Theatrical impresario, born in London, UK. After working in his father's musical instrument-making business he became a concert agent, and from 1875 produced the first operettas by Gilbert and Sullivan, with whom he formed a partnership. In 1881 he built the Savoy Theatre in London, the first to be lit by electricity. Another theatre building, a Royal English Opera House (1887), failed. After his death the D'Oyly Carte company continued to perform Gilbert and Sullivan in traditional style for many years.
Richard D'Oyly Carte (May 3, 1844 – April 3, 1901) was an English theatrical impresario during the latter half of the nineteenth century. He is best known for producing the Savoy Operas of Gilbert and Sullivan, founding the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, and building both the Savoy Theatre and the Savoy Hotel.
Life and Career
Carte was born in Soho's Greek Street in the West End of London, the eldest of six children. Carte's father, Richard Carte, was a flautist and a musical instrument salesman, and the younger Carte was raised with a musical background.
Carte was married twice.
Carte died on April 3, 1901.
Early career
Between 1868 and 1877, Carte wrote and published the music for a number of his own songs and instrumental works, as well as four comic operas, Doctor Ambrosias—His Secret, Marie, The Doctor in Spite of Himself and Happy Hampstead. In 1870, Carte suggested to Arthur Sullivan that he compose a comic opera.
Founding his opera company
In 1875, he became the business manager of the Royalty Theatre, under the direction of Madame Selina Dolaro. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan to write a one-act comic opera to fill out the evening, which became Trial by Jury.
Carte hoped that English light operas would supplant the French operettas that dominated the London stage. Building on the success of Trial, he formed the Comedy Opera Company to produce the future works of Gilbert and Sullivan, along with the works of other British lyricist/composer teams. Carte leased the Opera Comique, a small theatre off The Strand. The first comic opera produced by the new partnership was The Sorcerer in 1877, and Carte's agency provided many of the artists to perform in the new work. The success of The Sorcerer showed Carte, Gilbert and Sullivan that there was a future in English comic opera. Carte's partners in the Comedy Opera Company advocated cutting their losses and closing the show. The three each put up £1,000 and formed a new partnership, and The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company became the sole producer of the works of Gilbert and Sullivan.
During the years when the Gilbert and Sullivan operas were being written, Richard D'Oyly Carte also produced operas by other composer–librettist teams, either as curtain-raisers to the G&S pieces, or to fill the theatre in between G&S pieces. Carte also introduced the practice of licensing amateur theatrical societies to present works for which he had the rights, increasing their popularity and the sales of scores and libretti, as well as the rental of band parts.
Real estate interests
With profits from the success of the Gilbert and Sullivan partnership and his concert and lecture agency (his talent roster included Adelina Patti, Oscar Wilde, and Charles Gounod), Carte bought property further East along the Strand with frontage onto the Thames Embankment, where he built the Savoy Theatre and the elaborate Savoy Hotel. The Savoy Hotel became a well-known luxury hotel and would generate more income and contribute more to the D'Oyly Carte fortunes than any other enterprise, including the opera companies. At a performance shortly after it opened, Carte stepped on stage and broke a glowing lightbulb to demonstrate the safety of the new technology. Royal English Opera House
Gilbert and Sullivan had an often tumultuous relationship, and Carte frequently had to smooth over their differences with a mixture of friendship and business acumen. Carte was able to coax five more comic operas out of his partners in the 1880s. The musical establishment and Sullivan's friends put pressure on the composer to abandon comic opera, and Sullivan asked to be released from the partnership on several occasions.
During the run of the last Gilbert and Sullivan success, The Gondoliers, the three partners quarreled over production costs, including the cost of a new carpet for the Savoy Theatre lobby. Gilbert brought suit, and Sullivan sided with Carte — Carte was building the Royal English Opera House in Cambridge Circus close to Covent Garden to present Sullivan's forthcoming grand opera.
Carte's first production at the Royal English Opera House was of Sullivan's only grand opera, Ivanhoe opening in January 1891. The opera was a success, playing for 155 performances, but no other operas shared the new opera house with it. When Ivanhoe finally closed in July, Carte had no new work ready to play at the opera house, and it had to close. Sir Henry Wood, who had been répétiteur for the production, recalled in his autobiography that "[i]f D'Oyly Carte had had a repertory of six operas instead of only one, I believe he would have established English opera in London for all time. (My Life of Music, Victor Gollancz Ltd., London 1938) Carte sold the huge opera house at a loss.
Later years
After the carpet quarrel, with The Gondoliers closing and no more Gilbert and Sullivan operas being written, Carte turned to George Dance, Frank Desprez and Edward Solomon for his next piece, The Nautch Girl, which ran for a satisfying 200 performances in 1891-1892. Carte next revived Solomon and Sydney Grundy's The Vicar of Bray which ran through the summer of 1892 until Grundy and Sullivan's Haddon Hall was ready.
Carte and his wife were finally able to convince Gilbert and Sullivan to collaborate on another piece, Utopia, Limited.
Throughout the later 1890s, Carte's health was in decline, and Mrs. Carte assumed more and more of the responsibilities for the opera company. In 1899, Carte finally had a success again, with Sullivan and Basil Hood's The Rose of Persia. Neither Carte nor Sullivan lived to see the success of The Emerald Isle for which Edward German completed the score.
Primary works as a composer
Dr. Ambrosius — His Secret (1868) Marie (1871) The Doctor in Spite of Himself (1871) (based on a Moliere work) Happy Hampstead (1876)Carte's Parlour songs include:
"Stars of the Summer Night" Serenade, with poetry by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow "Questions" Song, with words by Frank Desprez "Twilight" Canzonet "Pourquoi?"
User Comments Add a comment…