Michael Kelly (tenor) facts for kids
Michael Kelly (born December 25, 1762 – died October 9, 1826) was a talented Irish singer (a tenor), a composer, and a manager of theaters. He had a very successful career in music that took him all over Europe. Michael Kelly was a key person in British musical theater around the late 1700s and early 1800s. He worked closely with the famous writer Richard Brinsley Sheridan.
Kelly also became good friends with well-known musicians like Mozart and Paisiello. He even created roles in their operas, meaning he was the first to sing certain parts. Along with his friend, singer Nancy Storace, he was one of the first tenors from Britain and Ireland to become famous in countries like Italy and Austria. In Italy, people sometimes called him O'Kelly or even Signor Ochelli.
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Michael Kelly's Early Life in Dublin
Michael Kelly' grew up in Dublin, Ireland. His father, Thomas Kelly, was a wine merchant and a dancing teacher. He held an important job as the Master of Ceremonies at Dublin Castle, which was the center of British government in Ireland.
Michael started learning music at a young age. He focused on singing and playing keyboard instruments. His first teachers were Italian musicians, Passerini and Niccolò Peretti. Peretti was a male singer with a high voice (a contralto) who had performed in London. Michael also learned keyboard from Michael Arne, the son of the famous composer Thomas Arne.
While studying at Dr. Burke's academy, Michael met many talented people. He continued his singing lessons with "Signor St Giorgio" and piano lessons with Philip Cogan. A family friend, the surgeon and violinist John Neale, also helped him learn music. Many famous musicians visited the Kelly family home, including François-Hippolyte Barthélemon and Johann Peter Salomon.
One important visitor was the male soprano Venanzio Rauzzini. He was a friend of Haydn and a teacher of young Nancy Storace. In 1778, Rauzzini took Michael Kelly under his wing in Dublin. He gave him lessons and taught him several songs. Rauzzini suggested that Michael should go to a music school in Italy. Michael's father started making plans for this. Meanwhile, Michael Arne stayed in Dublin and gave Michael daily music lessons.
Michael Kelly also made his first appearances on stage in Dublin. When a singer became ill, Kelly, who still had a high voice, stepped in to sing a main role in an Italian opera. He was very successful. Later, he performed in other plays and had a special show for his own benefit.
Studying and Performing in Italy (1779–1783)
In May 1779, Michael Kelly traveled to Naples, Italy. There, he was helped by Sir William Hamilton, a British diplomat. Kelly enrolled at the Santa Maria di Loreto music school. He started going to operas and ballets and met many important people, including the composer Domenico Cimarosa. Sir William Hamilton even helped him meet the King and Queen of Naples, for whom he sang.
In Naples, a famous male soprano named Giuseppe Aprile offered to teach Kelly for free. Kelly traveled with Aprile to Sicily in the spring of 1780. Aprile gave him daily lessons. During this time, Kelly's voice changed from a high treble to a tenor voice. He soon began singing tenor songs. Aprile taught him the works of famous Italian poets. When their time together ended, Aprile told Kelly he was ready to sing in any theater in Europe. He gave Kelly letters of introduction to help him find work.
Kelly then went to Livorno, where he first met Stephen and Nancy Storace. Nancy, who was only 15, was already a lead singer in comic operas there. Stephen Storace helped Kelly put on a concert. With the money he earned, Kelly traveled to Pisa and then to Florence. In Florence, he got a contract to be the main comic tenor at the Teatro Nuovo. He made a successful debut in an opera called Il francese in Italia.
After his contract in Florence, Kelly was offered a job in Venice. He traveled there, meeting many musicians along the way. Although that job didn't work out, he still went to operas and concerts. He met a singer named Benini, who took him on a tour to Graz. He performed in several operas. He then returned to Venice and was hired for a show in Brescia. However, a jealous manager caused trouble, and Kelly had to escape from the theater during a performance!
After a concert in Verona, Kelly met a famous amateur singer, Teresa de Petris. She invited him to sing with her. Her partner, Count Vidiman, hired Kelly for four months. Kelly then returned to Venice, where Nancy Storace was also performing. After his contract ended, Kelly and Storace were invited to join an Italian opera company. This company was being put together to perform regularly for Emperor Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor in Vienna, Austria.
Performing in Austria (1783–1787)
In Vienna, Michael Kelly met the Court composer Antonio Salieri. Kelly made a successful debut in Salieri's opera La scuola de' gelosi. The Emperor often attended performances and rehearsals. Kelly became friends with Salieri and other actors. He also visited Haydn at his home.
A special friendship began when Kelly met Wolfgang and Constanze Mozart at a dinner. Kelly often dined with Mozart and usually lost to him at billiards. He also became close friends with Mozart's young English student, Thomas Attwood.
Kelly often sang opposite Nancy Storace in the opera company. In 1785, they performed Stephen Storace's opera Gli sposi malcontenti. Kelly also performed in other operas and was praised for making a character funny by copying the mannerisms of the writer da Ponte. He and another singer played twin roles in Storace's Gli equivoci, which was based on Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors.
Paisiello's The Barber of Seville was performed with Nancy Storace. Kelly and another singer shared the role of the Count. When Paisiello visited the court, Kelly saw him meet Mozart. In 1784, Paisiello and the poet Giovanni Battista Casti created a new opera called Il re Teodoro in Venezia. Kelly played a funny role in this opera, and that character's name, Gaforio, became his nickname.
