Michael William Balfe (15 May 1808 – 20 October 1870) was an Irish composer, best remembered for his operas, especially ''

The Bohemian Girl ''The Bohemian Girl'' is an English language Romantic opera composed by Michael William Balfe with a libretto by Alfred Bunn. The plot is loosely based on a Miguel de Cervantes' tale, ''La gitanilla''. The best-known aria from the piece is "I D ...

''. After a short career as a violinist, Balfe pursued an operatic singing career, while he began to compose. In a career spanning more than 40 years, he composed at least 29 operas, almost 250 songs, several

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 ...

s and other works. He was also a noted conductor, directing Italian Opera at

Her Majesty's Theatre His Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre situated in the Haymarket, London, Haymarket in the City of Westminster, London. The building, designed by Charles J. Phipps, was constructed in 1897 for the actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, who ...

for seven years, among other conducting posts.

Biography

Early life and career

Balfe was born in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

and grew up on Pitt Street, which was renamed Balfe Street in 1917 in his honour. His musical gifts became apparent at an early age, and he received instruction from his father, a dancing master and violinist, and from the composer William Rooke. Balfe's family moved to

Wexford Wexford ( ; archaic Yola dialect, Yola: ''Weiseforthe'') is the county town of County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the ...

when he was a child. Between 1814 and 1815, Balfe played the violin for his father's dancing-classes, and at the age of seven composed a polacca. In 1817, he appeared as a violinist in public, and in this year composed a

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

, first called "Young Fanny" and afterwards, when sung in ''Paul Pry'' by Madame Vestris, "The Lovers' Mistake". In 1823, upon his father's death, the teenaged Balfe moved to London and was engaged as a violinist in the orchestra of 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 ...

. He eventually became the leader of that orchestra. While there, he studied violin with Charles Edward Horn and composition with Charles Frederick Horn, the organist, from 1824, at

St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle St George's Chapel, formally titled The King's Free Chapel of the College of St George, Windsor Castle, at Windsor Castle in England is a castle chapel built in the late-medieval Perpendicular Gothic style. It is a Royal peculiar, Royal Peculia ...

. While still playing the violin, Balfe pursued a career as an opera singer. He debuted unsuccessfully at

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

Carl Maria von Weber Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber (5 June 1826) was a German composer, conductor, virtuoso pianist, guitarist, and Music criticism, critic in the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Best known for List of operas by Carl Maria von Weber, h ...

's ''

Der Freischütz ' (Friedrich Wilhelm Jähns, J. 277, Opus number, Op. 77 ''The Marksman'' or ''The Freeshooter'') is a German List of operas by Carl Maria von Weber, opera with spoken dialogue in three acts by Carl Maria von Weber with a libretto by Johann Fried ...

''. In 1825, his wealthy patron Count Mazzara took him to Rome for vocal and musical studies and introduced him to

Luigi Cherubini Maria Luigi Carlo Zenobio Salvatore Cherubini ( ; ; 8 or 14 SeptemberWillis, in Sadie (Ed.), p. 833 1760 – 15 March 1842) was an Italian Classical and Romantic composer. His most significant compositions are operas and sacred music. Beethov ...

. Balfe also pursued composing: in Italy, he wrote his first dramatic work, a ballet, ''La Perouse''. He became a protégé of

Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. He gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano p ...

's, and at the close of 1827, he appeared as Figaro in ''

The Barber of Seville ''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( ) is an ''opera buffa'' (comic opera) in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based on Pierre Beaumarchais's French comedy ' ...

'' at the Italian opera in Paris. Balfe soon returned to Italy, where he was based for the next eight years, singing and composing several operas. He met

Maria Malibran Maria Felicia Malibran (; 24 March 1808 – 23 September 1836) was a Spanish singer who commonly sang both contralto and soprano parts, and was one of the best-known opera singers of the 19th century. Malibran was known for her stormy personality ...

while singing at the

Paris Opera The Paris Opera ( ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be kn ...

during this period. In 1829 in

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

, Balfe composed his first

for the

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

Giulia Grisi Giulia Grisi (22 May 1811 – 29 November 1869) was an Italian opera singer. She performed widely in Europe, the United States and South America and was among the leading sopranos of the 19th century. Her second husband was Giovanni Matteo Mario ...

