Isidore De Lara
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Isidore de Lara, born Isidore Cohen (9 August 18582 September 1935), was an English
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 ...
and singer. After studying in Italy and France, he returned to England, where he taught for several years at the
Guildhall School of Music and Drama The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a music school, music and drama school located in the City of London, England. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz al ...
and became a well known singer and composer of art songs. In the early 1880s he began to compose music for the stage, eventually achieving his greatest successes with opera in
Monte Carlo Monte Carlo ( ; ; or colloquially ; , ; ) is an official administrative area of Monaco, specifically the Ward (country subdivision), ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is located. Informally, the name also refers to ...
from the late 1890s through the outbreak of
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. His most popular opera, ''
Messaline ''Messaline'' (''Messalina'') is an operatic tragédie lyrique in four acts by Isidore de Lara. The librettists were Paul Armand Silvestre and Eugène Morand. The opera premiered at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo on 21 March 1899 where it was rece ...
'' (1899), enjoyed frequent revivals throughout Europe and in the United States during the first quarter of the 20th century. He returned to
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 ...
and spent much of the 1920s trying to create a permanent National opera company in England, without much success.


Biography

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 ...
, de Lara went to
Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
in 1874 to study composition with
Alberto Mazzucato Alberto Mazzucato (28 July 1813 – 31 December 1877) was an Italian composer, music teacher, and writer. Mazzucato was born in Udine. He trained at the Padua Conservatory and composed eight operas between 1834 and 1843, the most successful of ...
and singing with
Francesco Lamperti Francesco Lamperti (11 March 1811 or 1813 – 1 May 1892) was an Italian singing teacher and the father of the famed singing teacher, Giovanni Battista Lamperti, the author of ''The Technics of Bel Canto''. Biography A native of Savona, Lam ...
at the
Milan Conservatory The Milan Conservatory, also known as the Conservatorio di Milano and the Conservatorio Giuseppe Verdi, is a Music school, college of music in Milan, Italy. History The conservatory was established by a royal decree of 1807 in Milan, capital ...
. In 1876 he went to
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
to study with
Édouard Lalo Édouard-Victoire-Antoine Lalo (27 January 182322 April 1892) was a French composer, violist, violinist, and academic teacher. His most celebrated piece is the '' Symphonie Espagnole'', a five-movement concerto for violin and orchestra that re ...
. The following year he returned to London to take a position as a professor of
singing Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...
at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He became known as a concert singer and a writer of vocal songs, of which his ''The Garden of Sleep'' (1877) and ''After Silent Years'' (1887) were particularly popular.Nigel Burton, Susan Thach Dean: "Isidore de Lara", ''Grove Music Online'' ed. L. Macy (Retrieved 30 January 2009)
(subscription access)
In the early 1880s, de Lara began to switch his attention to composing music for the theatre. His first
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 ...
, ''The Royal Word'', premiered at the
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, Lyc ...
on 17 April 1883 with de Lara portraying the role of
Charles II of England Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651 and King of England, Scotland, and King of Ireland, Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685. Charles II was the eldest su ...
. This was soon followed by ''Wrong Notes'' (1883) and ''Minna, or The Fall from the Cliff'' (1886). A few years later the acclaimed French baritone
Victor Maurel Victor Maurel (17 June 184822 October 1923) was a French baritone who enjoyed an international reputation in opera. He sang in opera houses in Paris and London, Milan, Moscow, New York, St Petersburg and many other venues. He was particularly asso ...
persuaded him to turn his
cantata A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian language, Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal music, vocal Musical composition, composition with an musical instrument, instrumental accompaniment, ty ...
''The Light of Asia'', based on the life of
Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...
, into an
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
opera, ''La luce dell'Asia'', which was produced at
Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist sit ...
in 1892. In 1893 de Lara's opera ''Amy Robsart'' was given in
French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...
at
Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist sit ...
with
Emma Calvé Emma Calvé, born Rosa Emma Calvet (15 August 1858 – 6 January 1942) was a French operatic dramatic soprano. Calvé was probably the most famous French female opera singer of the Belle Époque. Hers was an international career, and she sang ...
. Well received, the work was staged the following year at the
Opéra de Monte-Carlo The Opéra de Monte-Carlo is an opera house which is part of the Monte Carlo Casino located in the Monaco, Principality of Monaco. With the lack of cultural diversions available in Monaco in the 1870s, Charles III, Prince of Monaco, Prince Charl ...
. While in Monte Carlo, De Lara met Princess Alice of Monaco who became a close friend, patron and, eventually, lover. Under her support, De Lara remained in
Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...
and moved into the most successful part of his career. His opera ''Moïna'' was produced there in 1897. It was followed in 1899 by his most famous work, ''
Messaline ''Messaline'' (''Messalina'') is an operatic tragédie lyrique in four acts by Isidore de Lara. The librettists were Paul Armand Silvestre and Eugène Morand. The opera premiered at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo on 21 March 1899 where it was rece ...
'', which featured the presence of the greatest Italian heroic tenor of the era,
Francesco Tamagno Francesco Tamagno (28 December 1850 – 31 August 1905) was an Italian operatic dramatic tenor who sang with enormous success throughout Europe and America.Warrack, John and West, Ewan (1992), ''The Oxford Dictionary of Opera'', 782 pages, On ...
, in the cast of the premiere performance. ''Messaline'' proved very popular and was the inspiration for
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec Count, ''Comte'' Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec-Monfa (24 November 1864 â€“ 9 September 1901), known as Toulouse-Lautrec (), was a French painter, printmaker, draughtsman, caricaturist, and illustrator whose immersion in the colour ...
's painting of the same name. Notably, it was the first opera by an English composer to be mounted at
La Scala La Scala (, , ; officially , ) is a historic opera house in Milan, Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as (, which previously was Santa Maria della Scala, Milan, a church). The premiere performa ...
(in 1901).Nigel Burton: "Messaline", ''Grove Music Online'' ed. L. Macy (Retrieved 25 January 2009)
(subscription access)
With the outbreak of
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, de Lara returned to London. Concerned for the survival of the arts during this time, he established a fund for the relief of distressed musicians. At the close of the war, he strove to establish an English national opera throughout the 1920s, but was unable to get the financial support needed to maintain a permanent company. He retired to Paris where he died on 2 August 1935.


