Stephen Arlen (31 October 1913 – 19 January 1972) was an English theatre manager and operatic administrator. Originally an actor, he took up backstage work as a stage manager, and in the years after the Second World War was in charge of stage management at the

Old Vic Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England * Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Ma ...

. He was persuaded to join

Sadler's Wells Opera English National Opera (ENO) is an opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with The Royal Opera. ENO's productions are sung in English. ...

as an administrator, and was the moving force behind the company's change of base from

Sadler's Wells Theatre Sadler's Wells Theatre is a performing arts venue in Clerkenwell, London, England located on Rosebery Avenue next to New River Head. The present-day theatre is the sixth on the site since 1683. It consists of two performance spaces: a 1,500-sea ...

to 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 ...

in 1968. He was seconded by Sadler's Wells to be adviser to the

Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie The Royal Theatre of La Monnaie (french: Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, italic=no, ; nl, Koninklijke Muntschouwburg, italic=no; both translating as the "Royal Theatre of the Mint") is an opera house in central Brussels, Belgium. The National O ...

in Brussels, and administrative director of the National Theatre in its early days.

Life and career

Arlen was born Stephen Walter Badham, in

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 We ...

, the son of a comedian, Walter Cyril Badham, and his wife Annie Sophie ''née'' Earnshaw."Arlen, Stephen Walter (né Badham)"
''Who Was Who'', A & C Black, 1920–2008; online edition, Oxford University Press, December 2007, accessed 14 June 2011 At the age of 16 he started his stage career as an actor. He then switched to stage management, working backstage on such productions as

George Robey Sir George Edward Wade, CBE (20 September 1869 – 29 November 1954), Harding, James"Robey, George" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, accessed 10 May 2014. known professionally as George Robey, was an ...

's last West End show, a revival of ''

The Bing Boys Are Here ''The Bing Boys Are Here'', styled "A Picture of London Life, in a Prologue and Six Panels," is the first of a series of revues which played at the Alhambra Theatre, London during the last two years of World War I. The series included ''The Bing ...

'' in 1934."Obituary – Mr Stephen Arlen", ''The Times'', 20 January 1972, p. 16 In 1938, Arlen was stage manager for Bronson Albery's repertory company at the Phoenix Theatre, directed by

Michel Saint-Denis Michel Jacques Saint-Denis (13 September 1897 – 31 July 1971), ''dit'' Jacques Duchesne, was a French actor, theatre director, and drama theorist whose ideas on actor training have had a profound influence on the development of European th ...

, with stars including

Peggy Ashcroft Dame Edith Margaret Emily Ashcroft (22 December 1907 – 14 June 1991), known professionally as Peggy Ashcroft, was an English actress whose career spanned more than 60 years. Born to a comfortable middle-class family, Ashcroft was deter ...

and

Michael Redgrave Sir Michael Scudamore Redgrave CBE (20 March 1908 – 21 March 1985) was an English stage and film actor, director, manager and author. He received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in ''Mourning Becomes Elec ...

in a wide range of plays from

Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright and theatre director. As one of the founders of modernism in theatre, Ibsen is often referred to as "the father of realism" and one of the most influential playw ...

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

and Lorca. During the Second World War, Arlen worked with

ENSA The Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA) was an organisation established in 1939 by Basil Dean and Leslie Henson to provide entertainment for British armed forces personnel during World War II. ENSA operated as part of the Navy, ...

in France, before joining the army. He rose from the ranks in

The Buffs The Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment), formerly the 3rd Regiment of Foot, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army traditionally raised in the English county of Kent and garrisoned at Canterbury. It had a history dating back to 1572 and ...

to a commission in the

North Staffordshire Regiment The North Staffordshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, which was in existence between 1881 and 1959. The 64th (2nd Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot was created on 21 April 1758 from the 2nd Battalio ...

. Towards the end of the war he was appointed production manager for

Stars in Battledress Stars in Battledress (SiB) was an organisation of entertainers who were members of the British Armed Forces during World War II. History In Britain, during the Second World War, entertainment was considered an essential to keep morale high. ...

. After the war, Arlen worked at the

, as stage manager for directors including Saint-Denis, Glen Byam Shaw and

George Devine George Alexander Cassady Devine (20 November 1910 – 20 January 1966) was an English theatrical manager, director, teacher, and actor based in London from the early 1930s until his death. He also worked in TV and film. Early life and education ...

, and for Prince Littler at the

. Norman Tucker, who was then running

persuaded Arlen to join him there. Their talents and characters complemented one another: the music critic Elizabeth Forbes recalled, "Tucker, a shy, reserved musician and scholar with a genius for administration", Arlen "his exact antithesis and complement … practical man of the theatre with just that tough epidermis that

ucker The Uecker () or Ucker is a river in the northeastern German states of Brandenburg, where it is known as the ''Ucker'', and of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Its source lies in the Uckermark district, one kilometer north of Ringenwalde. It flows no ...

lacked." In 1958, along with Tucker and the musical director, Alexander Gibson, Arlen resigned when the Sadler's Wells trustees proposed a merger with 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 premiered ...

that would have resulted in Sadler's Wells Opera abandoning its London home for most of the year. The proposal was withdrawn, and the three men agreed to withdraw their resignations. Arlen was twice seconded from Sadler's Wells to help other theatres. In 1959, at the request of the Belgian government, he advised Maurice Huisman on the reorganisation of the principal Belgian opera house, the

in Brussels. In 1962, he was administrative director of the National Theatre in its early days. In 1966, Tucker's health gave way and he was forced to retire. Arlen succeeded him as managing director of Sadler's Wells. He became, in the words of ''

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'' ( ...

'', "the moving spirit in the transfer of the company from Sadler's Wells Theatre to the London Coliseum". He said that his principal aim was to give the company a home "where the members can stretch themselves, where it will be possible to develop on all fronts – singing, production and design." Among the celebrated productions of the Arlen era were

Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

's '' The Mastersingers'' and '' Ring'' cycle conducted by

Reginald Goodall Sir Reginald Goodall (13 July 1901 – 5 May 1990) was an English conductor and singing coach noted for his performances of the operas of Richard Wagner and for conducting the premieres of several operas by Benjamin Britten. Early life Goodall ...

, whom Arlen rescued from an obscure coaching post at Covent Garden to become, in the words of ''

The Musical Times ''The Musical Times'' is an academic journal of classical music edited and produced in the United Kingdom and currently the oldest such journal still being published in the country. It was originally created by Joseph Mainzer in 1842 as ''Mainzer ...

'', "undoubtedly today's greatest Wagner conductor". ''The Times'' singled out "such exciting, if controversial, productions as '' The Damnation of Faust'', ''

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the ...

'' and ''

Tales of Hoffmann ''The Tales of Hoffmann'' (French: ) is an by Jacques Offenbach. The French libretto was written by Jules Barbier, based on three short stories by E. T. A. Hoffmann, who is the protagonist of the story. It was Offenbach's final work; he died in ...

''." Arlen was twice married, first to Narice Ingram and secondly to the soprano Iris Kells, with whom he had a daughter. He was appointed CBE in 1968. After a short illness, Arlen died of cancer at the age of 58.Gilbert, p. 241

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Arlen, Stephen 1913 births 1972 deaths Military personnel from Birmingham, West Midlands Opera managers People from Birmingham, West Midlands British Army personnel of World War II Entertainments National Service Association personnel Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment) soldiers North Staffordshire Regiment officers Deaths from cancer in the United Kingdom