Thomas Simpson Cooke facts for kids
Thomas Simpson Cooke (often called "Tom Cooke") (born July 1782 – died 26 February 1848) was a very important Irish musician. He was a composer, conductor, singer, and music director in London during the early 1800s. He played a big role in the opera world back then.
Life of Tom Cooke
Tom Cooke was born in Dublin, Ireland. His father, Bartlett Cooke, was also a musician. He played the oboe in theaters like Smock Alley and Crow Street. His father also helped start the Irish Musical Fund in 1787 and owned a music shop.
Tom Cooke started learning music from his father and another teacher named Tommaso Giordani. He was very talented from a young age! When he was just nine years old, on 14 February 1792, he had his first public concert in Dublin. He played the violin and sang.
In 1797, he became the leader of the orchestra at Crow Street Theatre. Soon after, he became the music director there. In 1804, he showed off his amazing skills at another concert. He played a special piece using eight different instruments: flute, violin, viola, cello, piano, clarinet, harp, and trumpet! He often did this impressive trick with various instruments.
In 1805, Tom Cooke married an actress and singer named Fanny Howells. Their oldest son, Henry Angelo Michael Cooke, also became a famous musician in London.
The Cooke family became friends with a very famous singer, Angelica Catalani. This happened after Tom led the orchestra for her first visit to Dublin in 1807.
In 1813, Tom Cooke decided to try something new. He moved from leading the orchestra to performing on stage! He sang a tenor role (a high male singing part) as Saraskier in an opera called The Siege of Belgrade. Later that year, he performed the same role in London at the English Opera House. He liked London so much that he decided to live there for the rest of his life.
Life in London
On 15 September 1815, Tom Cooke performed for the first time at the famous Drury Lane Theatre. He played Don Carlos in an opera called The Duenna. He stayed as the main tenor singer at Drury Lane for the next 20 years! He was especially good at playing characters who were sailors. People even started saying "in the style à la Tom Cooke" to describe his unique way of performing these roles.
He also worked on shows at other important theaters like the Lyceum, Haymarket, and Covent Garden. From 1828 to 1830, Cooke was the music director for the Vauxhall Gardens concerts. He was also the main tenor singer at the Bavarian embassy's chapel until 1838.
In 1828, he published a book on how to sing. This made him a very popular singing teacher. Many future famous singers learned from him, including Elizabeth Rainforth and John Sims Reeves.
Tom Cooke passed away at his home in Great Portland Street in 1848. He was buried at Kensal Green.
Tom Cooke's Music
Tom Cooke started composing music when he was very young. In Dublin, he wrote many orchestral overtures (music played at the beginning of a show) for plays. He also wrote many songs.
One of his early successes was a funny opera called The First Attempt, or The Whim of the Moment. He also wrote Thierna-na-Oge, or The Prince of the Lakes (1829). In these works, Cooke often used stories from old Celtic-Irish legends.
Tom Cooke was known for working with other composers. He often teamed up with people like Henry Bishop. He was involved in over 50 productions at Drury Lane Theatre! He also "adapted" or "Cooke'd" works by other famous composers like Auber and Rossini. This meant he changed their music to make it fit better for the British stage.
Selected Compositions
Tom Cooke wrote many operas and other musical pieces. Here are some of his original operas:
- Peleus and Thetis (Dublin, 1797)
- The Mountain Witches (Dublin, 1800)
- The First Attempt (Dublin, 1807)
- Frederick the Great (London, 1814)
- The King's Proxy (London, 1815)
- Bertram (London, 1816)
- The Innkeeper's Daughter (London, 1817)
- Faustus (London, 1825)
- Peter the Great (London, 1829)
- Thierna-na-Oge (London, 1829)
- The Ice Witch (London, 1831)
- The Child of the Wreck (London, 1837)
He also wrote other types of music:
- A trio for two violins and a cello (around 1805)
- Six Glees (songs for 3–4 voices with piano) (1844)
- Many orchestral overtures
- Lots of songs, glees, and catches (another type of song)
- Pieces for the piano
Recordings
You can hear some of Tom Cooke's music today! For example, his song Over Hill, Over Dale (with words by William Shakespeare) was recorded in 2005. It's a duet for two male singers and piano.
