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Otto Harbach

December 20, 2023

Otto Abels Harbach, born Otto Abels Hauerbach (August 18, 1873 – January 24, 1963) was an American lyricist and librettist of nearly 50 musical comedies and operettas. Harbach collaborated as lyricist or librettist with many of the leading Broadway composers of the early 20th century, including Jerome Kern, Louis Hirsch, Herbert Stothart, Vincent Youmans, George Gershwin, and Sigmund Romberg. Harbach believed that music, lyrics, and story should be closely connected, and, as Oscar Hammerstein II's mentor, he encouraged Hammerstein to write musicals in this manner. Harbach is considered one of the first great Broadway lyricists,[1] and he helped raise the status of the lyricist in an age more concerned with music, spectacle, and stars. Some of his more famous lyrics are "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes", "Indian Love Call" and "Cuddle up a Little Closer, Lovey Mine".

Otto Harbach
Harbach
Background information
Birth nameOtto Abels Hauerbach
Born(1873-08-18)August 18, 1873
Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.
DiedJanuary 24, 1963(1963-01-24) (aged 89)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Occupation(s)Lyricist, librettist

Early life and education edit

Otto Abels Hauerbach was born on August 18, 1873, in Salt Lake City, Utah to Danish immigrant parents. His family's original surname was Christiansen, but shortly after settling in the United States near Salt Lake City in the 1830s, they took the name of the farm on which they worked, Hauerbach, as their new surname.[2]

He attended the Salt Lake Collegiate Institute, transferring to Knox College, in Galesburg, Illinois, where he was a friend of Carl Sandburg, joined Phi Gamma Delta fraternity, and graduated in 1895. Knox has since named its 599-seat Harbach Theatre in his honor. He then taught English and public speaking at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington.[2]

Beginning in 1901, he attended Columbia University in New York with the goal of becoming an English professor. In the early 1900s, complaining of eye difficulties making prolonged reading uncomfortable, he became a newspaper reporter. He also worked at various advertising agencies, at an insurance firm, as a copywriter in advertising, and later as a journalist. He would have to pull out of Columbia when he could not financially support himself.[citation needed]

Early career (1902–1911) edit

In 1902, he spotted an advertisement for a new Joe Weber and Lew Fields musical with a picture of star Fay Templeton.[2] He had not been interested in theatre but more in literary classics, but after seeing the show, realized he liked the lighthearted genre.[citation needed]

That same year, he met composer Karl Hoschna.[3] They wrote a comic opera together, The Daughter of the Desert, but no producer was interested in producing the work.[3] Harbach and Hoschna continued to collaborate, writing songs to be interpolated into other Broadway shows. They received their first chance to have a complete show produced on Broadway when Isidore Witmark asked Hoschna, his employee, to serve as composer for a musical version of Mary Pacheco's play Incog. Hoschna asked Harbach to write the lyrics. With Witmark and Charles Dickson writing the libretto, the resulting show was Three Twins, which opened in 1908 and ran for 288 performances (Harbach was paid a hundred dollars for his work). The show starred Clifton Crawford. One of Hoschna and Harbach's songs for Three Twins, "Cuddle Up A Little Closer, Lovey Mine," became a popular hit.[3]

Their next collaboration was Madame Sherry in 1910, an adaptation of a 1902 German operetta, which featured Jack Gardner in the lead role. Their score included the standard "Every Little Movement (Has a Meaning All Its Own)."[1] Harbach and Hoschna's score was augmented with interpolations, including the popular hit "Put Your Arms Around Me, Honey" by Albert von Tilzer and Junie McCree. They would collaborate for four more shows until Hoschna died in 1911, aged 35.[citation needed]

Career (1912–1936) edit

Harbach's work with Hoschna had established his reputation as a competent Broadway lyricist and librettist. Producer Arthur Hammerstein asked Harbach in 1912 to serve as librettist for a new operetta called The Firefly, to be composed by Rudolf Friml. Harbach set his libretto in contemporary Manhattan and Bermuda, which differed from the typical European setting for operettas.[4] The result was a huge success, with hits such as "Sympathy", "Giannina Mia", and "Love is Like a Firefly".[2]

The success of The Firefly led to ten more musical collaborations for librettist Harbach, composer Friml, and producer Arthur Hammerstein, including High Jinks (1913) and Katinka (1915).[5] Most of the shows Harbach and Friml wrote ran for over 200 performances each, which was a successful run for the time period.

Harbach also worked on projects with other collaborators during this time. In 1914, he contributed the libretto only to the Percy Wenrich musical The Crinoline Girl. He collaborated with composer Louis Hirsch and scored his biggest success thus far in his career in 1917 with Going Up.[6] This was his first attempt at a musical comedy, as opposed to an American operetta.[7] The show was based on the 1910 comedy The Aviator by James Montgomery, who co-wrote the libretto with Harbach. The show ran for 351 performances, toured nationally, and was an even larger hit in London. Also in 1917, he shortened his name from Hauerbach to Harbach to avoid anti-German sentiment caused by World War I.[7] Harbach and Hirsch collaborated on another notable Broadway production in 1920, Mary.[1]

Also around 1920, producer Arthur Hammerstein introduced his nephew Oscar Hammerstein II to Harbach.[8] Oscar was an aspiring lyricist and book writer, and Harbach became his mentor. Harbach encouraged Oscar to treat writing for the musical theatre as a "serious art form." Together, they wrote book and lyrics for Tickle Me (1920), Jimmie (1920), Wildflower (1923), Rose-Marie (1924), Sunny (1925), Song of the Flame (1925), The Wild Rose (1926), The Desert Song (1926), Golden Dawn (1927), and Good Boy (1928).[1]

Harbach and Hammerstein's operetta collaboration, Wildflower (1923), was Harbach's first work with composer Vincent Youmans. Harbach would then collaborate with composer Youmans, co-lyricist Irving Caesar, and co-librettist Frank Mandel on the 1925 hit musical comedy No, No, Nanette.

Harbach first collaborated with Broadway composer Jerome Kern on Sunny (1925), and they would continue to work together on subsequent musicals, including Criss Cross (1926), The Cat and the Fiddle (1931), and Roberta (1933). Broadway historian Thomas S. Hischak states that Harbach's lyrics for Kern were the finest of his career. The Cat and the Fiddle was especially notable, as Harbach (writing both book and lyrics) and Kern aimed to create a modern operetta set in contemporary Brussels "in which music and story were indispensable to each other."[2] Hits from The Cat and the Fiddle included "Try to Forget," "She Didn't Say Yes", "The Breeze Kissed Your Hair", and "The Night Was Made for Love". Roberta included the hits "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, "Yesterdays", "You're Devastating", and "The Touch of Your Hand".[2]

By the mid-1930s, Harbach's operetta-influenced style was no longer current on Broadway. His final major production was a collaboration with operetta composer Sigmund Romberg, Forbidden Melody (1936).[2]

In addition to his musical collaborations, Harbach also wrote non-musical farce plays for the Broadway stage, including Up in Mabel's Room.[9]

Impact and legacy edit

Harbach was one of the most prolific Broadway lyricist/librettists of the early 20th century.[10] He collaborated as lyricist or librettist with many of the leading Broadway writers and composers of that era, including Oscar Hammerstein II, Jerome Kern, Louis Hirsch, Herbert Stothart, Vincent Youmans, George Gershwin, and Sigmund Romberg.[1] He became a charter member of ASCAP in 1914, and he served as a director (1920–1963), vice president (1936–1940), and president (1950–1953).[11] Harbach was also an inductee of the Songwriters Hall of Fame.[11]

Harbach died at his home in New York City on January 24, 1963, aged 89.[12][9]

