Edward Solomon (25 July 1855 – 22 January 1895) was an English composer, conductor, orchestrator and pianist. He died at age 39 by which time he had written dozens of works produced for the stage, including several for the

D'Oyly Carte Opera Company The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company is a professional British light opera company that, from the 1870s until 1982, staged Gilbert and Sullivan's Savoy operas nearly year-round in the UK and sometimes toured in Europe, North America and elsewhere. The ...

, including '' The Nautch Girl'' (1891). Early in his career, he was a frequent collaborator of Henry Pottinger Stephens. He had a bigamous marriage with

Lillian Russell Lillian Russell (born Helen Louise Leonard; December 4, 1860 or 1861 – June 6, 1922) was an American actress and singer. She became one of the most famous actresses and singers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, praised for her beaut ...

in the 1880s.

Life and career

Edward ("Teddy") Solomon was born in

Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, which today also gives its name to the (much larger) London Borough of Lambeth. Lambeth itself was an ancient parish in the county of Surrey. It is situated 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Charin ...

, London, to a Jewish family. He had ten siblings. His parents were Charles Solomon (1817–1890), a

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was most popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850, through the World War I, Great War. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as Varie ...

pianist, conductor and composer, and his wife, Cesira "Sarah" Marinina, née Mirandoli (1834–1891). He picked up music by working with his father.Tomes, Jason
Edward Solomon
''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, October 2007; accessed 16 July 2014. Aged 17 or 18, Solomon married 15-year-old Jane Isaacs in 1873, and the two had a daughter, Claire Romaine (1873–1964), who became an actress, but Solomon soon deserted Isaacs and, over the years, took a series of mistresses. Isaacs later sang under the stage name Lily Grey.

Early career

His first

comic opera Comic opera, sometimes known as light opera, is a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending and often including spoken dialogue. Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a ne ...

was ''A Will With a Vengeance'' (1876), a one-act work with a libretto by Frederick Hay, based on ''La Vendetta''. This was produced at the

Globe Theatre The Globe Theatre was a Theater (structure), theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 at Southwark, close to the south bank of the Thames, by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men. It was ...

. In 1879, he met Henry Pottinger "Pot" Stephens while he was the musical director at the

Royalty Theatre The Royalty Theatre was a small London theatre situated at 73 Dean Street, Soho. Established by the actress Frances Maria Kelly in 1840, it opened as Miss Kelly's Theatre and Dramatic School and finally closed to the public in 1938.

conducting, among other works,

Arthur Sullivan Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan (13 May 1842 – 22 November 1900) was an English composer. He is best known for 14 comic opera, operatic Gilbert and Sullivan, collaborations with the dramatist W. S. Gilbert, including ''H.M.S. Pinaf ...

's ''

The Zoo ''The Zoo'' is a one-act comic opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by B. C. Stephenson, writing under the pen name of Bolton Rowe. It premiered on 5 June 1875 at the St James's Theatre in London (as an afterpiece to W. S. Gi ...

''.Stone, David
Edward Solomon
''Who Was Who in the D'Oyly Carte'', 17 February 2002; accessed 16 July 2014. With Stephens, he produced his first successes, ''

Billee Taylor ''Billee Taylor, or The Reward of Virtue'' is "a nautical comedy opera" composed by Edward Solomon, with a libretto by Henry Pottinger Stephens. The piece was first produced at the Imperial Theatre, London, Imperial Theatre in London on 30 Oct ...

'' (1880), a "nautical comedy opera" in two acts; and '' Claude Duval'' (1881, celebrating a well known 18th century highwayman), both of which remained popular for many years in both the UK and US. Other Solomon and Stephens pieces were ''Lord Bateman, or Picotee's Pledge'' (1882), ''Virginia and Paul, or Ringing the Changes'' (1883) and later ''

The Red Hussar ''The Red Hussar'' is a comedy opera in three acts by Edward Solomon, with a libretto by Henry Pottinger Stephens, concerning a young ballad singer who disguises herself as a Hussar to follow her penniless beloved to France. By a feat of gallant ...

'' (1889), a "comedy opera" in three acts. Together, they would also write ''Popsy Wopsy'', a "musical absurdity" (1880) and ''Pocahontas'' (1884). Solomon also wrote the music for the short companion pieces '' Quite an Adventure'' (1881; Olympic Theatre; revived in 1894 at the

Savoy Theatre The Savoy Theatre is a West End theatre in the Strand in the City of Westminster, London, England. The theatre was designed by C. J. Phipps for Richard D'Oyly Carte and opened on 10 October 1881 on a site previously occupied by the Savoy ...

) and ''Round and Square'' (1885), each with a libretto by

Frank Desprez Frank Desprez (9 February 1853 – 25 November 1916) was an English playwright, essayist, and poet. He wrote more than twenty pieces for the theatre, as well as numerous shorter works, including his famous poem, ''Lasca''. Life and career D ...

