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 remembered today as the

librettist A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major ...

of several

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, notably ''

Haddon Hall Haddon Hall is an English country house on the River Wye, Derbyshire, River Wye near Bakewell, Derbyshire, a former seat of the Duke of Rutland, Dukes of Rutland. It is the home of Lord Edward Manners (brother of David Manners, 11th Duke of Rut ...

''.

Life and career

Grundy was born in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, England, the son of Alderman Charles Sydney Grundy. He was educated at

Owens College Owens may refer to: Places in the United States * Owens Station, Delaware * Owens Township, St. Louis County, Minnesota * Owens, Missouri * Owens, Ohio * Owens, Texas * Owens, Virginia People * Owens (surname), including a list of people with ...

, Manchester, and studied law at the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

. He was called to the bar in 1869 and practised law until 1876.

Early career

His early one-act farce, ''A Little Change'', was produced at the

Haymarket Theatre The Theatre Royal Haymarket (also known as Haymarket Theatre or the Little Theatre) is a West End theatre in Haymarket, London, Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in ...

in 1872 by the Kendals. This was followed by ''All at Sea'' in 1873, also starring the Kendals. In 1876, Grundy published ''The Days of His Vanity''. He wrote ''Mammon'' for W. H. Vernon at the Strand Theatre in 1877 and ''After Long Years'' for the Folly Theatre in 1879. Early comedies included ''The Glass of Fashion'' (1882), '' The Silver Shield'' (1885), and the

blank verse Blank verse is poetry written with regular metre (poetry), metrical but rhyme, unrhymed lines, usually in iambic pentameter. It has been described as "probably the most common and influential form that English poetry has taken since the 16th cen ...

''Clito'' for Wilson Barrett (1886). Grundy became well known as an adapter of French and German plays, cleaning them up for British audiences and revisiting the source material to craft his final product. As the protagonist in his 1900 play, ''A Debt of Honour'', explains: "It all takes place in Paris: nobody pretends that such things happen here." Among his earlier successes at adapting European works were ''The Snowball'' at the Strand Theatre (1879), based on ''Oscar, ou le mari qui trompe sa femme'' 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 Duvergne; ''In Honour Bound'' (1880), based on Scribe's ''Une Chaine''; ''Dust'' 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.

(1881); ''The Glass of Fashion'' (1883); and ''A Wife's Sacrifice'' (1886). ''The Bells of Haslemere'', written with H. Pettitt, was a success at the

Adelphi Theatre The Adelphi Theatre is a West End theatre, located on the Strand in the City of Westminster, central London. The present building is the fourth on the site. The theatre has specialised in comedy and musical theatre, and today it is a receiv ...

in 1887. He also created a farce in three acts, ''The Arabian Nights'' (1887), an adaptation of von Moser's ''Haroun al Raschid''; ''Pompadour'', written with W. G. Wilts; and ''Mamma'' (1888), an adaptation of ''Les surprises du Divorce''. Grundy's original libretti included the one-act "musical absurdity" ''Popsy Wopsy'' (1880), the full-length operas '' The Vicar of Bray'' (1882) and ''Pocahontas'' (1884); all three with composer Edward Solomon. These Solomon and Grundy comic operas toured extensively in both Britain and the US. His ''

'' (1892), with Sir Arthur Sullivan, dramatised the legend of Dorothy Vernon's elopement from

with John Manners.

Later years

In 1889–90 Grundy produced three original comedies, ''A White Lie'' at the Court Theatre, ''A Wife's Sacrifice'' and ''A Fool's Paradise'' at the Gaiety Theatre, which had been produced two years earlier as ''The Mouse-Trap''. Later successful adaptations included ''A Pair of Spectacles'' at the

Garrick Theatre The Garrick Theatre is a West End theatre, located in Charing Cross Road, in the City of Westminster, named after the stage actor David Garrick. It opened in 1889 with ''The Profligate'', a play by Arthur Wing Pinero, and another Pinero play, ...

