THE
D'OYLY CARTE OPERA COMPANY
|
Alexander Mackenzie |
Alexander Mackenzie (cond., 1897)
[Born Edinburgh 22 Aug 1847, died London 28 Apr 1935]
Sir Alexander Campbell Mackenzie was widely recognized as
the greatest Scottish composer of his day.
As a youth he went to Germany to study at the Saunderhausen Conservatory
(1857-62), winning the King's Scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music in
1862. In 1865 he returned to his native
Edinburgh, where he spent 14 years as violinist, teacher, and choir
conductor. In 1879 he went to Florence
and devoted himself to composition, until 1888 when he was appointed principal
of the Royal Academy of Music, a post he held until 1924. He was knighted in 1895. Mackenzie's only association with the D'Oyly Carte Opera
Company was a composer and first night conductor of His Majesty, a
two-act comic opera written by F. C. Burnand, R. C. Lehmann, and Adrian Ross, and
produced at the Savoy on February 20, 1897.
His Majesty ran for just 61 performances, closing on April 24,
1897. It was also performed by the
D'Oyly Carte Opera Company on tour. Mackenzie wrote five operas in all. In addition to His Majesty, be wrote Columba
(1883) and The Troubador (1886) for the Carl Rosa Company, The
Cricket on the Hearth (1914), and The Eve of St. John (1925). None enjoyed any lasting popularity,
although the overture to The Cricket on the Hearth is among his
orchestral works in the Hyperion CD catalogue today. He was also a frequent contributor of oratorios to British music
festivals (Norwich, Worcester, Bristol, Edinburgh, and Cardiff). His memoirs, "A Musician's Narrative," were published by
Cassell, London, in 1927.