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Ivor Novello
Ivor Novello (born David Ivor Davies; 15 January 1893 – 6 March 1951) was a Welsh actor, dramatist, singer and composer who became one of the most popular British entertainers of the first half of the 20th century. He was born into a musical family, and his first successes were as a songwriter. His first big hit was " Keep the Home Fires Burning" (1914), which was enormously popular during the First World War. His 1917 show, '' Theodore & Co'', was a wartime hit. After the war, Novello contributed numbers to several successful musical comedies and was eventually commissioned to write the scores of complete shows. He wrote his musicals in the style of operetta and often composed his music to the libretti of Christopher Hassall. In the 1920s he turned to acting, first in British films and then on stage, with considerable success in both. He starred in two silent films directed by Alfred Hitchcock, '' The Lodger'' and '' Downhill'' (both 1927). On stage, he played the title c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Cardiff
Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Cardiff (). The city is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, eleventh largest in the United Kingdom. Located in the South East Wales, southeast of Wales and in the Cardiff Capital Region, Cardiff is the county town of the Historic counties of Wales, historic county of Glamorgan and in 1974–1996 of South Glamorgan. It belongs to the Eurocities network of the largest European cities. A small town until the early 19th century, its prominence as a port for coal when mining began in the region helped its expansion. In 1905, it was ranked as a city and in 1955 proclaimed capital of Wales. The Cardiff urban area covers a larger area outside the county boundary, including the towns of Dinas Powys and Penarth. Cardiff is the main commercial ce ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
The Dancing Years
''The Dancing Years'' is a musical with book and music by Ivor Novello and lyrics by Christopher Hassall, set in Vienna, from 1911 until 1938. It follows a Jewish composer and his love for two women of different social classes, with an ending set against the background of Nazi persecution. The piece opened in early 1939 in London's West End, starring Novello in an expensive, spectacular production, with several scene changes and a large cast. When theatres in London closed at the start of the Second World War, the show went on tour in Britain for the next three years. Censorship originally prevented the inclusion of the Nazi element, but by the time ''The Dancing Years'' reopened at the Adelphi Theatre in 1942 it had been reinstated. Synopsis In 1911, Rudi Kleber, a penniless young Jewish composer, plays the piano at an Austrian country inn, where he has been friends since childhood with the innkeeper's daughter, Grete; they pledge to marry someday. Maria Zeitler, an operetta s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Clara Butt
Dame Clara Ellen Butt (1 February 1872 – 23 January 1936) was an English dramatic contralto and one of the most popular singers from the 1890s through to the 1920s. She had an exceptionally fine contralto voice and an agile singing technique, and impressed contemporary composers such as Saint-Saëns and Elgar; the latter composed his '' Sea Pictures'', Op. 37 with her voice in mind. Her main career was as a recitalist and concert singer. She appeared in only two operatic productions, both of Gluck's '' Orfeo ed Euridice''. Later in her career she frequently appeared in recitals together with her husband, the baritone Kennerley Rumford. She made numerous recordings for the gramophone. Early life and career Clara Butt was born in Southwick, Sussex, the eldest daughter of Henry Albert Butt, a sea captain, and his wife Clara ''née'' Hook. Kennedy, Michael"Butt, Dame Clara Ellen (1872–1936)" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004. Online e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Adelina Patti
Adelina Patti (19 February 184327 September 1919) was a Spanish-Italian opera singer. At the height of her career, she was earning huge fees performing in the music capitals of Europe and America. She first sang in public as a child in 1851, and gave her last performance before an audience in 1914. Along with her near contemporaries Jenny Lind and Christina Nilsson, Patti remains one of the most famous sopranos in history, owing to the purity and beauty of her lyrical voice and the unmatched quality of her ''bel canto'' technique. The composer Giuseppe Verdi, writing in 1877, described her as being perhaps the finest singer who had ever lived and a "stupendous artist". Verdi's admiration for Patti's talent was shared by numerous music critics and social commentators of her era. Biography She was born Adela Juana Maria Patti, in Madrid, the youngest child of tenor Salvatore Patti (1800–1869) and soprano Caterina Barilli (died 1870). Her Italian parents were working in Spai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Landon Ronald
Sir Landon Ronald (born Landon Ronald Russell) (7 June 1873 – 14 August 1938) was an English conductor, composer, pianist, teacher and administrator. In his early career he gained work as an accompanist and ''répétiteur'', but struggled to make his way as a conductor. In the absence of operatic or symphonic work he made his living as a conductor and composer in West End shows in the late 19th and early 20th century. With the foundation of the London Symphony Orchestra in 1904 his career began to flourish, and by 1908 he was well-enough established to be chosen to succeed Thomas Beecham as conductor of the New Symphony Orchestra in London. Ronald was an early enthusiast for recording, and was associated with the Gramophone Company (later part of EMI) from 1900 for the rest of his life. From 1910 until shortly before his death, Ronald was principal of the Guildhall School of Music in London. He modernised the curriculum and raised its standards to compete with the lea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Gaiety Theatre, London
The Gaiety Theatre was a West End theatre in London, located on Aldwych at the eastern end of the Strand, London, Strand. The theatre was first established as the Strand Musick Hall in 1864 on the former site of the Lyceum Theatre, London, Lyceum Theatre. In 1868, it became known as the Gaiety Theatre and was, at first, known for music hall and then for Victorian burlesque, musical burlesque, pantomime and operetta performances. From 1868 to the 1890s, it had a major influence on the development of modern musical theatre, musical comedy. Under the management of John Hollingshead until 1886, the theatre had early success with ''Robert the Devil (Gilbert), Robert the Devil'', by W. S. Gilbert, followed by many other burlesques of operas and literary works. Many of the productions starred Nellie Farren. Hollingshead's last production at the theatre was the burlesque ''Little Jack Sheppard'' (1885–86), produced together with his successor, George Edwardes. Edwardes's first show, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
