Poster for the ballet ''Brighton'' in the Olympia Léopold de Wenzel (23 January 1847 – 21 August 1923), also known as Leopold Wenzel, was an Italian

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Biology and medicine * Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear * Conduction aphasia, a language disorder Mathematics * Conductor (ring theory) * Conductor of an abelian variety * Cond ...

and

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 ...

. Born in

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

Kingdom of the Two Sicilies The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies () was a kingdom in Southern Italy from 1816 to 1861 under the control of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, a cadet branch of the House of Bourbon, Bourbons. The kingdom was the largest sovereign state by popula ...

, Wenzel spent most of his career working 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 ...

, with the exception of some years spent in

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 ...

. Wenzel was appointed as musical director, music arranger and ballet composer at the Empire Theatre of Varieties in

in 1889, where he wrote and arranged numerous ballets. Later, he conducted 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 ...

until 1913. In addition to ballets, his many works include art songs, orchestral works, and

operas Opera is a form of Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a li ...

in the late

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...

and early

Edwardian period In the United Kingdom, the Edwardian era was a period in the early 20th century that spanned the reign of King Edward VII from 1901 to 1910. It is commonly extended to the start of the First World War in 1914, during the early reign of King Ge ...

. He also composed songs that were incorporated into some works of

musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatre, theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, ...

. He died in Asnières, near Paris.

Selected works

Ballets with choreographer Katti Lanner at the EmpireGuest, "Appendix A: Ballets Produced at the Empire Theatre, 1884-1915"
/ref> *''A Dream of Wealth'' (1889) *''Cécile'' (1890) *''Dolly'' (1890) *''Orfeo'' (1891)Guest, "Appendix C: Some Empire Ballets: Selected Scenarios"
/ref> *''By the Sea'' (1891) *''Nisita'' (1891) *''Versailles'' (1892) *''Round the Town'' (1892) *''Katrina'' (1893) *''The Girl I Left Behind Me'' (1893) *''Brighton'' (

Paris Olympia The Olympia (; commonly known as L'Olympia or in the English-speaking world as Olympia Hall) is a concert venue in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, France, located at 28 Boulevard des Capucines, equally distancing Madeleine church and Opéra ...

music hall) *''Monte Cristo'' (1896) *''Under One Flag'' (1897) *''The Press'' (1898) *''Alaska'' (1898) *''Round the Town Again''6 (1899) *''Sea-Side'' (1900) *''Les Papillons'' (1901) *''Old China'' (1901) *''Our Crown'' (1902) *''The Milliner Duchess'' (1903) *''Vineland'' (1903) *''High Jinks'' (1904) ;Operas *''Le Chevalier Mignon'' (1884,

) *''L'Élève du Conservatoire'' (1894, Paris) ;Other works *'' Cinder Ellen up too late'' (1891), a

burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.

on the

fairy tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, household tale, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic, enchantments, and mythical or fanciful bei ...

Cinderella "Cinderella", or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a Folklore, folk tale with thousands of variants that are told throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988. The protagonist is a you ...

'' (additional numbers) *''

An Artist's Model ''An Artist's Model'' is a two-act musical theatre, musical by Owen Hall, with lyrics by Harry Greenbank and music by Sidney Jones (composer), Sidney Jones, with additional songs by Joseph and Mary Watson, Paul Lincke, Frederick Ross, Henry Hamilt ...

'', an

Edwardian musical comedy Edwardian musical comedy is a genre of British musical theatre that thrived from 1892 into the 1920s, extending beyond the reign of King Edward VII in both directions. It began to dominate the English musical stage, and even the American musical ...

(1895) (additional numbers)Johnson, Colin, M
Links to Midi files for songs in ''An Artist's Model'', including the songs composed by Wenzel
The Gilbert and Sullivan Archive, accessed 31 March 2018

Notes

References

*Guest, Ivor. ''The Empire Ballet'' (1962) London:Society for Theatre Research 1847 births 1923 deaths Italian opera composers Italian male opera composers Italian classical composers 19th-century Italian musicians 19th-century Italian male musicians Italian expatriates in the United Kingdom Italian expatriates in France {{italy-composer-stub