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Sydney Grundy

February 13, 2024

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 of several comic operas, notably Haddon Hall.

Sydney Grundy, 1894

Life and career edit

Grundy was born in Manchester, England, the son of Alderman Charles Sydney Grundy. He was educated at Owens College, Manchester, and studied law at the Middle Temple. He was called to the bar in 1869 and practised law until 1876.[1]

Early career edit

His early one-act farce, A Little Change, was produced at the Haymarket Theatre in 1872 by the Kendals. This was followed by All at Sea in 1873, also starring the Kendals.[2] In 1876, Grundy published The Days of His Vanity.[3] He wrote Mammon for W. H. Vernon at the Strand Theatre in 1877 and After Long Years for the Folly Theatre in 1879.[2] Early comedies included The Glass of Fashion (1882), The Silver Shield (1885),[4] and the blank verse Clito for Wilson Barrett (1886).[5]

 
Scene from Grundy and Sullivan's Haddon Hall

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 and Duvergne; In Honour Bound (1880), based on Scribe's Une Chaine; Dust at the Royalty Theatre (1881); The Glass of Fashion (1883); and A Wife's Sacrifice (1886).[2] The Bells of Haslemere, written with H. Pettitt, was a success at the Adelphi Theatre in 1887.[6] He also created a farce in three acts, The Arabian Nights (1887), an adaptation of von Moser's Haroun al Raschid;[7] Pompadour, written with W. G. Wilts; and Mamma (1888), an adaptation of Les surprises du Divorce.[4]

Grundy's original libretti included the one-act "musical absurdity" Popsy Wopsy (1880), the full-length The Vicar of Bray (1882) and Pocahontas (1884), both with Edward Solomon. These Solomon and Grundy comic operas toured extensively in both Britain and the US. His Haddon Hall (1892), with Sir Arthur Sullivan, dramatised the legend of Dorothy Vernon's elopement from Haddon Hall with John Manners.

Later years edit

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 (1889), from Les Petits Oiseaux of Labiche and Delacour. In 1890, Lilly Langtry presented Grundy's Esther Sandraz at the St. James's Theatre. This was followed by A Village Priest at the Haymarket Theatre (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;[8] The Slaves of the Ring (1894); and The Greatest of These at the Garrick with the Kendals (1895).[6]

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; The Silver Key at Her Majesty's Theatre (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 (1900); Frocks and Frills at the Haymarket (1902) from Doigts de fees of Scribe and Ernest Legouvé; 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 Royalty Theatre (1905) from La Poudre aux yeux, by Labiche.[6]

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.[9] 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.[10][11]

Grundy died in London at the age of 66. His daughter, Lily, married the publisher and philanthropist Sir Bruce Ingram.[12]

References edit

  1. ^   Foster, Joseph (1885). "Grundy, Sydney" . Men-at-the-Bar  (second ed.). London: Hazell, Watson, and Viney. p. 192.
  2. ^ a b c William Davenport Adams (1904). A Dictionary of the Drama. Burt Franklin.
  3. ^ Sydney Grundy (1876). The days of his vanity.
  4. ^ a b "New Play at the Odeon". New York Times. 3 October 1892. Retrieved 8 August 2008.
  5. ^ "A New Classical Tragedy; Sydney Grundy's "Clito" Produced by Wilson Barrett". New York Times. 2 May 1886. Retrieved 8 August 2008.
  6. ^ a b c Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Grundy, Sydney" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 12 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 640.
  7. ^ "Cover page of "The Arabian nights"", ebook.lib.hku.hk. Retrieved on 24 May 2012.
  8. ^ "Multiple classified ads". The Standard. 16 November 1894.
  9. ^ Grundy's IBDB entry, Ibdb.com. Retrieved on 24 May 2012.
  10. ^ Moratti, Mel. Information from the "Theatre in Sydney 1891" page. Homepages.ihug.co.nz (21 January 2005). Retrieved on 24 May 2012.
  11. ^ Moratti, Mel. Information from the "Theatre in Melbourne 1892" page. Homepages.ihug.co.nz (21 January 2005). Retrieved on 24 May 2012.
  12. ^ Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage 2003, vol. 2, p. 2048

External links edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sydney Grundy.