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 management, soon working at a number of West End theatres. By the age of 20, he was managing theatres for Richard D'Oyly Carte. In 1885, Edwardes became a manager at the Gaiety Theatre, London, Gaiety Theatre with John Hollingshead, who soon retired. For the next three decades, Edwardes ruled a theatrical empire including the Gaiety, Daly's Theatre, the Adelphi Theatre and others, and sent touring companies around Britain and abroad. In the early 1890s, Edwardes recognised the changing tastes of musical theatre audiences and led the movement away from Victorian burlesque, burlesque and comic opera to Edwardian musical comedy. Life and career Edwardes was born at Great Grimsby, Lincolnshire, England. He was the eldest of four sons and three ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
National Eisteddfod Of Wales
The National Eisteddfod of Wales ( Welsh: ') is the largest of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales. Its eight days of competitions and performances are considered the largest music and poetry festival in Europe. Competitors typically number 6,000 or more, and overall attendance generally exceeds 100,000 visitors, the highest recently being 186,000 attending the 2024 festival in Pontypridd. The 2018 Eisteddfod was held in Cardiff Bay Cardiff Bay (; colloquially "The Bay") is an area and freshwater lake in Cardiff, Wales. The site of a former tidal bay and estuary, it is the river mouth of the River Taff and River Ely, Ely. The body of water was converted into a lake as part ... with a fence-free 'Maes (eisteddfod), Maes'. In 2020, the event was held virtually under the name AmGen; events were held over a one-week period. History The National Museum of Wales says that "the history of the Eisteddfod may [be] traced back to 1176 Cardigan eisteddfod, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Clara Novello Davies
Clara Novello Davies (7 April 1861 – 7 February 1943) was a Welsh singer, teacher, composer, and conductor. She used the pen name Pencerddes Morgannwg. Early life Clara Novello Davies was born on 7 April 1861. She was named after Clara Novello, a famous soprano (1818–1908). Her father, leader of the church choir, taught her to play the harmonium. She also studied music with Charles Williams of the Llandaff Cathedral. Career Davies was accompanist for the Cardiff United Choir and Cardiff Blue Ribbon Choir, as a young woman. In 1883, she founded and conducted the Royal Welsh Ladies' Choir. In 1893 two of her students, May John and Elsie Drinkwater won a prize at the National Eisteddfod in Pontypridd singing 'Quis est homo?' from Rossini's '' Stabat Mater''. This led to an invitation for her choir to attend the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago that year. At the Exposition May John took the prize for best soprano. The choir also sang at the Paris Exposition (19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Ivor Novello's Birthplace In Cardiff
Ivor is an English masculine given name derived either directly from Norse ''Ívarr'', or through Welsh (which spells it ''Ifor'') or Irish and Scottish Gaelic (which spell it ''Íomhar''), all of which likely derive it also from the original Norse form.The Oxford Dictionary of Christian Names (1947) by E. G. Withycombe The Norse name is derived from the Old Norse elements (yew, bow) and (warrior, army): hence, 'archer, bow warrior'. It is possible the old Norse name ''Ívarr'' comes from the Celtic root and may be related to the Celtic root of ''-iv'' which is found in ''St. Ives'' for example, itself possibly referring to yew. This could indicate an earlier shared language origin; potentially through Indo-European, previous contact or another source. Some of the earliest known bearers of the name are Ibar of Beggerin, an Irish saint who may have preceded or been contemporary with St. Patrick and probably died in the 500s; Ivar the Boneless, an 800s Viking who was possibly id ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Ivor Novello Awards
The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the Welsh entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and Musical composition, composing. They have been presented annually in London by the The Ivors Academy, Ivors Academy, formerly called the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors, British Academy of Songwriters, Composers, and Authors, since 1956. Awards The awards are presented at two annual ceremonies known as The Ivors and The Ivors Composer Awards. *The Ivors take place each May and, as of 2020, are sponsored by Apple Music. They are recognised worldwide as the major platform for recognising and rewarding Britain and Ireland's songwriting and composing talents. The Ivors remain the only award ceremony in the musical calendar that is not influenced by publishers and record companies, but judged and presented by the writing community. *The Ivors Composer Awards take place each December and are sponsored by PRS for Music. They are broadcast by BBC Radio 3. The aw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Gay's The Word (musical)
''Gay's the Word'' is a musical with book and music by Ivor Novello and lyrics by Alan Melville. The musical is a backstage comedy that parodies Novello's own swashbuckling Ruritanian romance plots. The story centres on Gay Daventry, a bankrupt operetta producer who opens a drama school at her country house. This also turns out to be unsuccessful, but it leads to a theatrical comeback for Gay. The musical premiered at the Palace Theatre, Manchester, England on 17 October 1950. It transferred to the Saville Theatre in London, opening there on 16 February 1951, where it ran for 504 performances and starred Cicely Courtneidge as Gay, Lizbeth Webb as Linda, and Thorley Walters. While it embraced the new style of musical theatre from America, it also contained traditional British humour for Courtneidge and glamorous soprano solos for Webb. ''The British Theatre Guide'' concludes: "The musical was never that good and without ourtneidgeit would most certainly have failed. But with her ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
