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Edmund Falconer (1814 - 1879) - also known as Edmund O'Rourke - was an Irish-born 19th century poet, actor, theatre manager, songwriter and playwright, known for his keen wit and outstanding acting skills. Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlənd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar A poet is a person who writes Poetry. Etymology From the Ancient greek: ποιέω, poieō: "I make or compose" An actor, actress, player or thespian (see terminology) is a person who Acts in a Dramatic production and who works A theatre director or stage director is a practitioner in the Theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production (a play, A songwriter is someone who writes the Lyrics to songs the Musical composition (chords or Melody to songs or both A playwright, also known as a dramatist, is a person who writes dramatic literature or Drama. Wit is a form of intellectual Humour. A wit (person is someone skilled in making witty remarks Acting is the work of an Actor or Actress, which is a person in Theatre, Television, Film, or any other Storytelling

Contents

Early life

Edmund O'Rourke was born in Dublin in 1814. Dublin (ˈdʌblɨn/ /ˈdʊblɨn or /ˈdʊbəlɪn/, bˠalʲə aːha klʲiəh or cliə(ɸ is both the largest city and capital of Ireland. He entered the theatrical world as a child, however he did not achieve fame until he was over 40. A celebrity is a widely-recognized or famous person who commands a high degree of public and media attention The first half of his working life was spent playing in repertory theatre in Ireland and the provinces of England. For other meanings of repertory please see Repertory (disambiguation. Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlənd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland While working as a jobbing actor, he published his first volume of poems - Man's Mission - in 1852.

Success beckons

O'Rourke finally achieved success at the age of 41, when he performed two very diverse roles in Hamlet and the comedy Three Fingered Jack on the same night at the Adelphi Theatre in Liverpool in 1854. Hamlet is a Tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601 Comedy (from the Greek κωμωδίαkomodia has a popular meaning (any discourse generally intended to amuse especially in Television, Film, and The Adelphi Theatre is a 1500-seat West End theatre, located on the Strand in the City of Westminster. Liverpool ( is a City and Metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary Year 1854 ( MDCCCLIV) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common year He received such rave reviews that he never had to tour the provinces again and London beckoned. A province is a territorial unit almost always an Administrative division. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom.

Two years later he changed his stage name to Edmund Falconer and wrote his first successful play, The Cagot or Heart for Heart. It was the start of his second career, that of a London dramatist. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. A playwright, also known as a dramatist, is a person who writes dramatic literature or Drama. Heart for Heart was performed with great success for the first time at the Lyceum Theatre, London, under Charles Dillon's management, on December 6, 1856. Not to be confused with Charles Hall Dillon (1853-1929 American politician Charles J The Athenaeum newspaper commented that 'the dialogue is remarkable for noble sentiment, although the verse is not always correct' (13 Dec 1856). His next piece was A Husband for an Hour, produced at the Haymarket Theatre in June 1857.

Writing and theatre management

The year 1858 saw Falconer translate Victor Hugo's Ruy Blas, which was performed at the Princess Theatre in late 1858. Year 1858 ( MDCCCLVIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common Victor-Marie Hugo ( ( February 26, 1802 – May 22, 1885) was a French Poet, Playwright, Novelist Ruy Blas is a tragic Drama by Victor Hugo. It was the first play presented at the Théâtre de la Renaissance and opened on For Decatur Alabama 's Princess Theatre see Princess Theatre Decatur 1910s Originally planned as a venue for short dramatic plays Year 1858 ( MDCCCLVIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common During that same year, he began a profitable collaboration with Michael William Balfe by writing the libretto for his much-loved opera, The Rose of Castile. Michael William Balfe ( May 15, 1808 - October 20, 1870) was an Irish Composer, best known today for his Opera A libretto is the text used in an extended Musical work such as an Opera, Operetta, Masque, sacred or secular Oratorio and Opera is an art form in which Singers and Musicians perform a Dramatic work (called an opera which combines a text (called a Libretto He was later to write librettos for several of Balfe's most successful productions, including Satanella, which was produced at Covent Garden on 20 December 1858, and the popular song Killarney, which remained a concert-hall favourite well into the 20th century. Le Diable Amoureux (aka Satanella, or Love and Hell) is a Pantomime ballet in 3 acts 7 scenes Covent Garden (Pronunciation kɒvʌnt is a district in London, England, located on the easternmost parts of the City of Westminster and the southwest Year 1858 ( MDCCCLVIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common Killarney (Cill Airne meaning "The church of the sloes" is a town in County Kerry, southwestern Ireland. A concert is a live Performance, usually of Music, before an Audience. The twentieth century of the Common Era began on