, then 18 years old. She performed it with the tenor Francesco Pedrazzi with much success. Balfe produced his first complete opera, ''I rivali di se stessi'', at

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

in the carnival season of 1829–30. In Lugano, Switzerland, around 1831, he married Lina Roser (1806–1888), a Hungarian-born singer of Austrian parentage whom he had met at

Bergamo Bergamo ( , ; ) is a city in the Alps, alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from the alpine lakes Lake Como, Como and Lake Iseo, Iseo and 70 km (43 mi) from Lake Garda, Garda and Lake ...

. The couple had two sons and two daughters. Their younger son, Edward, died in infancy. Their elder son, Michael William Jr., died in 1915. Their daughters were Louisa (1832–1869) and Victoire. Balfe wrote another opera, ''Un avvertimento ai gelosi'', at

Pavia Pavia ( , ; ; ; ; ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, in Northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino (river), Ticino near its confluence with the Po (river), Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was a major polit ...

, and ''Enrico Quarto'' at

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 ...

, where he had been engaged to sing in Rossini's ''

Otello ''Otello'' () is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on William Shakespeare, Shakespeare's play ''Othello''. It was Verdi's penultimate opera, first performed at the La Scala, Teatro alla Scala, M ...

'' with Malibran 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 1834. An unpopular attempt at "improving"

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 ...

's opera '' Il crociato in Egitto'' by interpolating music of his own compelled Balfe to throw up his engagement at the theatre

La Fenice Teatro La Fenice (; "The Phoenix Theatre") is a historic opera house in Venice, Italy. It is one of "the most famous and renowned landmarks in the history of Italian theatre" and in the history of opera as a whole. Especially in the 19th cen ...

in Venice.

Composing success

Balfe returned to London with his wife and young daughter in May 1835. His initial success took place some months later, with the premiere of ''The Siege of Rochelle'' on 29 October 1835 at Drury Lane. Encouraged by his success, in 1836 he produced '' The Maid of Artois'', which was followed by more operas in English. In July 1838, Balfe composed a new opera, ''Falstaff'', for The Italian Opera House, based on ''

The Merry Wives of Windsor ''The Merry Wives of Windsor'' or ''Sir John Falstaff and the Merry Wives of Windsor'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare first published in 1602, though believed to have been written in or before 1597. The Windsor of the play's title is a ref ...

'', with an Italian libretto by S. Manfredo Maggione. The production starred his friends Luigi Lablache (bass) in the title role, Giulia Grisi (soprano), Giovanni Battista Rubini (tenor), and Antonio Tamburini (baritone). The same four singers had premiered Bellini's '' I puritani'' at the Italian Opera in Paris in 1835.Walsh Basil
"Michael William Balfe"
at the British and Irish World website In 1841, Balfe founded the National Opera at the Lyceum Theatre, but the venture was a failure. The same year, he premiered his opera ''Keolanthe''. He then moved to Paris, presenting ''Le Puits d'amour'' (1843) in early 1843, followed by his opera based on ''

Les quatre fils Aymon The Four Sons of Aymon (, , ), sometimes also referred to as ''Renaud de Montauban'' (after its main character) is a medieval tale centring around the four sons of Duke Aymon: the knight Renaud de Montauban (also spelt ''Renaut'', ''Renault'', , ...

'' (1844) for the

Opéra-Comique The Opéra-Comique () is a Paris opera company which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular Théâtre de la foire, theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with – and for a time took the name of – its chief riva ...

