Richard Charke ( – c. 1738) was an English

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

ist,

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

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 ...

tic

baritone A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...

, and

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

. Charke was born in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. He initially worked as a dancing-master before being appointed by

Colley Cibber Colley Cibber (6 November 1671 – 11 December 1757) was an English actor-manager, playwright and Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, Poet Laureate. His colourful memoir ''An Apology for the Life of Colley Cibber'' (1740) describes his life in ...

as leader of the orchestra at the

Theatre Royal, Drury Lane The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and listed building, Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) an ...

in 1729. Soon thereafter, he began performing as a solo violinist and singing in small roles at the theatre. He eventually graduated to lead roles in the musical productions at Drury Lane, starring in such productions as

Henry Carey Henry Carey may refer to: *Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon (1526–1596), politician, general, and potential illegitimate son of Henry VIII *Henry Carey, 1st Earl of Dover (1580–1666), English peer *Henry Carey, 2nd Earl of Monmouth (1596–1661), ...

’s ''The Contrivances'' (1729) and Cibber’s ''Damon and Phillida'' (1729). Charke possessed a good sense of humor and had a talent for wit, which he ultimately made use of in

pantomimes Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment, generally combining gender-crossing actors and topical humour with a story more or less based on a well-known fairy tale, fable or f ...

, mostly as a composer but also as a writer. He wrote several amusing "Medley Overtures" that became highly popular for pantomime performances during the 1730s and 1740s. He authored only one pantomime, ''Harlequin Restored, or, The Country Revels,'' which contained music by both himself and

Thomas Arne Thomas Augustine Arne (; 12 March 17105 March 1778) was an English composer. He is best known for his patriotic song " Rule, Britannia!" and the song " A-Hunting We Will Go", the latter composed for a 1777 production of '' The Beggar's Opera'', w ...

and premiered at Drury Lane on 14 December 1732 (although the Burney Collection of newspapers showing contemporary playbills give the date as 20 March 1732). In addition to his contribution to pantomimes, Charke composed one

ballad opera The ballad opera is a genre of England, English ''comic opera'' stage play that originated in the early 18th century, and continued to develop over the following century and later. Like the earlier ''comédie en vaudeville'' and the later ''Sings ...

, ''The Festival'', which premiered in 1734 and starred

Susannah Maria Cibber Susannah Maria Cibber (née Arne; February 1714 – 30 January 1766) was a celebrated English singer and actress. She was the sister of the composer Thomas Arne. Although she began her career as a soprano, her voice lowered in the early part of h ...

. He also contributed songs to W.R. Chetwood's ''The Lovers Opera'' (1729) and ''The Generous Freemason'' (1730), and to James Miller's ''

The Humours of Oxford ''The Humours of Oxford'' is a 1730 comedy play by the British writer James Miller. It was Miller's debut play, inspired by his time at Wadham College, and proved popular. The plot is set around Oxford University and portrays the academics as ov ...

'' (1730). Charke's private life was somewhat tragic. In 1730, he married his manager's youngest daughter, Charlotte Cibber, with whom he quarreled incessantly. Only a few months into their marriage, he began to pursue affairs with other women. He also had a penchant for gambling and for spending money frivolously. In the summer of 1736, he fled England for

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

in order to avoid his gambling debts and

debtor's prison A debtors' prison is a prison for Natural person, people who are unable to pay debt. Until the mid-19th century, debtors' prisons (usually similar in form to locked workhouses) were a common way to deal with unpaid debt in Western Europe.Cory, L ...

. He became ill shortly after arriving in Jamaica, dying in either late 1737 or early 1738.

Sources

*Roger Fiske and Linda Troost: "Richard Charke", ''Grove Music Online'' ed. L. Macy (Accessed 11 December 2008)
(subscription access)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Charke, Richard English Baroque composers English opera composers English male opera composers English violinists English male violinists English operatic baritones 1700s births 1738 deaths 18th-century English classical composers 18th-century English male musicians