, and each produced on tour by D'Oyly Carte companies in the 1880s and 1890s. Other early shows included ''Love and Larceny'' in 1881, a farce, ''Through the Looking-Glass'' (1882), '' The Vicar of Bray'', a

with a libretto by

Sydney Grundy Sydney Grundy (23 March 1848 – 4 July 1914) was an English dramatist. Most of his works were adaptations of European plays, and many became successful enough to tour throughout the English-speaking world. He is, however, perhaps best remembe ...

(1882; revived 1892 at the Savoy), the successful ''Polly, or The Pet of the Regiment'' (1884) and '' Pepita; or, the Girl with the Glass Eyes'' (1886). He also wrote ballads like "I Should Like To" and "Over the Way", and numerous salon piano solos and arrangements. For instance, he arranged

George Grossmith George Grossmith (9 December 1847 – 1 March 1912) was an English comedian, writer, composer, actor, and singer. His performing career spanned more than four decades. As a writer and composer, he created 18 comic operas, nearly 100 musical ...

's "See Me Dance the Polka" for piano.

Later career

With F. C. Burnand, Solomon wrote '' Pickwick'' (1889), which also had a run in 1894, ''Domestic Economy'' (1890), and "The Tiger" (1890). Burnand's contribution to the last of these was so unacceptable that the work was hissed off the stage on its opening night. ''Pickwick'' was recorded by Retrospect Opera in 2016, together with

's ''

Cups and Saucers ''Cups and Saucers'' is a one-act "satirical musical sketch" written and composed by George Grossmith. The piece pokes fun at the china collecting craze of the later Victorian era, which was part of the Aesthetic movement later satirised in ''Pat ...

''. From 1891–93, after

Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900) and to the works they jointly created. The two men collaborated on fourteen com ...

had temporarily separated,

Richard D'Oyly Carte Richard D'Oyly Carte (; 3 May 1844 – 3 April 1901) was an English talent agent, theatrical impresario, composer, and hotelier during the latter half of the Victorian era. He built two of London's theatres and a hotel empire, while also establi ...

mounted a number of non-G&S pieces to keep the

open, including a revival of ''The Vicar of Bray'' in 1892. Solomon's most famous work produced by the

was probably '' The Nautch Girl or, The Rajah of Chutneypore'' (1891), an "Indian comic opera" in two acts with a libretto by George Dance, and lyrics by Dance and

. It initially ran for 200 performances at the

and then toured. The company also toured ''The Vicar of Bray''. His last stage work was ''On the March'' (1896), a musical comedy in two acts, with John Crook and Frederic Clay, to a libretto by William Yardley, B. C. Stephenson and Cecil Clay, based on ''In Camp'' by Victoria Vokes.

Bigamous marriage and personal information

Solomon has been described as "a diminutive clean-shaven young man ... whimsical, flamboyant, superstitious, hardly to be trusted with money or women, but brimming with melodic invention and able to compose at speed." He met the American actress

, in 1882 at

Tony Pastor Antonio Pastor (May 28, 1837 – August 26, 1908) was an American impresario, variety performer and theatre owner who became one of the founding forces behind American vaudeville in the mid-to-late-nineteenth century. He was sometimes refe ...

's New York Casino Theatre where he was the season's musical director and she became the star. Unaware of his first marriage she became his mistress. Subsequently, they sailed together to London, where she starred in several of his works, written specifically for her, including ''Virginia'', ''Billee Taylor'', ''Polly'' and ''Pocahontas''. These were not highly successful in Britain, so they returned to America, where Russell was very well received in these works. They had a daughter together, Dorothy, in 1884, and married in New Jersey in 1885. The relationship soured, mostly due to Solomon's poor finances, and their last show, ''The Maid and the Moonshiner'' (1886) was a flop. When creditors sued Solomon, he fled the country. Solomon was arrested in London in 1886 for bigamy, but the case against him collapsed, as no American witnesses came forward. When she learned of his previous marriage, Russell sued for divorce, finally obtaining it in 1893. Meanwhile, Solomon's first wife divorced him in 1887. In 1889 he married an actress, Kate Everleigh. His brother Frederick Solomon acted in several of his works and became a theatre composer, librettist and director. Solomon died in London of typhoid fever in 1895 at the age of 39.

Selected operas by Solomon

* ''

'' (1880) * '' Quite an Adventure'' (1881) * '' Claude Duval'' (1881) * '' The Vicar of Bray'' (1882) * ''

'' (1889) * '' The Nautch Girl'' (1891)

References

External links

Edward Solomon
at the

Internet Broadway Database The Internet Broadway Database (IBDB) is an online database of Broadway theatre productions and their personnel. It was conceived and created by Karen Hauser in 1996 and is operated by the Research Department of The Broadway League, a trade asso ...

List of many of Solomon's stage worksSolomon scores
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Solomon, Edward 1855 births 1895 deaths English opera composers English male opera composers People associated with Gilbert and Sullivan Deaths from typhoid fever in the United Kingdom Jewish English musicians 19th-century English classical composers 19th-century English musicians Composers from London People from Lambeth 19th-century English male musicians