(1889), from ''Les Petits Oiseaux'' of Labiche and Delacour. In 1890, Lilly Langtry presented Grundy's ''Esther Sandraz'' at the

St. James's Theatre The St James's Theatre was in King Street, St James's, King Street, St James's, London. It opened in 1835 and was demolished in 1957. The theatre was conceived by and built for a popular singer, John Braham (tenor), John Braham; it lost mone ...

. This was followed by ''A Village Priest'' at the

(1890), from ''Le Secret de la terreuse'' (called ''The Broken Seal'' in America) a melodrama by Busnach and Cauvin; ''Sowing the Wind'' at the Comedy Theatre (1893); '' An Old Jew'' at the Garrick (1894); an adaptation of Octave Feuillet's ''Montjoye'', called '' A Bunch of Violets'' at the Haymarket (1894); ''The New Woman'' (1894) at the Comedy Theatre; ''The Slaves of the Ring'' (1894); and ''The Greatest of These'' at the Garrick with the Kendals (1895). Other late notable works included ''The Greatest of These'' (1895); ''A Marriage of Convenience'' at the Haymarket (1897) from ''Un Mariage de Louis XV'', by

Alexandre Dumas, père Alexandre Dumas (born Alexandre Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie, 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas , was a French novelist and playwright. His works have been translated into many languages and he is one of the mos ...

; ''The Silver Key'' 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 ...

(1897) from his ''Mlle de Belle-isle''; and ''The Musqueteers'' (1899) from the same author's novel. These were followed by ''The Degenerates'' (1899, at the Haymarket, starring Langtry); ''A Debt of Honour'' at the

St James's Theatre The St James's Theatre was in King Street, St James's, King Street, St James's, London. It opened in 1835 and was demolished in 1957. The theatre was conceived by and built for a popular singer, John Braham (tenor), John Braham; it lost mone ...

(1900); ''Frocks and Frills'' at the Haymarket (1902) from ''Doigts de fees'' of Scribe and

Ernest Legouvé Gabriel Jean Baptiste Ernest Wilfrid Legouvé (; 14 February 180714 March 1903) was a French dramatist. Biography Son of the poet Gabriel-Marie Legouvé (1764–1812), he was born in Paris. His mother died in 1810, and almost immediately aft ...

; ''The Garden of Lies'' at St James's (1904) from Justus Miles Forman's novel; '' Business is Business'' at His Majesty's (1905), a rather free adaptation from Octave Mirbeau's ''Les affaires sont les affaires''; and ''The Diplomatists'' at the

(1905) from ''La Poudre aux yeux'', by Labiche. About a dozen of Grundy's works played on Broadway, including ''A Pair of Spectacles'' in 1890 and 1905; ''The New Woman'' in 1894; ''A Bunch of Violets'' in 1895; ''The Late Mr. Castello'' in 1896; ''A Marriage of Convenience'' in 1897 and 1918; ''The Musketeers'' in 1899; ''The Degenerates'' in 1900; ''The Love Match'' in 1901; ''Frocks and Frills'' in 1902; ''Gypsy'' in 1903 and ''The Awakening'' in 1908. Several of Grundy's plays were made into films, including ''A Bunch of Violets'' and ''A Pair of Spectacles'', both in 1916; and ''Sowing the Wind'' in 1921. Many of Grundy's plays also had runs in Australia. Grundy died in London at the age of 66. His daughter, Lily, married the publisher and philanthropist Sir Bruce Ingram.''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage'' 2003, vol. 2, p. 2048

References

External links

* * Biography with list of notable plays
Haddon Hall page
* *
Two of grundy's libretti and commentary online

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Grundy, Sydney English opera librettists People associated with Gilbert and Sullivan 1848 births 1914 deaths Writers from Manchester Alumni of the Victoria University of Manchester English male dramatists and playwrights