Works

De Lara was a moderately prolific composer, producing a total of 13 operas, 67 vocal art songs, and a small amount of
chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of Musical instrument, instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a Great chamber, palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music ...
. His musical style was highly eclectic, although the influences of
Jules Massenet Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet (; 12 May 1842 – 13 August 1912) was a French composer of the Romantic music, Romantic era best known for his operas, of which he wrote more than thirty. The two most frequently staged are ''Manon'' (1884 ...
and
Camille Saint-Saëns Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (, , 9October 183516 December 1921) was a French composer, organist, conductor and pianist of the Romantic music, Romantic era. His best-known works include Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso (1863), the Piano ...
are readily apparent within his operas.
Musicologist Musicology is the academic, research-based study of music, as opposed to musical composition or performance. Musicology research combines and intersects with many fields, including psychology, sociology, acoustics, neurology, natural sciences, f ...
Nigel Burton wrote, "His style may be said to have developed, but it never really settled down." The somewhat erratic side to his writing was a weakness and a strength. The fluctuating musical vocabulary in his writing enabled him to create any attitude, emotion, or impression at a moment's notice, but at times the musical effects seem out of place or without cause; a criticism also made of
Giacomo Meyerbeer Giacomo Meyerbeer (born Jakob Liebmann Meyer Beer; 5 September 1791 – 2 May 1864) was a German opera composer, "the most frequently performed opera composer during the nineteenth century, linking Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Mozart and Richard Wa ...
. Critics have also commented on de Lara's tendency towards over sentimentality. As one critic said, "at the moments when the music should attempt to rise to dramatic greatness, it degenerates into synthetic posturings." However, de Lara by all accounts had a wonderful musical ear and at his best he is a fine composer. Perhaps de Lara's strongest area was his skill at
orchestration Orchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra (or, more loosely, for any musical ensemble, such as a concert band) or of adapting music composed for another medium for an orchestra. Also called "instrumentation", orch ...
which was both tasteful and highly creative at the same time.


Selected operas

* ''The Royal Word'' (1883) * ''Wrong Notes'' (1883) * ''Minna, or The Fall from the Cliff'' (1886) * ''La luce dell'Asia'' (''The Light of Asia'') (1892, Covent Garden) * ''Amy Robsart'' (1893, Covent Garden) * ''Moïna'' (1897, Monte Carlo) * ''
Messaline ''Messaline'' (''Messalina'') is an operatic tragédie lyrique in four acts by Isidore de Lara. The librettists were Paul Armand Silvestre and Eugène Morand. The opera premiered at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo on 21 March 1899 where it was rece ...
'' (1899, Monte Carlo) * ''Soléa'' (1907) * ''Naïl'' (abt. 1910) * ''Les trois mousquetaires'' (abt. 1920)


References

* Oxford
Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...
*Warrack, John and West, Ewan (1992), ''The Oxford Dictionary of Opera'', 782 pages,


External links

*
Play by Isidore de Lara on Great War Theatre
{{DEFAULTSORT:De Lara, Isidore English opera composers English male opera composers English classical composers 19th-century English Jews Jewish classical composers 1858 births 1935 deaths Musicians from London Milan Conservatory alumni Academics of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama