John D'Auban
Encyclopedia
Frederick John D'Auban was an English dancer, choreographer and actor of the Victorian
and Edwardian eras. Famous during his lifetime as the ballet-master at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
, he is best remembered as the choreographer of many of the Gilbert and Sullivan
operas.
After performing as a child with his family, D'Auban continued a career as a comic dancer in music hall
and pantomime
. He also served as dance master for the Alhambra Theatre
, the Gaiety Theatre, London
, and, for decades, Drury Lane. In 1868, he began a long association with W. S. Gilbert
, staging the dances for most of the original productions of the Gilbert and Sullivan
operas, including H.M.S. Pinafore
(1878) and The Mikado
(1885), as well as many other Savoy opera
s. Between the 1860s and 1909, D'Auban choreographed more than 150 productions, including pantomimes, burlesques, musical comedies and comic opera
s. He also taught dance to many who became famous performers.
in 1863. They appeared together in a Harlequinade
at the opening of the Surrey Theatre
, as Harlequin and Columbine, which ran during the Christmas season that year. They repeated their Harlequinade with variations during the Christmas seasons of 1868, 1869 and 1871.
D'Auban quickly became popular as a grotesque dancer and "star-trap" performer in London music halls early in his career. From 1865 to 1868, he danced in many of the Alhambra Theatre
burlesques and pantomime
s under director John Hollingshead
. He made a sensation in Paris in 1866, introducing that city to the star-trap. According to Hollingshead, D'Auban was the champion of star-trap jumpers, able to spring through the trap, from below the stage, high up in the air in sight of the audience.
D'Auban began his forty-year association with W. S. Gilbert
in 1868 by appearing in the bill at the opening of Hollingshead's Gaiety Theatre, London
, including as one of two mysterious fiddlers in Gilbert's burlesque Robert the Devil
. The other was John Warde, elder brother of Willie Warde
. D'Auban and John Warde were billed at the theatre's "principal grotesque dancers and pantomimists". D'Auban then acted as ballet-master at the Gaiety, choreographing its famous burlesques, until 1891. In 1870 and in 1875 at the Gaiety, D'Auban choreographed Charles Dibdin
's musical farce, The Waterman. From 1868 to 1909, D'Auban arranged the dances for more than 150 productions in the West End
, at 30 different theatres.
D'Auban married Warde's sister, Emma, in 1871, with whom he also performed. In the 1871 Christmas season, in the Harlequinade section of the pantomime Nip Van Winkle at the Pavilion Theatre
, D'Auban played Harlequin, Emma was the "Harlequin à la Watteau", D'Auban's sister Marie was Columbine, and John Warde was Clown. The next Christmas, D'Auban and John Warde appeared together as the eponymous Valentine and Orson at the Elephant and Castle Theatre. At the Gaiety, D'Auban appeared in and choreographed Fiz-Gig, "a new pantomimic ballet" in 1874.
comic opera
Princess Toto
, starring Kate Santley
. In 1877, D'Auban began working with Richard D'Oyly Carte
, Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan
by arranging the dances for their comic opera The Sorcerer
. In 1878, D'Auban trained Gilbert in his dances as Harlequin
for the Harlequinade section of The Forty Thieves
. D'Auban arranged the dances for the next Gilbert and Sullivan
opera, H.M.S. Pinafore
, which became extraordinarily successful. For the Christmas season in 1879, he choreographed the extravaganza
burlesque of Gulliver's Travels by H. J. Byron at the Gaiety.
In 1880, D'Auban choreographed and appeared with his wife and sister in E. L. Blanchard's pantomime of Mother Goose at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
. Thereafter, until at least 1909, he was ballet-master and director at Drury Lane, especially of the pantomimes, where he also continued to perform in the Christmas pantomimes. His son, Ernest Henry D'Auban (1874–1941), became the stage manager at Drury Lane for many years. In 1881, D'Auban appeared in and arranged the dances for Robinson Crusoe, followed in subsequent years by such Drury Lane pantomimes as Sinbad The Sailor, Cinderella and Aladdin. In 1880, he choreographed Billee Taylor
at the Imperial Theatre
, Franz von Suppé
's Boccaccio for H. B. Farnie, The Vicar of Bray
at the Globe Theatre
, and Rip van Winkle by Henri Meilhac
, Phillipe Gille and Farnie, both at the Comedy Theatre.
In 1886, D'Auban choreographed Vetah, a comic opera with a libretto by Kate Santley and music by Firmin Bernicat and Georges Jacobi, which toured the British provinces in 1886. He played Demonico in Frankenstein, or The Vampire's Victim
in 1887 at the Gaiety and arranged the dances. He also choreographed Faust up to date
by Meyer Lutz
, including his famous ballet music, a Pas de Quatre (1888), that became very popular and is still available today on CD. In 1889, he choreographed Cinderella; Or, Ladybird, Ladybird, Fly Away Home at Her Majesty's Theatre
and both choreographed and appeared in Aladdin, and the Wonderful Lamp; or, The Willow Pattern plate and the Flying Crystal Palace at the Crystal Palace. Other later Gaiety burlesques choreographed by D'Auban included Ruy Blas and the Blasé Roue
(1889) and Carmen Up to Data
(1990).
D'Auban continued to choreograph most of the Gilbert and Sullivan and other Savoy Theatre
pieces throughout the 1880s and 1890s. These included Iolanthe
(1882),Princess Ida
(1884), The Mikado
(1885) (D'Auban is played by Andy Serkis
in the 1999 film Topsy-Turvy
concerning the making of The Mikado), Ruddigore
(1887), The Yeomen of the Guard
(1888), The Vicar of Bray
(1892), Captain Billy
(1892), Haddon Hall
(1892), Jane Annie
(1892) , Utopia Limited (1893), The Chieftain
(1894), The Grand Duke
(1896), His Majesty (1897), The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein (1897), The Beauty Stone
(1898) and The Emerald Isle
(1901).
, in some of which he also danced. In addition to the many comic operas that he choreographed at the Savoy in the 1990s, he choreographed a series of musical pieces at the Lyric Theatre, beginning with The Red Hussar
(1889), and including La Cigale
(1890), Little Christopher Columbus
(1893) and others. In 1890, D'Auban played the Beast in the Drury Lane's Christmas pantomime of Beauty and the Beast, and he both performed in and choreographed Humpty Dumpty or, Harlequin the Yellow Dwarf, and the Fair One with the Golden Locks (1891). He and his wife danced in a revised version of The Golden Web, libretto by Frederick Corder and B. C. Stephenson
, music by Arthur Goring Thomas
at the Lyric in 1893. He was the resident choreographer at the Adelphi Theatre
in 1892 to 1893.
His other choreographic work during this period embraced pantomime, comic opera and musical comedy
, including a revival of the hit comic opera Dorothy
by B. C. Stephenson and Alfred Cellier
at the Trafalgar Square Theatre
(1892), Gilbert's The Mountebanks at the Lyric (1892), The Black Domino by George R. Sims and Robert Buchanan at the Adelphi Theatre
(1893) and Gilbert's His Excellency
at the Lyric (1894). At the beginning of the transition of British musical theatre from comic opera and burlesque to Edwardian musical comedy
, he choreographed An Artist's Model
at Daly's Theatre
for George Edwardes
in 1895. In 1896, he choreographed a revised version of a musical, The New Barmaid, followed by A Man About Town and The Mermaids at the Avenue Theatre, Aladdin at Drury Lane, in which his son Ernest appeared with Decima Moore
, Dan Leno
and Paul Cinquevalli
and Black-ey'ed Susan at the Adelphi. He then choreographed A Day in Paris or, Lost! Stolen!! Strayed!!! (1897) a musical comedy by J. Cheever Goodwin, Woolson Morse and Leslie Stuart
at the Duke of York's Theatre
and Babes in the Wood
at Drury Lane (1898). In 1897, he was also back at Her Majesty's Theatre with Rip Van Winkle, Hansel and Gretel and The 'Prentice Pillar and at the Shaftesbury Theatre
choreographing The Yashmak
and The Wizard of the Nile
.