Personal life edit

In 1918, Harbach married Eloise Smith Dougall of Salt Lake City, Utah. The Harbachs had two sons, William O. Harbach (a television producer) and Robert Harbach (a writer).[13][14]

Notable songs edit

He was lyricist for many songs including:

Works edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e Hischak, Thomas (2008). The Oxford Companion to the American Musical: Theatre, Film, and Television. Oxford University Press. p. 324.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Hischak, Thomas S. (1991). Word Crazy: Broadway Lyricists from Cohan to Sondheim. Praeger. p. 19-24.
  3. ^ a b c Bordman, Gerald (2001). American Musical Theatre: A Chronicle (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 283.
  4. ^ Bordman, Gerald (1981). American Operetta: From H.M.S Pinafore to Sweeney Todd. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 94.
  5. ^ Everett, William. (2008). Rudolph Friml. Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press. p. 18.
  6. ^ a b Parker, Bernard S. (2007). World War I Sheet Music – Volume 1. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc. pp. 191, 230. ISBN 978-0-7864-2798-7.
  7. ^ a b Bloom, Ken (2003). Broadway: An Encyclopedia. New York: Routledge. p. 217. Retrieved August 24, 2015. All Aboard for Dixie otto harbach.
  8. ^ Nolan, Frederick (2002). The Sound of Their Music: The Story of Rodgers and Hammerstein. New York: Applause Theatre and Cinema Books. p. 36.
  9. ^ a b "OTTO HARBACH, 89, LIBRETTIST, DEAD". The New York Times. January 24, 1963. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
  10. ^ Ewen, David (1961). The Story of America's Musical Theater. Philadelphia: Chilton Company. p. 29.
  11. ^ a b "Otto Harbach". Songwriters Hall of Fame. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
  12. ^ "Harbach, Otto, 1873–1963 @ SNAC". snaccooperative.org. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
  13. ^ "Otto Abels Harbach". Utah.gov: History to Go. Utah Division of State History. March 31, 1995. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
  14. ^ "MRS. OTTO HARBACH". The New York Times. September 8, 1967. Retrieved September 14, 2021.

External links edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Otto Harbach.