February 13, 2024
sydney, grundy, march, 1848, july, 1914, english, dramatist, most, works, were, adaptations, european, plays, many, became, successful, enough, tour, throughout, english, speaking, world, however, perhaps, best, remembered, today, librettist, several, comic, o. 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 of several comic operas notably Haddon Hall Sydney Grundy 1894 Contents 1 Life and career 1 1 Early career 1 2 Later years 2 References 3 External linksLife and career editGrundy was born in Manchester England the son of Alderman Charles Sydney Grundy He was educated at Owens College Manchester and studied law at the Middle Temple He was called to the bar in 1869 and practised law until 1876 1 Early career edit His early one act farce A Little Change was produced at the Haymarket Theatre in 1872 by the Kendals This was followed by All at Sea in 1873 also starring the Kendals 2 In 1876 Grundy published The Days of His Vanity 3 He wrote Mammon for W H Vernon at the Strand Theatre in 1877 and After Long Years for the Folly Theatre in 1879 2 Early comedies included The Glass of Fashion 1882 The Silver Shield 1885 4 and the blank verse Clito for Wilson Barrett 1886 5 nbsp Scene from Grundy and Sullivan s Haddon HallGrundy 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 Eugene Scribe and Duvergne In Honour Bound 1880 based on Scribe s Une Chaine Dust at the Royalty Theatre 1881 The Glass of Fashion 1883 and A Wife s Sacrifice 1886 2 The Bells of Haslemere written with H Pettitt was a success at the Adelphi Theatre in 1887 6 He also created a farce in three acts The Arabian Nights 1887 an adaptation of von Moser s Haroun al Raschid 7 Pompadour written with W G Wilts and Mamma 1888 an adaptation of Les surprises du Divorce 4 Grundy s original libretti included the one act musical absurdity Popsy Wopsy 1880 the full length The Vicar of Bray 1882 and Pocahontas 1884 both with Edward Solomon These Solomon and Grundy comic operas toured extensively in both Britain and the US His Haddon Hall 1892 with Sir Arthur Sullivan dramatised the legend of Dorothy Vernon s elopement from Haddon Hall with John Manners Later years edit 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 1889 from Les Petits Oiseaux of Labiche and Delacour In 1890 Lilly Langtry presented Grundy s Esther Sandraz at the St James s Theatre This was followed by A Village Priest at the Haymarket Theatre 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 8 The Slaves of the Ring 1894 and The Greatest of These at the Garrick with the Kendals 1895 6 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 pere The Silver Key at Her Majesty s Theatre 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 1900 Frocks and Frills at the Haymarket 1902 from Doigts de fees of Scribe and Ernest Legouve 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 Royalty Theatre 1905 from La Poudre aux yeux by Labiche 6 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 9 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 10 11 Grundy died in London at the age of 66 His daughter Lily married the publisher and philanthropist Sir Bruce Ingram 12 References edit nbsp Foster Joseph 1885 Grundy Sydney Men at the Bar second ed London Hazell Watson and Viney p 192 a b c William Davenport Adams 1904 A Dictionary of the Drama Burt Franklin Sydney Grundy 1876 The days of his vanity a b New Play at the Odeon New York Times 3 October 1892 Retrieved 8 August 2008 A New Classical Tragedy Sydney Grundy s Clito Produced by Wilson Barrett New York Times 2 May 1886 Retrieved 8 August 2008 a b c Chisholm Hugh ed 1911 Grundy Sydney Encyclopaedia Britannica Vol 12 11th ed Cambridge University Press p 640 Cover page of The Arabian nights ebook lib hku hk Retrieved on 24 May 2012 Multiple classified ads The Standard 16 November 1894 Grundy s IBDB entry Ibdb com Retrieved on 24 May 2012 Moratti Mel Information from the Theatre in Sydney 1891 page Homepages ihug co nz 21 January 2005 Retrieved on 24 May 2012 Moratti Mel Information from the Theatre in Melbourne 1892 page Homepages ihug co nz 21 January 2005 Retrieved on 24 May 2012 Burke s Peerage Baronetage and Knightage 2003 vol 2 p 2048External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sydney Grundy Grundy Sydney Encyclopaedia Britannica Vol 31 12th ed 1922 p 321 Grundy Sydney Encyclopaedia Britannica Vol 12 11th ed 1911 p 640 Biography with list of notable plays Haddon Hall page dead link Works by Sydney Grundy at Project Gutenberg Works by or about Sydney Grundy at Internet Archive Two of grundy s libretti and commentary online Describes a number of Grundy s plays among others N John Hall 1997 Max Beerbohm Caricatures Yale University Press ISBN 0 300 07217 1 Sydney Grundy at the Internet Broadway Database Sydney Grundy at IMDb Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Sydney Grundy amp oldid 1176607566, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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