Charles Hart is an English

lyricist A lyricist is a songwriter who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment. Royalties A lyricist's incom ...

, librettist and

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...

best known for his work on '' The Phantom of the Opera'' as well as a number of other musicals and operas for both stage and television.

Life and Works

Hart was born in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

in 1961, the son of George Wilson Hart, an antiquarian book dealer, and Juliet Lavinia Hart (née Byam Shaw), actress. His maternal grand-parents, Glen Byam Shaw and Angela Baddeley, were actively working in theatre and music throughout his childhood. Hart began writing lyrics as a child, some of which were "dark and contemplative – precociously murderous and quite, quite feisty".Morley, Sheridan, Interview with Charles Hart, ''The Times'', 8 October 1986 He went to school in

Maidenhead Maidenhead is a market town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire, England, on the southwestern bank of the River Thames. It had an estimated population of 70,374 and forms part of the border with southern Bu ...

over the same period when his grandmother was starring in a London stage production of

Stephen Sondheim Stephen Joshua Sondheim (; March 22, 1930November 26, 2021) was an American composer and lyricist. One of the most important figures in twentieth-century musical theater, Sondheim is credited for having "reinvented the American musical" with sho ...

's '' A Little Night Music''. Hart went on to study music at Robinson College, Cambridge, followed by postgraduate studies at the

Guildhall School of Music and Drama The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a conservatoire and drama school located in the City of London, United Kingdom. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz ...

in music composition in 1984, when he attracted the attention of

Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948), is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 21 musical ...

and Cameron Mackintosh. Webber hired him as a lyricist for ''The Phantom of the Opera'' a year later, which opened in 1986. In 1990, during

’s tenure as “Professor of Musical Theatre” at

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, Hart linked up with like-minded writers George Stiles,

Anthony Drewe Anthony Drewe is a British lyricist and book writer for Broadway and West End musicals. He is best known for his collaborations with George Stiles. Education He was educated at Maidstone Grammar School between 1974–1980. He read Zoology at ...

and

Howard Goodall Howard Lindsay Goodall (; born 26 May 1958) is an English composer of musicals, choral music and music for television. He also presents music-based programmes for television and radio, for which he has won many awards. In May 2008, he was na ...

, and in 1992, they founded the Mercury Workshop. The collaborative merged with the New Musical Alliance to become Mercury Musical Developments in 1999 and is today a registered charity whose patron is Stephen Sondheim. Hart went on to collaborate with Howard Goodall on a number of successful musicals.

Selected works

Musical theatre

*1984 – Book and music for ''Moll Flanders''– competition entry to Vivian Ellis Award *1986 – Lyrics for ''Phantom of the Opera'' with music by Lloyd Webber *1989 – Lyrics for ''

Aspects of Love ''Aspects of Love'' is a musical with music and book by Andrew Lloyd Webber, and lyrics by Don Black and Charles Hart. It is based on the 1955 novella of the same name by David Garnett. The piece focuses on the romantic entanglements of actr ...

'' (co-written with Don Black) with music by Lloyd Webber *1998 – Book and lyrics for ''The Kissing Dance'' with music by Howard Goodall *2001 – Book and lyrics for ''

The Dreaming The Dreaming, also referred to as Dreamtime, is a term devised by early anthropologists to refer to a religio-cultural worldview attributed to Australian Aboriginal beliefs. It was originally used by Francis Gillen, quickly adopted by his co ...

'' with music by Howard Goddall *2015 – Book and lyrics for '' Bend It Like Beckham'' with music by Howard Goodall

Operas

*1992 - Libretto for '' The Vampyr'', music by Heinrich Marschner, directed by Nigel Finch for the BBC *2014 - Libretto for ''

Benvenuto Cellini Benvenuto Cellini (, ; 3 November 150013 February 1571) was an Italian goldsmith, sculptor, and author. His best-known extant works include the ''Cellini Salt Cellar'', the sculpture of ''Perseus with the Head of Medusa'', and his autobiograph ...

'', music by

Hector Berlioz In Greek mythology, Hector (; grc, Ἕκτωρ, Hektōr, label=none, ) is a character in Homer's Iliad. He was a Trojan prince and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. Hector led the Trojans and their allies in the defense o ...

, performed by

ENO Eno may refer to: Music * English National Opera, London * ''Eno'', an album by Japanese band Polysics * "Eno", a song by X-Wife from '' Rockin' Rio EP'' Organisations and businesses * Eno (company), a Chinese clothing and accessories busine ...

, directed by

Terry Gilliam Terrence Vance Gilliam (; born 22 November 1940) is an American-born British filmmaker, comedian, animator, actor and former member of the Monty Python comedy troupe. Gilliam has directed 13 feature films, including '' Time Bandits'' (1981), '' ...

*2018 – Libretto for ''Marx in London'', music by Jonathan Dove, performed at Stadttheater Bonn

Songs

*1998 – Lyrics and music for Love Songs, a song-cycle performed by Marie-Louise Clarke for

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering ...

*1999 – Lyrics for ‘’’The Years Rolled By’’’, music by

Jake Heggie Jake Heggie (born March 31, 1961) is an American composer of opera, vocal, orchestral, and chamber music. He is best known for his operas and art songs as well as for his collaborations with internationally renowned performers and writers. ...

, sung by

Kiri Te Kanawa Dame Kiri Jeanette Claire Te Kanawa , (; born Claire Mary Teresa Rawstron, 6 March 1944) is a retired New Zealand opera singer. She had a full lyric soprano voice, which has been described as "mellow yet vibrant, warm, ample and unforced". Te ...

and Frederica von Stade *2007 – Lyrics for Goodbye For Now music by Richard Rodney Bennett, sung by Claire Martin *2013 – Lyrics for Seventeen music by

Claude-Michel Schönberg Claude-Michel Schönberg (born 6 July 1944, in Vannes) is a French record producer, actor, singer, songwriter, and musical theatre composer, best known for his collaborations with lyricist Alain Boublil. Major works include ''La Révolution Fran� ...

, sung by Russell Watson *2017 – Lyrics for ‘’’This Life’’’ original German version Michael Kunze and

Sylvester Levay Sylvester Levay (originally Lévay Szilveszter, Serbian language, Serbian: Силвестер Леваи, ''Silvester Levai'') is a Hungarian people, Hungarian recording artist and composer, born in Yugoslavia (now Serbia). Life and career Levay ...

, performed by

Pia Douwes Pia Douwes (born 5 August 1964) is a Dutch actress in musical theatre in Europe. She is best known for having created the title role in the German-language musical '' Elisabeth''. Biography Douwes was born in Amsterdam, North Holland, The Netherl ...

Film and Broadcast

*1987 – Lyrics and music for '' Watching '' for Granada TV, sung by Emma Wray *1989 – Lyrics and music for '' Split Ends '' for Granada TV, sung by Anita Dobson *1992 – Libretto for '' The Vampyr: A Soap Opera'', a miniseries for BBC

Awards

Hart has received two

Ivor Novello Award The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and composing. They have been presented annually in London by the Ivors Academy (formerly the BASCA) since 1956, and over 1,000 statuettes have been ...

s. He was nominated twice for the

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual c ...

, Best Original Score, for ''Aspects of Love'' (1990) and ''The Phantom of the Opera'' (1988). He was also nominated for an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

for writing the lyrics to a new song "

Learn to be Lonely "Learn to Be Lonely" is a song written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Charles Hart for the 2004 film adaptation of ''The Phantom of the Opera''. The song is performed by Minnie Driver during the closing credits, and is found on the film's soundtrack. I ...

" which was sung by Minnie Driver over the final credits to the film version of ''The Phantom of the Opera''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hart, Charles 1961 births Alumni of Robinson College, Cambridge Alumni of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama English musical theatre lyricists Living people