(also popular in German-speaking countries for many years as ''Die vier Haimonskinder'') and '' L'étoile de Seville'' (1845) for the Opéra. Their libretti were by

Eugène Scribe Augustin Eugène Scribe (; 24 December 179120 February 1861) was a French dramatist and librettist. He is known for writing "well-made plays" ("pièces bien faites"), a mainstay of popular theatre for over 100 years, and as the librettist of man ...

and others. Meanwhile, in 1843, Balfe returned to London, where he produced his most successful work, ''

'', on 27 November 1843 at the

. The piece ran for over 100 nights, and productions were soon mounted in New York, Dublin, Philadelphia, Vienna (in German), Sydney, and throughout Europe and elsewhere. In 1854, an Italian adaptation called ''La Zingara'' was mounted in

Trieste Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...

with great success, and it too was performed internationally in both Italian and German. In 1862, a four-act French version titled ''La Bohemienne'' was produced in France and was also a success.

Later years

From 1846 to 1852, Balfe was appointed musical director and principal conductor for the Italian Opera at

, with Max Maretzek as his assistant. There he first produced several of Verdi's operas for London audiences. He conducted for

Jenny Lind Johanna Maria Lind (Madame Goldschmidt) (6 October 18202 November 1887) was a Swedish opera singer, often called the "Swedish Nightingale". One of the most highly regarded singers of the 19th century, she performed in soprano roles in opera in ...

at her opera debut and on many occasions thereafter. Michael William Balfe grave Kensal Green 2014

In 1851, in anticipation of

The Great Exhibition The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, also known as the Great Exhibition or the Crystal Palace Exhibition (in reference to the temporary structure in which it was held), was an international exhibition that took ...

in London, Balfe composed an innovative cantata, ''Inno Delle Nazioni'', sung by nine female singers, each representing a country. He continued to compose new operas in English, including '' The Armourer of Nantes'' (1863), and wrote hundreds of songs, such as "When Other Hearts", " I Dreamt I Dwelt in Marble Halls" (from ''The Bohemian Girl''), "Come Into the Garden, Maud", "Killarney", and "Excelsior" (a setting of the poem by Longfellow). His last opera, nearly completed when he died, was ''The Knight of the Leopard'' and achieved considerable success in Italian as ''Il Talismano''. Balfe retired in 1864 to

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

, where he rented a country estate. He died at his home in Rowney Abbey,

Ware, Hertfordshire Ware is a town and civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district, in the county of Hertfordshire, England. It is close to the county town of Hertford. In the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census, the parish had a population of 19,622. Hist ...

, in 1870, aged 62, and was buried at

Kensal Green Cemetery Kensal Green Cemetery is a cemetery in the Kensal Green area of North Kensington in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in London, England. Inspired by Père Lachaise Cemetery in P ...

in London, next to fellow Irish composer William Vincent Wallace, who had died five years before. In 1882, a medallion portrait of him was unveiled in

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

. A

London County Council The London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today ...

plaque unveiled in 1912 commemorates Balfe at 12 Seymour Street,

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also ) is an area in London, England, and is located in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. Oxford Street forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropo ...

. In all, Balfe composed at least 29 operas.Walsh (2008), pp. 184–216 He also wrote several cantatas (including ''Mazeppa'' in 1862) and a symphony (1829). Balfe's most notable opera, and his only large-scale piece that is still performed is ''The Bohemian Girl''.

Selected compositions

Operas, with first performances *''I rivali di se stessi'' (A. Alcozer), Palermo: Teatro Carolino, 29 June 1829 *''Un avvertimento ai gelosi'' (G. Foppa), Pavia: Teatro Condomini, 11 May 1831 *''Enrico IV al passo della Marna'' (unknown librettist), Milan: Teatro Carcano, 19 February 1833 *''The Siege of Rochelle'' (Edward Fitzball), London: Theatre Royal Drury Lane, 29 October 1835 ** Austrian version: ''Die Belagerung von Rochelle'' ( Joseph Kupelwieser), Vienna: Theater an der Wien, 24 October 1846 *'' The Maid of Artois'' (Alfred Bunn), London: Theatre Royal Drury Lane, 27 May 1836 *''Catherine Grey'' (George Linley), London: Theatre Royal Drury Lane, 27 May 1837 *''Joan of Arc'' (Edward Fitzball), London: Theatre Royal Drury Lane, 30 November 1837 *''Diadeste, or The Veiled Lady'' (Edward Fitzball), London: Theatre Royal Drury Lane, 17 May 1838 *'' Falstaff'' (Manfredo Maggioni), London: Her Majesty's Theatre (Italian Opera), 19 July 1838 *''Keolanthe'' (Edward Fitzball), London Theatre Royal (English Opera House), 9 March 1841 ** Austrian version: ''Keolanthe, oder Das Traumbild'' (Karl Gollmick), Vienna: Theater am Kärntnertor, 3 December 1853 *''Le Puits d'amour'' (Eugène Scribe and A. de Leuven), Paris: Opéra Comique, 20 April 1843 ** English version: ''Geraldine, or The Lover's Well'', London: Princess Theatre, 14 August 1843 ** Austrian version: ''Der Liebesbrunnen'' (Joseph Kupelwieser), Vienna: Theater an der Wien, 4 November 1845 *''