December 20, 2023
otto, harbach, otto, abels, harbach, born, otto, abels, hauerbach, august, 1873, january, 1963, american, lyricist, librettist, nearly, musical, comedies, operettas, harbach, collaborated, lyricist, librettist, with, many, leading, broadway, composers, early, . Otto Abels Harbach born Otto Abels Hauerbach August 18 1873 January 24 1963 was an American lyricist and librettist of nearly 50 musical comedies and operettas Harbach collaborated as lyricist or librettist with many of the leading Broadway composers of the early 20th century including Jerome Kern Louis Hirsch Herbert Stothart Vincent Youmans George Gershwin and Sigmund Romberg Harbach believed that music lyrics and story should be closely connected and as Oscar Hammerstein II s mentor he encouraged Hammerstein to write musicals in this manner Harbach is considered one of the first great Broadway lyricists 1 and he helped raise the status of the lyricist in an age more concerned with music spectacle and stars Some of his more famous lyrics are Smoke Gets in Your Eyes Indian Love Call and Cuddle up a Little Closer Lovey Mine Otto HarbachHarbachBackground informationBirth nameOtto Abels HauerbachBorn 1873 08 18 August 18 1873Salt Lake City Utah U S DiedJanuary 24 1963 1963 01 24 aged 89 New York City New York U S Occupation s Lyricist librettist Contents 1 Early life and education 2 Early career 1902 1911 3 Career 1912 1936 4 Impact and legacy 5 Personal life 6 Notable songs 7 Works 8 References 9 External linksEarly life and education editOtto Abels Hauerbach was born on August 18 1873 in Salt Lake City Utah to Danish immigrant parents His family s original surname was Christiansen but shortly after settling in the United States near Salt Lake City in the 1830s they took the name of the farm on which they worked Hauerbach as their new surname 2 He attended the Salt Lake Collegiate Institute transferring to Knox College in Galesburg Illinois where he was a friend of Carl Sandburg joined Phi Gamma Delta fraternity and graduated in 1895 Knox has since named its 599 seat Harbach Theatre in his honor He then taught English and public speaking at Whitman College in Walla Walla Washington 2 Beginning in 1901 he attended Columbia University in New York with the goal of becoming an English professor In the early 1900s complaining of eye difficulties making prolonged reading uncomfortable he became a newspaper reporter He also worked at various advertising agencies at an insurance firm as a copywriter in advertising and later as a journalist He would have to pull out of Columbia when he could not financially support himself citation needed Early career 1902 1911 editIn 1902 he spotted an advertisement for a new Joe Weber and Lew Fields musical with a picture of star Fay Templeton 2 He had not been interested in theatre but more in literary classics but after seeing the show realized he liked the lighthearted genre citation needed That same year he met composer Karl Hoschna 3 They wrote a comic opera together The Daughter of the Desert but no producer was interested in producing the work 3 Harbach and Hoschna continued to collaborate writing songs to be interpolated into other Broadway shows They received their first chance to have a complete show produced on Broadway when Isidore Witmark asked Hoschna his employee to serve as composer for a musical version of Mary Pacheco s play Incog Hoschna asked Harbach to write the lyrics With Witmark and Charles Dickson writing the libretto the resulting show was Three Twins which opened in 1908 and ran for 288 performances Harbach was paid a hundred dollars for his work The show starred Clifton Crawford One of Hoschna and Harbach s songs for Three Twins Cuddle Up A Little Closer Lovey Mine became a popular hit 3 Their next collaboration was Madame Sherry in 1910 an adaptation of a 1902 German operetta which featured Jack Gardner in the lead role Their score included the standard Every Little Movement Has a Meaning All Its Own 1 Harbach and Hoschna s score was augmented with interpolations including the popular hit Put Your Arms Around Me Honey by Albert von Tilzer and Junie McCree They would collaborate for four more shows until Hoschna died in 1911 aged 35 citation needed Career 1912 1936 editHarbach s work with Hoschna had established his reputation as a competent Broadway lyricist and librettist Producer Arthur Hammerstein asked Harbach in 1912 to serve as librettist for a new operetta called The Firefly to be composed by Rudolf Friml Harbach