Harold David Rosenthal

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(30 September 1917 – 19 March 1987) was an English music critic, writer, lecturer, and broadcaster about opera. Originally a schoolmaster, he became drawn to music, particularly opera, and began working on musical publications. On the foundation of ''

Opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

'' magazine in London in 1950, Rosenthal was assistant editor, and became editor in 1953, retaining the post until 1986. He was a continual campaigner on behalf of opera, and was a strong opponent of its élitist image and inflated seat prices. In the early 1950s he was appointed archivist to the

Royal Opera House, Covent Garden The Royal Opera House (ROH) is a theatre in Covent Garden, central London. The building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. The ROH is the main home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orch ...

, which led to his most substantial publication, ''Two Centuries of Opera at Covent Garden''.

Life and career

Rosenthal was born in

West Norwood West Norwood is a largely residential area of south London within the London Borough of Lambeth, located 5.4 miles (8.7 km) south south-east of Charing Cross. The centre of West Norwood sits in a bowl surrounded by hillsides on its east, ...

, London, the son of Israel Victor Rosenthal, a schoolmaster, and his wife, Leah ''née'' Samuel. He was educated at the

City of London School The City of London School, also known as CLS and City, is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private day school for Single-sex education, boys in the City of London, England, on the banks of the River Thames next to the Millennium Bridge, ...

and

University College In a number of countries, a university college is a college institution that provides tertiary education but does not have full or independent university status. A university college is often part of a larger university. The precise usage varies f ...

, London, where he took his BA in 1940, continuing with post-graduate studies at the London

Institute of Education The UCL Institute of Education (IOE) is the faculty of education and society of University College London (UCL). It specialises in postgraduate study and research in the field of education and is one of UCL's 11 constituent faculties. Prior t ...

. In

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he served as a private in the

British army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

. In 1944 he married Lillah Phyllis Weiner with whom he had a son and a daughter.Seaman, G. R
"Rosenthal, Harold David (1917–1987)"
''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004. Retrieved 28 December 2009 After the war, Rosenthal became a schoolmaster, teaching history and English from 1946 to 1950.Contemporary Authors Onlin
"Harold (David) Rosenthal"
Gale. Retrieved 28 December 2009 He became increasingly interested in music, appearing frequently as a critic and lecturer, particularly on opera. From 1947 to 1952 he was a correspondent for the American journal ''

Opera News ''Opera News'' was an American classical music magazine. It was published from 1936 to 2023 by the Metropolitan Opera Guild—a non-profit organization, located at Lincoln Center, that was founded to promote opera and support the Metropolitan ...

''. A fellow enthusiast for opera, Lord Harewood, worked with him on the journal ''Ballet and Opera'' in 1948 and 1949. In 1950 Harewood founded the magazine ''Opera'' and invited Rosenthal to join him as assistant editor. Rosenthal resigned from his teaching post and devoted himself to music for the rest of his life.''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' (London), obituary, 21 March 1987 When Harewood left to take up work in opera administration, Rosenthal succeeded him as editor, holding the post from 1953 until 1986. In the early years of his editorship he was also archivist to the Royal Opera House (1950–1956) which led to his most substantial book, ''Two Centuries of Opera at Covent Garden'' (1958). From 1955 to 1960 he was a correspondent for the journal ''Musical America''. '' Grove's Dictionary of Music'' said of Rosenthal, "under his guidance 'Opera'' magazinecame to provide an extensive coverage of operatic events throughout the world and exercised considerable influence on operatic life in Britain. … Rosenthal's work is highly regarded for its judiciousness, based on a thorough knowledge of the human voice and the operatic repertory." He was particularly noted for his opposition to the élitist image that resulted in exorbitant prices for opera tickets and for his key role in broadening opera's appeal after World War II. As a reviewer he was known for his generosity, giving the benefit of the doubt to performers, particularly when writing about young singers. In addition to his writing, Rosenthal was recruited in an administrative capacity in a variety of musical roles. He was a member of the British Arts Council Patrons of Music Fund (1960–1970) and chairman of the music section of

the Critics' Circle The Critics' Circle is the national professional body of British critics for books, drama, film, music, dance, visual arts and architecture. It was established in 1913 as a successor to the defunct Society of Dramatic Critics, formed in 1906. The ...

of Great Britain (1965–1967). From 1962 he served on the council of the Friends of Covent Garden. He also played an administrative role in international festivals, notably

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

. He was made a ''cavaliere ufficiale'' of the

Order of Merit The Order of Merit () is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by Edward VII, admission into the order r ...

of the republic of Italy in 1977, and was awarded the British

in 1983. Rosenthal also received an Honorary Doctorate from

Heriot-Watt University Heriot-Watt University () is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1821 as the School of Arts of Edinburgh, the world's first mechanics' institute, and was subsequently granted university status by roya ...

in 1985 Rosenthal died in London in 1987, aged 69.

Publications

Rosenthal's principal books include: *''Sopranos of Today'' (1956) *''Two Centuries of Opera at Covent Garden'' (1958) *''The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Opera'' (with

John Warrack John Hamilton Warrack (born 9 February 1928) is an English music critic, writer on music, and oboist. Career Born in London, Warrack is the son of Scottish conductor and composer Guy Warrack and Jacynth Mary Ellerton. He was educated at Winches ...

) (1964) *''Great Singers of Today'' (1965) *''The Mapleson Memoirs'' (1966) *''My Mad World of Opera'' (1982). Autobiography

References

Notes Sources *Rosenthal, Harold (1982), ''My Mad World of Opera'', London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. {{DEFAULTSORT:Rosenthal, Harold People educated at the City of London School Alumni of University College London British Army personnel of World War II English music critics Opera critics Officers of the Order of the British Empire 1987 deaths 1917 births English male journalists People from West Norwood Journalists from London 20th-century English non-fiction writers Officers of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic