American music critic and composer
Henry Louis Reginald De Koven
(April 3, 1859 – January 16, 1920) was an American
music critic
and prolific
composer
, particularly of
comic operas
.
Biography
[
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]
De Koven was born in
Middletown, Connecticut
, and moved to Europe in 1870, where he received the majority of his education. He graduated B.A. from
St John's College, Oxford
in England in 1880.
[1]
He undertook piano studies at
Stuttgart Conservatory
with
Wilhelm Speidel
,
Sigmund Lebert
, and
Dionys Pruckner
. He studied composition at
Frankfurt
with
Johann Christian Hauff
, and after staying there for six months moved on to
Florence
, Italy, where he studied singing with
Luigi Vanuccini
. Study in operatic composition followed, first with
Richard Genee
in
Vienna
and then with
Leo Delibes
in Paris.
De Koven returned to the U.S. in 1882 to live in
Chicago, Illinois
, and later lived in
New York City
. He was able to find scope for his wide musical knowledge as a critic with Chicago's
Evening Post
,
Harper's Weekly
and
New York World
. Many of his songs became popular, especially "
Oh Promise Me
", with words by
Clement Scott
, which was one of the biggest song successes of its time and remains a wedding standard.
Between 1887 and 1913, De Koven composed 20 light operas, in addition to hundreds of songs, orchestral works, sonatas and ballets. While
Victor Herbert
's operettas were heavily influenced by those of continental operetta composers, De Koven's works were patterned after
Gilbert and Sullivan
.
[2]
His greatest success was
Robin Hood
, which premiered in Chicago in 1890 but was performed all across the country.
[3]
It played in New York at the
Knickerbocker Theatre
and in London, in 1891, and at New York's Garden Theatre in 1892, and it continued to be revived for many years. His other operettas included
The Fencing Master
(1892,
Casino Theatre
, New York);
Rob Roy
, first produced in
Detroit, Michigan
, 1894;
[4]
The Highwayman
(1897,
Herald Square Theatre
, New York);
[5]
The Little Duchess
(1901, Casino Theatre, New York); and
The Beauty Spot
(1909,
Herald Square Theatre
).
From 1902 to 1904, De Koven conducted the
Washington, D.C.
, symphony. His wife,
Anna de Koven
, was a well-known socialite, novelist and amateur historian who published her works under the name "Mrs. Reginald de Koven." The music press doubted that De Koven could compose serious operas. His opera
The Canterbury Pilgrims
(with a libretto by poet and dramatist
Percy MacKaye
) premiered at the
Metropolitan Opera
in 1917.
[6]
He composed a second opera,
Rip Van Winkle
(also with a libretto by MacKaye), but died before it was performed in 1920 in Chicago.
One obituary asserted that he proved that "the American stage was not dependent upon foreign composers."
[7]
Works
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Selected stage works
[
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- The Begum
(1887), operetta, libretto by
Harry B. Smith
- Robin Hood
(1890) operetta, libretto by Harry B. Smith
- The Fencing Master
(1892) operetta, libretto by Harry B. Smith
- The Algerian
(1893) operetta, libretto by
Glen MacDonough
- Rob Roy
(1894), operetta, libretto by Harry B. Smith
- The Mandarin
(1896), operetta, libretto by Harry B. Smith
- The Highwayman
(1897), operetta, libretto by Harry B. Smith
- The Three Dragoons
(1899), operetta, libretto by Harry B. Smith
- The Man in the Moon
(1899), musical, music by De Koven,
Ludwig Englander
and
Gustave Kerker
, book and lyrics by
Louis Harrison
and
Stanislaus Strange
- Papa's Wife
(1899), musical, lyrics by De Koven, book by Harry B. Smith, lyrics by Smith and De Koven
- Broadway to Tokio
(1900), musical, book and lyrics by Louis Harrison and
George V. Hobart
- Foxy Quiller (In Corsica)
(1900), operetta, libretto by Harry B. Smith
- The Little Duchess
(1901) musical, book and lyrics by Harry B. Smith
- Maid Marian
(1902), musical, book and lyrics by Harry B. Smith
- Red Feather
(1903), operetta, book by
Charles Klein
, lyrics by
Charles Emerson Cook
- The Jersey Lily
(1903), musical, book and lyrics by
George V. Hobart
- Happyland; or, The King of Elysia
(1905), operetta, libretto by
Frederic Ranken
- The Student King
(1906), operetta, libretto by Frederic Ranken and Stanislaus Stange
- The Golden Butterfly
(1908), operetta, libretto by Harry B. Smith
- The Beauty Spot
(1909), musical, book by
Joseph W. Herbert
, lyrics by Terry Sullivan
- The Wedding Trip
(1911), operetta, book by
Fred de Gresac
, lyrics by Harry B. Smith
- The Canterbury Pilgrims (De Koven)
(1916), opera, libretto by
Percy MacKaye
[8]
- Rip Van Winkle
(1919), opera, libretto by Percy MacKaye
[9]
Other compositions
[
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]
- Prelude in G minor
- Rosalie: Chansonette (1901)
References
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]
External links
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]
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