Joseph O'Mara (16 July 1864 – August 5, 1927) was an Irish opera singer of the Victorian era. Events 622 - The beginning of the Islamic calendar. 1054 - Three Roman legates fractured relations between the Western and Year 1864 ( MDCCCLXIV) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year Events 642 - Battle of Maserfield - Penda of Mercia defeats and kills Oswald of Bernicia. Year 1927 ( MCMXXVII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlənd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world Culture The Victorian fascination with novelty resulted in a deep interest in the relationship between modernity and cultural continuities
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Biography
Born at Limerick, Ireland, O'Mara was the second youngest of thirteen children,[1] born to James O'Mara, the owner of a bacon factory. Limerick (pronounced /ˈlɪmrɪk/ Luimneach in Irish) is a city and the county seat of County Limerick in the Province of Munster Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlənd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world His mother died when O'Mara was a teenager. [2] He was educated at a Jesuit school, the Crescent College. The Society of Jesus ( Latin: Societas Iesu, SJ and SI or SJ, SI) is a Catholic religious order Crescent College Comprehensive SJ is a Secondary school located on a section of 40 acres (162000 m² of parkland at Dooradoyle Limerick, Ireland As a boy, he sang as a chorister in Limerick Cathedral. At the age of 18, largely through the influence of schoolfriends, he went to sea for 12 months and returned to his father's business, "having seen as much as I wanted to in that time". [3] He also sang in the choir of St. Michael's Church in Limerick. O'Mara's family was prominent in Limerick, producing a number of mayors of the city, including his nephew Stephen O'Mara (1886-1959), who was mayor from 1921-1923. [4]
Early career
Encouraged by his friend J. F. Murray, O'Mara studied opera in Milan under Signor Moretti for two years, and in 1891 he made his London stage debut when he landed the title role in the original production of the opera Ivanhoe by Arthur Sullivan (of Gilbert and Sullivan) at the newly-built Royal English Opera House in London. Milan (Milano Milan (listen) is one of the largest cities in Italy, located in the plains of Lombardy. Ivanhoe is a romantic Opera in three acts based on the novel by Sir Walter Scott, with Music by Sir Arthur Sullivan and Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan MVO (13 May 1842 &ndash 22 November 1900 was an English composer of Irish and Italian descent best known for his operatic Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian era partnership of Librettist W The Palace Theatre, is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster. This was followed by La Basoche at the same opera house, after which he returned to Milan for further study. [5]
From 1893 to 1894 he toured Britain and Ireland with Sir Augustus Harris's Italian Opera Company to sing the principal tenor roles in Cavalleria Rusticana, Faust, I Pagliacci, Carmen, Lohengrin and Die Meistersinger, among others, his strong Heldentenor voice being particularly appropriate for the latter two roles. Lohengrin is a romantic Opera (or music drama in three acts composed and written by Richard Wagner. Sir Augustus Henry Glossop Harris ( 18 March 1852 &ndash 22 June 1896) was a British Actor, Impresario, and Dramatist The tenor is the highest male voice within the Modal register, just above the Baritone voice Cavalleria rusticana ( Rustic Chivalry) is an Opera in one act by Pietro Mascagni to an Italian Libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti Faust is an opera in five acts by Charles Gounod to a French libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré from Carré's play Pagliacci ( Players, or Clowns) is an Opera consisting of a prologue and two acts written and composed by Ruggero Leoncavallo. Carmen is a French Opéra comique by Georges Bizet. The Libretto is by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based Lohengrin is a romantic Opera (or music drama in three acts composed and written by Richard Wagner. Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (The Mastersingers of Nuremberg) is an Opera in three acts written and composed by Richard Wagner [6] In 1894 he first appeared at Covent Garden Theatre. WikipediaWikiProject Opera --> The Royal Opera House is an Opera house and major performing For three years, O'Mara was the principal tenor at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, also appearing in the pantomime of Jack and the Beanstalk there. The tenor is the highest male voice within the Modal register, just above the Baritone voice The Theatre Royal Drury Lane is a West End theatre in Covent Garden, in the City of Westminster, a borough of London. Jack and the Beanstalk is an English Fairy tale, closely associated with the tale of Jack the Giant Killer. He then played in the pantomime Aladdin at the Prince of Wales Theatre, Liverpool. In 1896, he created the tenor lead, Mike Murphy, in Charles Villiers Stanford's opera Shamus O'Brien, with Henry Wood conducting. Sir Charles Villiers Stanford (30 September 1852 &ndash 29 March 1924 was an Irish composer resident in England for much of his life After a tour of Britain and Ireland in Shamus O'Brien, the Harris company brought the opera to America in 1897, where, with his new wife, the former Miss Power, O'Mara enjoyed great personal success. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Throughout the rest of his career, Mike Murphy would remain one of O'Mara's signature roles. [7]