set his libretto in contemporary Manhattan and Bermuda which differed from the typical European setting for operettas 4 The result was a huge success with hits such as Sympathy Giannina Mia and Love is Like a Firefly 2 The success of The Firefly led to ten more musical collaborations for librettist Harbach composer Friml and producer Arthur Hammerstein including High Jinks 1913 and Katinka 1915 5 Most of the shows Harbach and Friml wrote ran for over 200 performances each which was a successful run for the time period Harbach also worked on projects with other collaborators during this time In 1914 he contributed the libretto only to the Percy Wenrich musical The Crinoline Girl He collaborated with composer Louis Hirsch and scored his biggest success thus far in his career in 1917 with Going Up 6 This was his first attempt at a musical comedy as opposed to an American operetta 7 The show was based on the 1910 comedy The Aviator by James Montgomery who co wrote the libretto with Harbach The show ran for 351 performances toured nationally and was an even larger hit in London Also in 1917 he shortened his name from Hauerbach to Harbach to avoid anti German sentiment caused by World War I 7 Harbach and Hirsch collaborated on another notable Broadway production in 1920 Mary 1 Also around 1920 producer Arthur Hammerstein introduced his nephew Oscar Hammerstein II to Harbach 8 Oscar was an aspiring lyricist and book writer and Harbach became his mentor Harbach encouraged Oscar to treat writing for the musical theatre as a serious art form Together they wrote book and lyrics for Tickle Me 1920 Jimmie 1920 Wildflower 1923 Rose Marie 1924 Sunny 1925 Song of the Flame 1925 The Wild Rose 1926 The Desert Song 1926 Golden Dawn 1927 and Good Boy 1928 1 Harbach and Hammerstein s operetta collaboration Wildflower 1923 was Harbach s first work with composer Vincent Youmans Harbach would then collaborate with composer Youmans co lyricist Irving Caesar and co librettist Frank Mandel on the 1925 hit musical comedy No No Nanette Harbach first collaborated with Broadway composer Jerome Kern on Sunny 1925 and they would continue to work together on subsequent musicals including Criss Cross 1926 The Cat and the Fiddle 1931 and Roberta 1933 Broadway historian Thomas S Hischak states that Harbach s lyrics for Kern were the finest of his career The Cat and the Fiddle was especially notable as Harbach writing both book and lyrics and Kern aimed to create a modern operetta set in contemporary Brussels in which music and story were indispensable to each other 2 Hits from The Cat and the Fiddle included Try to Forget She Didn t Say Yes The Breeze Kissed Your Hair and The Night Was Made for Love Roberta included the hits Smoke Gets in Your Eyes Yesterdays You re Devastating and The Touch of Your Hand 2 By the mid 1930s Harbach s operetta influenced style was no longer current on Broadway His final major production was a collaboration with operetta composer Sigmund Romberg Forbidden Melody 1936 2 In addition to his musical collaborations Harbach also wrote non musical farce plays for the Broadway stage including Up in Mabel s Room 9 Impact and legacy editHarbach was one of the most prolific Broadway lyricist librettists of the early 20th century 10 He collaborated as lyricist or librettist with many of the leading Broadway writers and composers of that era including Oscar Hammerstein II Jerome Kern Louis Hirsch Herbert Stothart Vincent Youmans George Gershwin and Sigmund Romberg 1 He became a charter member of ASCAP in 1914 and he served as a director 1920 1963 vice president 1936 1940 and president 1950 1953 11 Harbach was also an inductee of the Songwriters Hall of Fame 11 Harbach died at his home in New York City on January 24 1963 aged 89 12 9 Personal life editIn 1918 Harbach married Eloise Smith Dougall of Salt Lake City Utah The Harbachs had two sons William O Harbach a television producer and Robert Harbach a writer 13 14 Notable songs editHe was lyricist for many songs including Allah s Holiday Cuddle up a Little Closer Lovey Mine Every Little Movement Has a Meaning All Its Own Giannina Mia Going Up I Won t Dance If You Look in Her Eyes Indian Love Call Love Is Like a Firefly One Alone Rackety Coo She Didn t Say Yes Smoke Gets in Your Eyes Something Seems Tingle Ingling Sympathy The Night Was Made For Love The Tickle Toe Yesterdays Who from 1925 Broadway Musical Sunny Works editEarly work 1907 Three Twins music Karl Hoschna 1909 Bright Eyes music Hoschna 1910 Madame Sherry