of well-known works. Emigrating to the UK at the age of 19, Lutz started as an organist and soon became a theatrical conductor in London. After serving from 1850 to 1855 as music director of the Surrey Theatre, Lutz conducted touring opera companies and composed some serious music and music for the

Christy Minstrels Christy's Minstrels, sometimes referred to as the Christy Minstrels, were a blackface group formed by Edwin Pearce Christy, a well-known ballad singer, in 1843, in Buffalo, New York. They were instrumental in the solidification of the minstrel sh ...

. In 1869, he was engaged as the music director of the

Gaiety Theatre, London The Gaiety Theatre was a West End theatre in London, located on Aldwych at the eastern end of the Strand. The theatre was first established as the Strand Musick Hall in 1864 on the former site of the Lyceum Theatre. In 1868, it became known a ...

, arranging and later composing a series of popular burlesques over the next 25 years. Lutz continued to compose songs into the 20th century.

Life and career

Lutz was born in

Münnerstadt Münnerstadt is a town in the district of Bad Kissingen in Bavaria, Germany. It has a population of around 7,600. Geography It borders on the towns of Burglauer, Bad Bocklet, Nüdlingen, Maßbach, Großbardorf, and Strahlungen. The municipal ter ...

, Bavaria, Germany. His parents were Joseph Lutz (1801–1879), a music professor, and Magdalena (1809–1862). His older brother, Baron Johann Lutz, became the prime minister of Bavaria under King

Ludwig II of Bavaria Ludwig II (Ludwig Otto Friedrich Wilhelm; 25 August 1845 – 13 June 1886) was King of Bavaria from 1864 until his death in 1886. He is sometimes called the Swan King or ('the Fairy Tale King'). He also held the titles of Count Palatine of the ...

. Lutz studied music first with his father, then in Würzburg at the University.Gänzl, Kurt
"Lutz, (Wilhelm) Meyer (1829–1903)"
''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004, Retrieved on 8 July 2008 He visited Britain, as a pianist, in 1846, and then moved to England in 1848 at the age of 19.Scowcroft, Philip L

Music Web International, Retrieved on 8 July 2007

Early career

Lutz began as an organist in churches at

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

and

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

.Obituary 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 ...

'', 2 February 1903, p. 7 Then, for many years, he played the organ at St. George's Roman Catholic Cathedral. Lutz was also a

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 ...

, and served as the Grand Organist of the

United Grand Lodge of England The United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) is the governing Masonic lodge for the majority of freemasons in England, Wales and the Commonwealth of Nations. Claiming descent from the Masonic grand lodge formed 24 June 1717 at the Goose & Gridiron T ...

. Lutz soon became a theatrical conductor. From 1850 to 1855, he conducted at the Surrey Theatre and later the

Royalty Theatre The Royalty Theatre was a small London theatre situated at 73 Dean Street, Soho. Established by the actress Frances Maria Kelly in 1840, it opened as Miss Kelly's Theatre and Dramatic School and finally closed to the public in 1938.

. For that theatre, he composed two operas, the one-act ''The Charmed Harp'' (1852) and a

grand opera Grand opera is a genre of 19th-century opera generally in four or five acts, characterized by large-scale casts and orchestras, and (in their original productions) lavish and spectacular design and stage effects, normally with plots based on o ...

, '' Faust and Marguerite'' (1855)."Wilhelm Meyer Lutz"
ItalianOpera.org After this, for many years, Lutz conducted concerts in the British provinces and touring opera troupes for

Giulia Grisi Giulia Grisi (22 May 1811 – 29 November 1869) was an Italian opera singer. She performed widely in Europe, the United States and South America and was among the leading sopranos of the 19th century.Chisholm 1911, p. ? Her second husband was Gio ...

, the

tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...

Mario is a character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the title character of the ''Mario'' franchise and the mascot of Japanese video game company Nintendo. Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his creat ...

and others.''Musical Times'', November 1859 Some of these were led by the

Elliot Galer (the founder, in 1877, of the Royal Opera House in

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

), who produced Lutz's opera ''Zaida, or, The Pearl of Granada'' (with a libretto by Oliver Summers) in 1859 in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

. In the 1850s and 1860s he shared the concert podium at classical concerts with

Julius Benedict Sir Julius Benedict (27 November 1804 – 5 June 1885) was a German-born composer and conductor, resident in England for most of his career. Life and music Benedict was born in Stuttgart, the son of a Jewish banker, and in 1820 learnt compo ...

both in the provinces and at St. James's Hall in London. In 1859, in

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...