Each year, the Italian company traveled with the Emperor to Luxembourg for three months. In Vienna, Emperor Joseph arranged for two operas to be performed for visiting important guests: Iphigénie en Tauride and L'Alceste. Kelly performed in both, and the famous composer Gluck personally coached them.
In 1786, three new operas were being rehearsed. One was by Vincenzo Righini, another was Salieri's La grotta di Trofonio, and the third was Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro. Kelly took on two important roles in The Marriage of Figaro: Don Curzio (who stutters) and Don Basilio. Nancy Storace played Susanna. Kelly was very good friends with Mozart. He was even the first to hear a duet from the opera while the ink was still wet on the music! Kelly insisted on stuttering in his role, even though Mozart initially didn't want him to. Kelly's performance turned out to be a great success, and Mozart was very pleased.
Kelly had offers to work at the Drury Lane theater in London. After one more season in Luxembourg, he got permission to visit his family in Ireland. However, he stayed in Vienna until February 1787, performing in another opera. Then, he set off for England with Nancy and Stephen Storace, their mother, and Thomas Attwood. He and Mozart said goodbye with tears, showing their strong friendship. They stopped in several cities like Munich and Paris, seeing great performers, before arriving in London in mid-March.
Life at Old Drury Lane Theatre (1787–1791)
In London, Michael Kelly quickly met with Thomas Linley the elder and his daughters, including Mrs. Sheridan. He also saw famous actors like John Philip Kemble and Mrs Crouch. Kelly made his debut at the Drury Lane Theatre in an opera by Charles Dibdin. He then performed in another opera, adding a German song in English. He often performed with Mrs. Crouch, who became his stage partner for many years.
Kelly also began singing in oratorios (musical works for choir and orchestra, usually on religious themes). He sang in a Handel concert at Westminster Abbey in 1787. In June, he and Mrs. Crouch performed in Dublin and then toured cities like York and Leeds. This summer tour became a regular part of his yearly schedule. For their London season, they performed new and revived operas.
In the summer of 1788, Kelly and Mrs. Crouch toured more cities in England. Kelly decided not to return to Vienna. He began working with the famous singer Mme Mara. He was hired as the main tenor for the Ancient Concerts, where he sang Handel's music. He worked hard on these songs and brought a fresh, funny touch to some of them, which the royal audience loved. In October 1788, he sang in London and at the Norwich Festival. He often performed a famous part from Handel's Israel in Egypt with Mme Mara.
In April 1789, Kelly played the role of Macheath in The Beggar's Opera for the first time, with Mrs. Crouch as Polly. He had a big hit in Storace's The Haunted Tower, singing a very high note in the popular song "Spirit of my sainted sire." In August 1790, he visited Paris with Mr. and Mrs. Crouch, seeing French operas that they later performed in English versions. In 1791, they started the year at Drury Lane with Stephen Storace's The Siege of Belgrade. On June 4, they performed for the very last night of the Old Drury Lane Theatre, which was then closed and torn down.
Later Life and Career
After 1787, Michael Kelly became the main English-language tenor at the Drury Lane theatre in London. In 1793, he became the acting manager of the King's Theatre. He was also very popular for concerts.
In 1826, he published his interesting book of memories called Reminiscences, which he wrote with help from Theodore Hook. Besides his work in theater, he also ran a music shop and a wine shop. However, these businesses did not do well financially. Michael Kelly passed away in Margate at the age of 64.
Michael Kelly's Compositions
It's hard to know exactly how many pieces Michael Kelly composed. In his book Reminiscences, he listed 62 works for various London theaters. He said he "composed and selected" these works. This means he often mixed his own music with music by other composers. Sometimes, he would arrange other people's music to fit his needs. So, it's not always clear how much of the music was originally his. In some cases, Kelly only wrote the melody and had other musicians help with the orchestration (arranging music for different instruments).
It is believed that the first Cinderella Pantomime in England was produced in 1804 at Drury Lane, with music by Michael Kelly. He also worked with Thomas Moore on a comic opera called The Gypsy Prince in 1801, but it was not successful.
Some of his original operas include:
- Blue Beard, or Female Curiosity (written with George Colman the Younger), a "Grand Dramatic Romance"; first performed in London on January 16, 1798.
- Pizarro (written with Richard Brinsley Sheridan), a musical play; first performed in London on May 24, 1799.
- Love Laughs at Locksmith (written with George Colman the Younger), a comic opera; first performed in London on July 25, 1803.
Kelly also wrote many songs. One of his most famous songs is The Woodpecker, which used words by Thomas Moore.
More About Michael Kelly
The fun stories from Kelly's Reminiscences are mentioned in other articles:
- Nancy Storace - learn about this singer's amazing talent as a teenager.
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - read Kelly's description of what Mozart looked like.
- Mozart and dance - find out how good Mozart was at dancing.
- Haydn and Mozart - Kelly described a party where Haydn and Mozart played music together.
- Francesco Benucci - discover the amazing effect of Mozart's song Non piu andrai on the singers during the first rehearsals of The Marriage of Figaro.