music Hoschna 1911 Dr De Luxe music Hoschna 1911 The Girl of My Dreams music Hoschna 1911 The Fascinating Widow music Hoschna 1912 The Firefly music Rudolf Friml 1913 High Jinks music Friml 1914 The Crinoline Girl music Percy Wenrich lyrics Julian Eltinge book only 1914 Suzi music Aladar Renyi 1915 Katinka music Friml 1916 The Silent Witness play by Harbach 1916 A Pair of Queens play by Harbach A Seymour Brown and Harry Lewis 1917 You re in Love music Friml 1917 Miss 1917 revue 1917 Kitty Darlin music Friml 1917 Here s to the Two of You m Louis Hirsct 6 Later works 1918 Going Up music Louis Hirsch 1919 Up in Mabel s Room play written with Wilson Collison 1919 Tumble In music Friml 1919 The Little Whopper music Friml lyrics with Bide Dudley 1920 No More Blondes play by Harbach 1920 Mary music Hirsch 1920 Jimmie music Herbert Stothart lyrics Hammerstein II 1920 Tickle Me music Stothart lyrics Hammerstein II 1921 June Love music Friml lyrics Brian Hooker book Harbach and William H Post 1921 The O Brien Girl music Friml lyrics Frank Mandel and book Harbach and Mandel 1922 The Blue Kitten music Friml lyrics and book by Harbach and William Carey Duncan 1922 Molly Darling music Tom Johnstone lyrics Phil Cook book by Harbach and Williams 1923 Wildflower music Youmans and Stothart lyrics Hammerstein II 1923 Jack and Jill music Stothart 1923 Kid Boots music Harry Tierney and lyrics Joseph McCarthy 1923 No No Nanette music Vincent Youmans lyrics with Irving Caesar 1924 Rose Marie music Friml lyrics Hammerstein II 1925 Song of the Flame music by George Gershwin and Stothart lyrics Hammerstein II 1925 Sunny music Jerome Kern lyrics Hammerstein II 1926 Criss Cross music Kern 1926 The Wild Rose music Friml 1926 The Desert Song music Romberg 1927 Golden Dawn music Emmerich Kalman and Stothart 1927 Lucky music Kern 1928 Good Boy music Stothart lyrics Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby 1930 Nina Rosa music Romberg lyrics Irving Caesar 1930 Ballyhoo of 1930 featured lyricist 1931 The Cat and the Fiddle music Kern 1933 Roberta music Kern 1936 Forbidden Melody music Sigmund Romberg 1938 Gentlemen Unafraid music Kern lyrics Hammerstein II References edit a b c d e Hischak Thomas 2008 The Oxford Companion to the American Musical Theatre Film and Television Oxford University Press p 324 a b c d e f g Hischak Thomas S 1991 Word Crazy Broadway Lyricists from Cohan to Sondheim Praeger p 19 24 a b c Bordman Gerald 2001 American Musical Theatre A Chronicle 3rd ed Oxford University Press p 283 Bordman Gerald 1981 American Operetta From H M S Pinafore to Sweeney Todd New York Oxford University Press p 94 Everett William 2008 Rudolph Friml Urbana and Chicago University of Illinois Press p 18 a b Parker Bernard S 2007 World War I Sheet Music Volume 1 Jefferson North Carolina McFarland amp Company Inc pp 191 230 ISBN 978 0 7864 2798 7 a b Bloom Ken 2003 Broadway An Encyclopedia New York Routledge p 217 Retrieved August 24 2015 All Aboard for Dixie otto harbach Nolan Frederick 2002 The Sound of Their Music The Story of Rodgers and Hammerstein New York Applause Theatre and Cinema Books p 36 a b OTTO HARBACH 89 LIBRETTIST DEAD The New York Times January 24 1963 Retrieved September 14 2021 Ewen David 1961 The Story of America s Musical Theater Philadelphia Chilton Company p 29 a b Otto Harbach Songwriters Hall of Fame Retrieved September 2 2021 Harbach Otto 1873 1963 SNAC snaccooperative org Retrieved September 13 2018 Otto Abels Harbach Utah gov History to Go Utah Division of State History March 31 1995 Retrieved September 9 2021 MRS OTTO HARBACH The New York Times September 8 1967 Retrieved September 14 2021 Hischak Thomas S American Song Lyricists 1920 1960 1002 Detroit Gale ISBN 978 0 7876 6009 3External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Otto Harbach Otto Harbach at the Internet Broadway Database nbsp Otto Harbach at IMDb Otto Harbach papers 1870 1990 bulk 1895 1963 held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division New York Public Library for the Performing Arts Otto Harbach papers Additions 1923 1979 Billy Rose Theatre Division New York Public Library for the Performing Arts Finding aid to Otto Harbach papers at Columbia University Rare Book amp Manuscript Library Otto Harbach recordings at the Discography of American Historical Recordings Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Otto Harbach amp oldid 1172757975, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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