O'Mara and his wife returned to London for a series of concert engagements, but in the Autumn of 1897, they travelled again to America where O'Mara created the tenor lead in De Koven's The Highwayman. O'Mara gave many private concerts at the beginning of the new century, but happily returned to opera as leading tenor with the Moody-Manners Opera Company in London from 1902 to 1908, performing in Maritana, Cavalleria, Faust, Lohengrin, Pagliacci, Il Trovatore, Carmen, Charles Gounod's Romeo et Juliette, and the first English-language production of Puccini's Madame Butterfly (1907),[8] also performing extensively in Ireland with the company. Charles Manners ( 27 December 1857 &ndash 3 May 1935) was an English singer and opera company manager whose real name was Southcote Maritanasongjpg|right|thumb|300px|Sheet music from Maritana ]] Maritana is an Opera in three acts composed by William Vincent Wallace, with a Il trovatore ( The Troubadour) is an Opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian Libretto by Leone Emanuele Bardare Biography Gounod was born in Paris, the son of a pianist mother and a draftsman father Roméo et Juliette ( Romeo and Juliet) is an Opera in five acts by Charles Gounod to a French libretto by Jules WikipediaWikiProject Composers#Lead section --> Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini ( December 22, 1858 O'Mara was granted the Freedom of the City of Limerick in 1908, the only time that a singer achieved this honor. [9]
O'Mara achieved a number of "firsts" for Ireland and Irish tenors: He was the first tenor in Ireland to sing Enzo in La Gloconda and in 1908 the first such Rodolfo in La Boheme. Later he was the first to sing Cavaradossi in Ireland and in the same season was in the Irish premiere of Samson et Dalila. O'Mara's fame spread even further when he starred, in 1908, in Patrick Bidwell's musical Peggy Machree at The Broadway Theatre in New York City, earning uniformly enthusiastic reviews for his acting as well as his singing. Musical theatre is a form of Theatre combining Music, Songs spoken Dialogue and Dance. [10] In 1909, O'Mara returned to Britain and joined the Thomas Beecham Company, singing in Carmen, Faust and Tales of Hoffman, among others over the next few years, while also continuing to perform in concerts.
A recording of O'Mara survives from 1901, which was featured on Mo Cheol Thu, RTÉ Radio 1, on 25 October 1992. Events 1147 - The Portuguese, under Afonso I, and Crusaders from England and Flanders conquer Lisbon after a Year 1992 ( MCMXCII) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar) His recordings included "An April Birthday" and "Friend and Lover", by Landon Ronald, in 1902, and "Ochone! When I used to be young" from Seamus O'Brien, 1911.
O'Mara's Travelling Opera Company and last years
In 1912, he founded O'Mara's Travelling Opera Company, in which he was the principal tenor until 1926. In 1913 he opened their Dublin season singing Raoul in The Huguenots. At the Theatre Royal, Leeds, his company performed Puccini's La Boheme and Madame Butterfly in 1918 and Verdi's Rigoletto in 1921. Rigoletto is an Opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian Libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based The company also revived many Michael Balfe works. Michael William Balfe ( May 15, 1808 - October 20, 1870) was an Irish Composer, best known today for his Opera In all, O'Mara sang 67 tenor roles. The Irish Times of Dublin wrote in February, 1918: "Mr. O'Mara's Lohengrin is to my mind one of his best parts, it is not a hurricane of passion like 'Tannhauser', it demands a purer vocalism, a quiet dignity, a calm and spiritual character, and yet, at the back of it all, an abundance of reserve power. This is what we get from Mr. O'Mara, we never lose sight of the fact that his Lohengrin has come from another sphere and that no earthly Prince has power to restrain him, O'Mara sang his music with such fervour. "[11] His farewell performance was as Lohengrin in 1926.
In 1926, O'Mara was the first tenor to broadcast in Ireland at the opening of the new Irish radio station (Raidio 2RN - now R. T. É. ). [12] He and his wife had five children, Eileen, Nora, Power, Moya and Joey.
O'Mara died in Dublin at the age of 63. Dublin (ˈdʌblɨn/ /ˈdʊblɨn or /ˈdʊbəlɪn/, bˠalʲə aːha klʲiəh or cliə(ɸ is both the largest city and capital of Ireland.
References
- Potterton, Robert. Joseph O'Mara (1970)
- Riordan, Anthony. "Joseph O'Mara: Operatic Tenor" in Old Limerick Journal, No.29, Winter 1992
- Biography of O'Mara with collection of sources
- Smith, Gus. "Joseph O'Mara" in Irish Stars of the Opera, Madison Publishers Ltd (1994)
External links
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