'' (Alfred Bunn), London: Theatre Royal Drury Lane, 27 November 1843 ** Austrian version: ''Die Zigeunerin'' (Joseph Kupelwieser), Vienna: Theater an der Wien, 24 July 1846 ** French version: ''La Bohemienne'' (J.H. Vernoy de Saint Georges), Rouen: Théâtre des Arts, 23 April 1862; revised version: Paris: Théâtre Lyrique, 30 December 1869 *''Les Quatre fils Aymon'' (A. de Leuven and L.L. Brunswick), Paris: Opéra Comique, 15 July 1844 ** English version: ''The Castle of Aymon'' (G.A. Beckett), London: Princess Theatre, 20 November 1844 ** Austrian version: ''Die vier Haimonskinder'' (Joseph Kupelwieser), Vienna: Josefstadt-Theater, 14 December 1844 ** Italian version (for London): ''I quattro fratelli'' (S.F. Maggione), London: His Majesty's Theatre (Italian Opera), 11 August 1851 *''The Daughter of St. Mark'' (Alfred Bunn), London: Theatre Royal Drury Lane, 27 November 1844 *''The Enchantress'' (J.H. Vernoy de Saint Georges), London: Theatre Royal Drury Lane, 14 May 1845 *'' L'étoile de Seville'' (Hippolyte Lucas), Paris: Opéra, 17 December 1845 *''The Bondman'' (Alfred Bunn), London: Theatre Royal Drury Lane, 11 December 1846 ** German version: ''Der Mulatte'' (Johann Christoph Grünbaum), Berlin: Königliches Schauspielhaus, 25 January 1850 *''The Maid of Honour'' (Edward Fitzball), London: Theatre Royal Drury Lane, 20 December 1847 *''The Sicilian Bride'' (J.H. Vernoy de Saint Georges, transl. by A. Bunn), London: Theatre Royal Drury Lane, 6 March 1852 *''The Devil's in it'' (Alfred Bunn), London: Surrey Theatre, 26 July 1852 *''Pittore e Duca'' (F.M. Piave), Trieste: Teatro Grande, 21 November 1854 ** English version: ''Moro, the Painter of Antwerp'' (William Alexander Barrett), London: Her Majesty's Theatre, 28 January 1882 *'' The Rose of Castille'' (A. Harris and Edmund Falconer), London: Lyceum Theatre, 29 October 1857 *'' Satanella, or The Power of Love'' (A. Harris and Edmund Falconer), London: Royal English Opera Covent Garden, 20 December 1858 *''Bianca, the Bravo's Bride'' (J. Palgrave Simpson), London: Royal English Opera Covent Garden, 6 December 1860 *''The Puritan's Daughter'' (J.V. Bridgeman), London: Royal English Opera Covent Garden, 30 November 1861 *'' The Armourer of Nantes'' (J.V. Bridgeman), London: Royal English Opera Covent Garden, 12 February 1863 *''Blanche de Nevers'' (J. Brougham), London: Royal English Opera Covent Garden, 21 November 1863 *''The Sleeping Queen'' (H.B. Farnie), London: Royal Gallery of Illustrations, 31 August 1864 *''Il talismano'' (Arthur Matthison, Italian transl. by Giuseppe Zaffira), London: Theatre Royal Drury Lane, 11 June 1874

Recordings

Recordings of Balfe's work include the following:Klein, Axel
"Michael William Balfe"
Axel Klein – Irish Music Research, accessed 4 March 2015 *LP recordings (Rare Recorded Editions) of ''The Siege of Rochelle'', ''The Daughter of St. Mark'', '' The Rose of Castille'' and ''Satanella''. *''The Bohemian Girl'' conducted by Richard Bonynge, originally released on the Argo label in 1991, reissued on

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, record label * Decca Gold, classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, musical theater record label * Decca Studios, recording facility in West ...