Falconer, who was said to have had boundless energy, also turned his attention to theatre managing. It was on August 26, 1858, that he took over the Lyceum Theatre in London, sharing the manager's role with Ben Webster. Year 1858 ( MDCCCLVIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Falconer was not above using his position to stage his own plays. The first was Extremes, a comedy of manners, which was performed on his opening night of August 26.

A reporter for The Times reviewed the show and said: 'The characters are sharply defined and exactly of a kind to be perfectly intelligible to a large audience. The Times is a daily national Newspaper published in the United Kingdom since 1785 when it was known as The Daily Universal Register. ' Several more of Falconer's own pieces soon followed, including Francesca in March 1859. Year 1859 ( MDCCCLIX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common

Falconer gave up his management of the Lyceum after just a couple of years, although he resumed the role once more in 1861. Year 1861 ( MDCCCLXI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Yet more of his own plays soon followed, including Woman, Love Against The World in August 1861 and Peep 0' Day in November 1861. It is for Peep 0' Day, a stage-version of John Banim’s novels John Doe and The Nowlans, that Falconer is probably best remembered. John Banim ( April 3, 1798 - August 30, 1842) Irish Novelist, sometimes called the "Scott of Ireland" was born The Name " John Doe " is used as a Placeholder name for a male party in a legal action case or discussion whose true identity is either unknown or It contained a scene in which the heroine is saved from live burial and ran until December 1862. Year 1862 was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting on Monday Meanwhile, he contributed two comedies to the Haymarket Theatre too, Family Wills, and Does He Love Me?, both starring Amy Sedgwick. Haymarket Theatre (Leicester|Her Majesty's Theatre The Theatre Royal Haymarket or Haymarket Theatre or the Little Theatre is a West End theatre in

Fame at last

It was not until 1860 that Falconer managed to dominate the London stage with his acting skills, rather than his writing. In the first production of Boucicault's The Colleen Bawn he played the part of Danny Mann, the villain of the piece. Dionysius Lardner Boursiquot (born December 26, circa 1820 &ndash died September 18, 1890) was an Irish Actor and Playwright The Colleen Bawn (also sometimes referred to as The Brides of Garryowen) is a Melodramatic play written by Irish playwright Dion The melodrama, staged at The Adelphi Theatre in July 1860, proved hugely popular and ran for 231 nights. Melodrama refers to theatre in which music is used to increase the spectator's emotional response or to suggest character types The Adelphi Theatre is a 1500-seat West End theatre, located on the Strand in the City of Westminster. Indeed, the show has recently enjoyed revived critical attention amongst academics of that period.

Falconer made £13,000 in profit during his time as manager at the Lyceum, which he used in 1862 to buy a joint lease for the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London, with Frederick Balsir Chatterton. This article is about Lyceum as school or as public hall Lyceum can also be short for Lyceum Theatre. Drury Lane is a street in the Covent Garden area of London, running between Aldwych and High Holborn. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Between 1863 and 1865 he wrote and produced Bonnie Dundee, Nature's above Art, Night and Morning, and Love's Ordeal. He also wrote The O'Flahertys and Galway-go-bragh, a dramatization of Lever's Charles O'Malley, in which he took the part of Mickey Free.