, England, Lutz played the piano for a series of ten "Concerts for the People" at the Temperance Hall. Galer also mounted three other Lutz operas at the

in London: ''Blonde or Brunette'' (1862), ''Cousin Kate'' (1863), and ''Felix, or The Festival of the Roses'' (1865). During these years, Lutz also composed the

cantata A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir. The meaning of ...

s ''Herne the Hunter'' (

The Crystal Palace The Crystal Palace was a cast iron and plate glass structure, originally built in Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park, London, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. The exhibition took place from 1 May to 15 October 1851, and more than 14,000 exhibit ...

, 1862) and ''King Christmas'' (

Oxford Music Hall Oxford Music Hall was a music hall located in Westminster, London at the corner of Oxford Street and Tottenham Court Road. It was established on the site of a former public house, the Boar and Castle, by Charles Morton, in 1861. In 1917 the music ...

, 1863), and music for the

Gaiety Theatre years

In 1869, manager

John Hollingshead John Hollingshead (9 September 1827 – 9 October 1904) was an English theatrical impresario, journalist and writer during the latter half of the 19th century. After a journalism career, Hollingshead managed the Alhambra Theatre and was later th ...

hired Lutz as the resident musical director and conductor at the recently opened Gaiety Theatre, composing dances and songs for productions at that theatre, as well as conducting the orchestra for the operas,

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs, and dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, length of the work, and at face value, subject matter. Apart from its s ...

s, plays and

burlesques 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.

mounted at the theatre. In this capacity, he conducted ''

Thespis Thespis (; grc-gre, Θέσπις; fl. 6th century BC) was an Ancient Greek poet. He was born in the ancient city of Icarius (present-day Dionysos, Greece). According to certain Ancient Greek sources and especially Aristotle, he was the first pe ...

'', the first

Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan was a Victorian era, Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900), who jointly created fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which ...

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 ...

, in 1871. Lutz's early compositions for the Gaiety theatre included

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 ''Dreams'' (1869), a play by Thomas W. Robertson. ''The Miller of Milburg'' (1872). At the same time,

Christine Nilsson Christina Nilsson, Countess de Casa Miranda, also called Christine Nilsson (20 August 1843 – 22 November 1921) was a Swedish dramatic coloratura soprano. Possessed of a pure and brilliant voice of first three then two and a half octaves tr ...

performed his scena ''Xenia the Sclavonian Maiden'' (1869), and at the

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...

Promenade Concerts The BBC Proms or Proms, formally named the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hal ...

in 1873, his cantata, ''Legend of the Lys'', was performed. He also composed music for such shows as ''On Condition'' (1882) and ''Posterity'' (1884) for Lila Clay's all-ladies troupe. He also composed the popular song, "Eyes of English Blue" for

Alice Atherton Alice Atherton (c. 1854 – February 4, 1899), was a dancer, comedian, actress, and theatrical performer during the late 19th century. Early years Born Alice Atherton Hogan to humble origins in Cincinnati; the daughter of William Hogan (1827� ...

. At the Gaiety, Lutz compiled the scores, and later often composed original music, for a series of popular pasticcio entertainments, opera-bouffes and burlesques, including ''

The Bohemian G-yurl and the Unapproachable Pole ''The Bohemian G-yurl and the Unapproachable Pole'' is a musical burlesque in two acts, with a score by Meyer Lutz to a libretto by Henry James Byron, which played under the management of John Hollingshead at the Gaiety Theatre in London in 1877 ...

'' (1877); ''Robbing Roy'' (1879 by

F. C. Burnand Sir Francis Cowley Burnand (29 November 1836 – 21 April 1917), usually known as F. C. Burnand, was an English comic writer and prolific playwright, best known today as the librettist of Arthur Sullivan's opera ''Cox and Box''. The son of ...

); a version of ''The Forty Thieves'' (1880, libretto by

Robert Reece Robert Reece (2 May 1838 – 8 July 1891) was a British comic playwright and librettist active in the Victorian era. He wrote many successful musical burlesques, comic operas, farces and adaptations from the French, including the English-lang ...

; Lutz had conducted an 1878 version of the same story); ''All in the Downs; or, Black-Eyed Susan'' (1881); ''Aladdin'' (1881); ''Oh! Those Girls'' (1882); ''Blue Beard'' (1882); ''

Galatea, or Pygmalion Reversed ''Galatea, or Pygmalion Re-Versed'' is a musical burlesque that parodies the Pygmalion legend, and specifically W. S. Gilbert's 1871 play '' Pygmalion and Galatea''. The libretto was written by Henry Pottinger Stephens and W. Webster. The scor ...

'' (1883, with a libretto by

Henry Pottinger Stephens Henry Pottinger Stephens, also known as Henry Beauchamp (1851 – 11 February 1903), was an English dramatist and journalist. After beginning his career writing for newspapers, Stephens began writing Victorian burlesques in the 1870s in coll ...

); ''Ariel'' (1883, libretto by Burnand); and ''Mazeppa'' (1884).

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 ...

took over management of the Gaiety in 1885 and expanded the format of the burlesques, commissioning Lutz to write original scores for the "new burlesques" at the theatre: ''

Little Jack Sheppard ''Little Jack Sheppard'' is a Victorian burlesque, burlesque melodrama written by Henry Pottinger Stephens and William Yardley (cricketer), William Yardley, with music by Meyer Lutz, with songs contributed by Florian Pascal,Florian Pascal was a ps ...

'' (1885, libretto by Stephens); ''

Monte Cristo Jr. ''Monte Cristo Jr.'' was a Victorian burlesque with a libretto written by Richard Henry, a pseudonym for the writers Richard Butler and Henry Chance Newton. The score was composed by Meyer Lutz, Ivan Caryll, Hamilton Clarke, Tito Mattei, G. ...

'' (1886); '' Miss Esmeralda, or The Maid and the Monkey'' (1887); ''

Frankenstein, or The Vampire's Victim ''Frankenstein, or The Vampire's Victim'' (sometimes called ''Frankenstein, or The Model Man'') is a musical burlesque written by Richard Henry (a pseudonym of Richard Butler and Henry Chance Newton). The music was composed by Meyer Lutz. The ...

'' (1887); ''

Faust up to Date ''Faust up to Date'' is a musical burlesque with a score written by Meyer Lutz (a few songs by others were interpolated into the show). The libretto was written by G. R. Sims and Henry Pettitt. It is a spoof of Gounod's opera, ''Faust'', which ...

'' (1888, libretto by G. R. Sims and Henry Pettitt); ''

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 ...

'' (1889, libretto by

Frederick Hobson Leslie Frederick George Hobson, known as Fred Leslie (1 April 1855 – 7 December 1892), was an English actor, singer, comedian and dramatist. Beginning his career in operetta, Leslie became best known for starring in, and writing (under the pseudony ...

and Herbert F. Clark); ''

Carmen up to Data ''Carmen up to Data'' is a musical burlesque with a score written by Meyer Lutz. The piece was a spoof of Bizet's 1875 opera ''Carmen''. The libretto was written by G. R. Sims and Henry Pettitt. After a tryout in Liverpool in September 1890, the ...

'' (1890, libretto by Sims and Pettitt); ''

Cinder Ellen up too Late ''Cinder Ellen up too Late'' is a musical Victorian burlesque, burlesque written by Frederick Hobson Leslie (writing under the pseudonym A. C. Torr) and W. T. Vincent, with music arranged by Meyer Lutz from compositions by Lionel Monckton, Sidney ...

'' (1891, libretto by Leslie); and ''Don Juan'' (1892, book by Leslie, lyrics by

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 ...

). The "Pas de quatre", a sprightly barn-dance written for ''Faust up to Date'', remained popular for more than fifty years and has had at least two modern recordings. In 1893, with Albert O'Donnell Bartholeyns, he wrote ''A la Française''. During these years, Lutz continued in demand as a conductor throughout Britain and continued to compose religious and secular music. On 3 May 1886, the Gaiety Theatre hosted a selection of scenes played for Lutz's benefit, including scenes from Lutz's grand opera ''Faust and Marguerite'', his burlesque ''Little Jack Sheppard'' and the operetta ''Karl'' and several recitations and solo pieces. The performers included Nellie Farren (who had sung under him in nearly all of his Gaiety pieces),

Marion Hood Marion Hood (1 April 1854 – 14 August 1912) was an English soprano who performed in opera and musical theatre in the last decades of the 19th century. She is perhaps best remembered for creating the role of Mabel in Gilbert and Sullivan's ''Th ...

Durward Lely Durward Lely (2 September 1852 – 29 February 1944) was a Scottish opera singer and actor. Although he had an extensive opera, concert and acting career, he is primarily remembered as the creator of five tenor roles in Gilbert and Sullivan's comi ...

, Richard Temple and many others.

Later years

Lutz left the Gaiety in 1894 and was replaced by

Ivan Caryll Félix Marie Henri Tilkin (12 May 1861 – 29 November 1921), better known by his pen name Ivan Caryll, was a Belgian-born composer of operettas and Edwardian musical comedies in the English language, who made his career in London and later N ...

. For 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. ...

in 1895, Lutz composed ''A Model Trilby, or A Day or Two after du Maurier''. He also wrote additional songs for ''

Baron Golosh ''Baron Golosh'' is an operetta adapted from the 1891 French opérette ''L'oncle Célestin'' by Edmond Audran with some of the original music replaced with songs composed by Meyer Lutz and Leslie Stuart. After a tryout in Swansea, it premiered fro ...

'' for the

Trafalgar Theatre Trafalgar Theatre is a new West End theatre in Whitehall, near Trafalgar Square, in the City of Westminster, London. It is set to open in spring 2021 following a major multi-million pound restoration project aiming to reinstate it back to its ...

(1895). Lutz wrote a string quartet and ballads such as "Thy Silv'ry Tones", "Enchant Mine Ear" and "Sail on Silver Cloud." In the last years of the 19th century, Lutz conducted a band playing Summer seasons at the spa in

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, su ...

. He continued to compose songs into the 20th century, including music for ''Hidenseek'' (1901) and a few numbers for

and Cecil Cook's ''

The Girl from Kays ''The Girl from Kays'' is a musical comedy in three acts, with music by Ivan Caryll and book and lyrics by Owen Hall. Additional songs were by Paul Rubens, Howard Talbot, Adrian Ross, Percy Greenbank and others. The farcical story concerns a ...

'' (1902). However, Lutz seems to have run low on funds, as another benefit was held for him on 28 November 1901 at the Gaiety Theatre, organised by George Edwardes. Lutz was married in 1856 to Elizabeth Cook (b. 1835) and later to her sister Emily Cook (b. 1847). Their brothers were the bass Thomas Aynsley Cook (1833–1894) and the

baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...

John Furneaux Cook, and their sister, Alice Aynsley Cook (c. 1850–1938), was also an opera singer and musical comedy actress. His niece, Annie, married Eugene Goossens, Jr. Lutz also had a son, Caspar, who became a clergyman. In printed works, such as scores and theatre programmes, Lutz was usually credited simply as Meyer Lutz. Some of Lutz's music was arranged for military band by J. A. Kappey. Lutz is mentioned in a

P. G. Wodehouse Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, ( ; 15 October 188114 February 1975) was an English author and one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. His creations include the feather-brained Bertie Wooster and his sagacious valet, Jeeve ...

novel, '' A Damsel in Distress'' (1919).Wodehouse, P. G
''A Damsel in Distress''
chapter 16 In addition, a character called Herr Toots in the 1912 novel ''Bella'' by Edward Booth is based on Lutz, as is the character Meyer Klootz in the 1940 novel ''Town and Haven'' by Oswald Harland, both novels being set in late Victorian Scarborough (named "Spathorpe" in ''Bella'', and "Whitcliff" in ''Town and Haven''). Lutz died of bronchitis at his home in

Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...

, London at the age of 73. He was buried in St Mary's, Kensal Green.

Selected works

*''The Charmed Harp'' (1852) (Surrey Theatre) *'' Faust and Marguerite'' (1855) (Surrey Theatre) *''Blonde or Brunette'' (1862) (Royalty Theatre) *''Felix, or The Festival of the Roses'' (1865) (Royalty Theatre) *''Zaida, or, The Pearl of Granada'' (1868) (Liverpool) *''The Miller of Milburg'' (1872) (Gaiety Theatre) *''Legend of the Lys'' (1873) (cantata) *''The Bohemian G-yurl and the Unapproachable Pole'' (1877) (Gaiety Theatre) *''Robbing Roy'' (1879) (Gaiety Theatre) *''The Forty Thieves'' (1880) (Gaiety Theatre) *''

'' (1883) (Gaiety Theatre) *''

'' (1885) (Gaiety Theatre) *''Miss Esmeralda, or The Maid and the Monkey'' (1887) (Gaiety Theatre) *''

'' (1887) (Gaiety Theatre) *''

'' (1888) (Gaiety Theatre) *''

'' (1889) (in Birmingham, then at the Gaiety) *''

'' (1890) (in Liverpool, then at the Gaiety) *''

'' (1893) (Gaiety Theatre) *''A Model Trilby, or A Day or Two after du Maurier'' (1895) (

)

Notes

References

*Gänzl, Kurt. ''The encyclopaedia of the musical theatre'', 2 vols. (1994) *Gänzl, Kurt. ''The British musical theatre'', 2 vols. (1986) *Hollingshead, John. ''Gaiety Chronicles'' (1898) A. Constable & co.: London (available onlin
here)
*Hollingshead, John. ''Good Old Gaiety: An Historiette & Remembrance'' (1903) London:Gaiety Theatre Co *Hyman, Alan. ''The Gaiety Years'' (Cassell, 1975) *''The Era'', 12 August 1899, p. 13

External links

Information about the Gaiety burlesques
*
Sheet music coverAnother sheet music cover
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lutz, Meyer 1829 births 1903 deaths People associated with Gilbert and Sullivan British musical theatre composers British male composers British male conductors (music) People from Bad Kissingen (district) University of Würzburg alumni British classical organists British male organists Cathedral organists German emigrants to England Deaths from bronchitis 19th-century British musicians People from the Kingdom of Bavaria 19th-century British male musicians British Freemasons Male classical organists