473 077-2. * Deborah Riedel and Richard Bonynge
''The Power of Love''
Melba Z-MR301082, a CD of Balfe arias. *''The Maid of Artois''

(2005), available on Cameo 2042-3. *Victorian Opera Northwest

CD, WRW 204-2.
Opera Rara
CDs: ORR 239 includes Balfe's cantata ''Sempre pensoso e torbido'', and ORR 277 includes his song ''The Blighted flower''. *Opera Ireland (2008) live concert of Balfe's ''Falstaff'', RTÉ Concert Orchestra and National Chamber Choir of Ireland, conducted by Marco Zambelli, broadcast by

RTÉ Lyric FM RTÉ Lyric FM (stylised as RTÉ lyric fm) is an Irish classical music, jazz and arts radio station, owned and operated by RTÉ. The station, which is based in Limerick, was launched in 1999 and is available on 96-99 FM throughout Ireland (in ...

and later released on CD as RTÉ LyricFM CD119, available from Naxos.''Falstaff'' recording
, RTÉ LyricFM CD119, CD notes by Basil Walsh (2008) *A Balfe overture and songs (together with several Sullivan pieces)

*Balfe's ''Cello Sonata''
Dutton CDLX 7225
*''Satanella'', conducted by Richard Bonynge, issued in 2016 o
Naxos 8.660378-79

References

Sources

* Barrett, William Alexander
''Balfe. His Life & Work''
(London: William Reeves, 1882). * Biddlecombe, George: ''English Opera from 1834 to 1864 with Particular Reference to the Works of Michael Balfe'' (New York: Garland Publishing, 1994), . * Burton, Nigel (1998): “Balfe, Michael William” in

Stanley Sadie Stanley John Sadie (; 30 October 1930 – 21 March 2005) was a British musicologist, music critic, and editor. He was editor of the sixth edition of the '' Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (1980), which was published as the first edition ...

, (Ed.), ''

The New Grove Dictionary of Opera ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'' is an encyclopedia of opera. It is the largest work on opera in English, and in its printed form, amounts to 5,448 pages in four volumes. The dictionary was first published in 1992 by Macmillan Reference, L ...

'', Vol. One, pp. 286–288. London: Macmillan Publishers, Inc. * Kenney, Charles Lamb: ''A Memoir of Michael William Balfe'' (London: Tinsley Bros., 1875). * Tyldesley, William. ''Michael William Balfe. His Life and His English Operas'' (Aldershot & Burlington, Vermont: Ashgate, 2003), . * Walsh, Basil: ''Michael W. Balfe. A Unique Victorian Composer'' (Dublin & Portland, Oregon: Irish Academic Press, 2008), .

External links

* *
Michael William Balfe cylinder recordings
from the UCSB Cylinder Audio Archive at the

University of California, Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Tracing its roots back to 1891 as an ...

Library
"Michael William Balfe, 1808–1870"
– Profile of Balfe and links to information about '' The Maid of Artois''
Derek B. Scott sings Balfe's musical setting (1857) of Tennyson's "Come into the Garden, Maud"
* * * *
Michael William Balfe recordings
at the

Discography of American Historical Recordings The Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR) is a database catalog of master recordings made by American record companies during the 78rpm era. The 78rpm era was the time period in which any flat disc records were being played at ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Balfe, Michael William 1808 births 1870 deaths 19th-century British male opera singers 19th-century Irish classical composers 19th-century Irish male opera singers Burials at Kensal Green Cemetery Glee composers Irish baritones Irish expatriates in the United Kingdom Irish opera composers Irish male opera composers Composers from Dublin (city) Romantic composers