Falconer's attempts, however, to popularise Shakespeare at the theatre proved a dreadful failure. William Shakespeare ( baptised Gambling on The Bard to turn a profit, he directed productions of Macbeth, As You Like It, Henry IV and Romeo and Juliet. Macbeth is among the best-known of William Shakespeare 's plays, and is his shortest tragedy, believed to have been written some time between As You Like It is a Pastoral Comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 or early 1600 and first published Henry IV may refer to Henry IV Holy Roman Emperor, the first monarch styled as King of the Romans, signifying he had not yet been anointed and crowned Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the Despite hiring good actors, audiences were small and, by September 1866, he had lost his money.

Falconer attempted to revive his fortunes by penning a five-act drama, Oonagh, which was staged at Her Majesty's Theatre, London, in November 1866. Her Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre, located on The Haymarket, in the City of Westminster. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. It was such a failure, however, that it closed ten days later. By now short of money, he decided to travel to America, where his play Peep o' Day had made him famous. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the

Final years

Falconer spent three successful years in America, where he acted on Broadway and continued with his writing, creating three new dramas. Broadway theater, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 39 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located One of his greatest fans was Mark Twain, author of Tom Sawyer, as can be witnessed in letters written by Twain [1]. Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30 1835 – April 21 1910 better known by the Pen name Mark Twain, was an American Humorist, satirist Tom Sawyer (fictional character 'born' circa 1833 is the protagonist and title character of the Mark Twain novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876 TWAIN, widely known unoffically as "Technology Without an Interesting Name Such was his US success, that publications of his plays went through several editions. He also married an American woman, who was his third wife.

Falconer eventually returned to London in 1871, following the success of another of his plays, A Wife Well Won, which was staged at the Haymarket Theatre, London, in his absence. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Year 1871 ( MDCCCLXXI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Haymarket Theatre (Leicester|Her Majesty's Theatre The Theatre Royal Haymarket or Haymarket Theatre or the Little Theatre is a West End theatre in London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. A successful production of Eileen Oge at the Princess Theatre, London, followed later in 1871, which featured his song Killarney. For Decatur Alabama 's Princess Theatre see Princess Theatre Decatur 1910s Originally planned as a venue for short dramatic plays London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Year 1871 ( MDCCCLXXI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Falconer retired from the stage and writing soon after. He died at his home at 28 Keppel Street, Russell Square, London, on 29 September 1879 and was buried at Kensal Green cemetery. Russell Square is a large garden square in Bloomsbury, in the London Borough of Camden. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Year 1879 ( MDCCCLXXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Kensal Green is a neighbourhood in the London Borough of Brent.

He life, like his career, was all about drama. From world-wide success, to the inside of a debtor's prison, Falconer saw it all during his roller-coaster of a lifetime.

Falconer's works

The International Broadway Database ([12]) gives the following information for Falconer's performances in America:

James Joyce links

The opera The Rose of Castille, for which Falconer wrote the libretto, was very popular for several decades after his death. A libretto is the text used in an extended Musical work such as an Opera, Operetta, Masque, sacred or secular Oratorio and Indeed, it was a favourite of Leopold Bloom, the hero of James Joyce's Ulysses (1922) In the novel, Bloom thinks quite a lot about the opera, and it features as one of the motifs of the 'Sirens' episode (chapter 11). Leopold Bloom is the fictional Protagonist of James Joyce 's novel Ulysses, assuming the role of the ' Odysseus ' character James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 &ndash 13 January 1941 was an Irish expatriate writer widely considered to be one of the most influential writers of the Year 1922 ( MCMXXII) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. In Greek mythology, the Sirens ( Greek singular Seirēn; Greek plural Seirēnes) were three dangerous bird-women Joyce even thinks up a dreadful pun on the title; one of the characters asks which opera has the same name as a train's tracks, and the answer is 'rows of cast steel'. The pun crops up at various points throughout the novel.

External links

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