Robert Reece (2 May 1838 – 8 July 1891) was a British comic playwright and librettist active in the

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 ...

. He wrote many successful musical burlesques,

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 ...

s, farces and adaptations from the French, including the English-language adaptation of the operetta '' Les cloches de Corneville'', which became the longest-running piece 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, ...

in history up to that time. He sometimes collaborated with Henry Brougham Farnie or others.

Early life and career

Reece was born in the island of

Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

. His father, Robert Reece (1808–1874), was a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

of the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

. Reece matriculated from

Balliol College Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world. With a governing body of a master and ar ...

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

in 1857 and received his B.A. in 1860 and his M.A. in 1864. He was admitted a student at the Inner Temple in 1860 but was not

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

. For a short time he was a medical student. Between 1861 and 1863, he was an extra clerk in the office of the ecclesiastical commissioners, and from 1864 to 1868 an extra temporary clerk to the emigration commissioners. From the 1860s to the 1880s, Reece wrote comic pieces for the stage with fair success, often adapting three-act European operettas into two-act English-language pieces. He even scored a number of hits, including his adaptation of '' Les cloches de Corneville'', which ran for over 700 performances in 1878–79, the longest run in the history of

up to that time. Reece's first professionally produced effort was the libretto of an operetta, ''Castle Grim'', with music by G. Allen, produced 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.

in 1865. Among his subsequent contributions to the same stage were the burlesques ''Prometheus'' (1865), ''The Lady of the Lake'' (1866), and ''Whittington Junior and his Sensation Cat'' (1871, starring Fred Sullivan and Henrietta Hodson). He also wrote for the Royalty ''Dora's Device'', a comedietta (1871), ''Little Robin Hood'', a burlesque (1871), revived at the Gaiety Theatre (1882), and ''Paquita, or Love in a Trance'', a

with music by J. A. Mallandine (1871). At the Queen's Theatre, he produced ''The Stranger, stranger than Ever,'' a burlesque (1868). Another burlesque the same year at the

Prince of Wales's Theatre The Scala Theatre was a theatre in Charlotte Street, London, off Tottenham Court Road. The first theatre on the site opened in 1772; the last was demolished in 1969, after a catastrophic fire. From 1865 to 1882, the theatre was known as th ...

was ''Agamemnon and Cassandra''

Later years

He wrote many other burlesques for 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 ...

, the Olympic Theatre (including ''Richelieu'' in 1873 and ''Clockwork'' in 1877),Programme listings
the

Vaudeville Theatre The Vaudeville Theatre is a West End theatre on the Strand in the City of Westminster. Opening in 1870, the theatre staged mostly vaudeville shows and musical revues in its early days. The theatre was rebuilt twice, although each new buildin ...

(including ''Green Old Age'', with music by Frederic Clay, in 1874; and a burlesque, ''Ruy Blas Righted''), the Strand Theatre, and the Gaiety. At the Gaiety, he produced fourteen pieces between 1872 and 1884, among them the

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment, generally combining gender-crossing actors and topical humour with a story more or less based on a well-known fairy tale, fable or ...

s ''Ali Baba'' (1872), ''Don Giovanni in Venice'' (1873), '' The Forty Thieves,'' (written with F. C. Burnand, H. J. Byron and

W. S. Gilbert Sir William Schwenck Gilbert (18 November 1836 – 29 May 1911) was an English dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for his collaboration with composer Arthur Sullivan, which produced fourteen comic operas. The most fam ...

) (1878) and another version of the same story, with music by

Meyer Lutz Wilhelm Meyer Lutz (19 May 1829 – 31 January 1903) was a German-born British composer and conductor who is best known for light music, musical theatre and Victorian burlesque, burlesques of well-known works. Emigrating to the UK at the age o ...

in 1880; and the burlesques ''Aladdin,'' (1881); ''Little Robin Hood,'' (1882); and ''

Valentine and Orson ''Valentine and Orson'' is a romance which has been attached to the Carolingian cycle. Synopsis It is the story of twin brothers, abandoned in the woods in infancy. Valentine is brought up as a knight at the court of Pepin, while Orson grows ...

,'' (1882). He collaborated with Henry Brougham Farnie on 15 libretti or adaptations and occasionally joined with other dramatic writers. With Farnie, for the Folly Theatre in London, he wrote ''Up the River, or the Strict Kew-Tea'' (1877); ''Stars and Garters'' (1878); his biggest success, '' Les cloches de Corneville'' (1878); and ''The Creole''. For the

Comedy Theatre The Harold Pinter Theatre, known as the Comedy Theatre until 2011,

, he wrote ''Boccaccio'', with music by

Franz von Suppé Franz von Suppé, born Francesco Ezechiele Ermenegildo de Suppé (18 April 181921 May 1895) was an Austrian composer of light operas and other theatre music. He came from the Kingdom of Dalmatia, Austro-Hungarian Empire (now part of Croatia). A c ...

(1882). He also wrote the successful burlesque, ''Carmen; or Sold for a Song'' (1879) for the Folly Theatre. ''The Highest Bidder'' played in New York in 1887, starring E. H. Sothern.Information about ''The Highest Bidder'' from the IBDB database
/ref> In 1875, he wrote ''Cattarina'', a comic opera with music by Frederic Clay, produced at the Charing Cross Theatre, and in 1879 he wrote the comic opera ''La Petite Mademoiselle'', together with Henry Sambrooke Leigh, for the

Alhambra Theatre The Alhambra Theatre was a popular theatre and music hall located on the east side of Leicester Square, in the West End of London. It was built as the Royal Panopticon of Science and Arts, opening on 18 March 1854. It was closed after two yea ...

. Also for the Alhambra, in 1881 he wrote an English-language adaptation of ''Jeanne, Jeannette and Jeanneton'', a grand opera by P. Lacome after an original libretto by Clairville & Delacour. Despite all of his successful work, Reece fell on hard times in the 1880s. He died in London at the age of 53 and was buried in

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 ...

Notes

References

* ''

Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News The ''Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News'' was a British weekly magazine founded in 1874 and published in London. In 1945 it changed its name to the ''Sport and Country'', and in 1957 to the ''Farm and Country'', before closing in 1970. His ...

'', 1881, xvi. 357, with portrait * ''Archer's English Dramatists of To-day'', 1882, pp. 289–93 * ''Saturday Programme'', 25 October 1876, pp. 3–4, with portrait * ''

Illustrated London News ''The Illustrated London News'', founded by Herbert Ingram and first published on Saturday 14 May 1842, was the world's first illustrated weekly news magazine. The magazine was published weekly for most of its existence, switched to a less freq ...

'', 18 July 1891, p. 71, with portrait * ''Era'', 11 July 1891, p. 9 * ''Figaro'', 18 July 1891, p. 14, with portrait * B. Ian Chard's ''Life and Reminiscence''s, 1891, i.314, &c., ii. 364, 724 * Morton's ''Plays for Home Performers'', 1889, p. xi ;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Reece, Robert 1838 births 1891 deaths British librettists British dramatists and playwrights People associated with Gilbert and Sullivan British male dramatists and playwrights 19th-century British dramatists and playwrights 19th-century British male writers