In 1900 and 1901, D'Auban returned to the Globe Theatre with The Gay Pretenders, A Little Supper and Sweet Nell of Old Drury. Also in 1900, he was at the Haymarket Theatre
with Sweet Nell of Old Drury and The School for Scandal
. In 1903, he choreographed Monsieur Beaucaire
at the Imperial, also choreographing many revivals of this piece in London throughout the decade. He choreographed W. S. Gilbert's Harlequin and the Fairy's Dilemma at the Garrick Theatre
(1904). In 1905, he first choreographed The Scarlet Pimpernel
at the New Theatre
, a work that he saw through several revivals. He then choreographed revivals of The Yeomen of the Guard (1906) and The Gondoliers (1907) at the Savoy for Helen Carte. His final productions were Gilbert's last opera, Fallen Fairies
(1909) and another Aladdin at Drury Lane, both in December 1909.
, Mabel Love
, Margaret Morris
, Lillie Langtry
, Mary Anderson
and Letty Lind
. He partly inspired the art of skirt dancing.
The humour magazine Punch
honoured D'Auban in the following verse:
D'Auban died at his home in Maida Vale
, London at the age of 80.
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
and Edwardian eras. Famous during his lifetime as the ballet-master at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane is a West End theatre in Covent Garden, in the City of Westminster, a borough of London. The building faces Catherine Street and backs onto Drury Lane. The building standing today is the most recent in a line of four theatres at the same location dating back to 1663,...
, he is best remembered as the choreographer of many of the Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the librettist W. S. Gilbert and the composer Arthur Sullivan . The two men collaborated on fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which H.M.S...
operas.
After performing as a child with his family, D'Auban continued a career as a comic dancer in music hall
Music hall
Music Hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960. The term can refer to:# A particular form of variety entertainment involving a mixture of popular song, comedy and speciality acts...
and pantomime
Pantomime
Pantomime — not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime—is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is mostly performed during the...
. He also served as dance master for the Alhambra Theatre
Alhambra Theatre
The Alhambra was a popular theatre and music hall located on the east side of Leicester Square, in the West End of London. It was built originally as The Royal Panopticon of Science and Arts opening on 18 March 1854. It was closed after two years and reopened as the Alhambra. The building was...
, the Gaiety Theatre, London
Gaiety Theatre, London
The Gaiety Theatre, London was a West End theatre in London, located on Aldwych at the eastern end of the Strand. The theatre was established as the Strand Musick Hall , in 1864 on the former site of the Lyceum Theatre. It was rebuilt several times, but closed from the beginning of World War II...
, and, for decades, Drury Lane. In 1868, he began a long association with W. S. Gilbert
W. S. Gilbert
Sir William Schwenck Gilbert was an English dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for his fourteen comic operas produced in collaboration with the composer Sir Arthur Sullivan, of which the most famous include H.M.S...
, staging the dances for most of the original productions of the Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the librettist W. S. Gilbert and the composer Arthur Sullivan . The two men collaborated on fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which H.M.S...
operas, including H.M.S. Pinafore
H.M.S. Pinafore
H.M.S. Pinafore; or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It opened at the Opera Comique in London, England, on 25 May 1878 and ran for 571 performances, which was the second-longest run of any musical...
(1878) and The Mikado
The Mikado
The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen operatic collaborations...
(1885), as well as many other Savoy opera
Savoy opera
The Savoy Operas denote a style of comic opera that developed in Victorian England in the late 19th century, with W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan as the original and most successful practitioners. The name is derived from the Savoy Theatre, which impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte built to house...
s. Between the 1860s and 1909, D'Auban choreographed more than 150 productions, including pantomimes, burlesques, musical comedies and comic opera
Comic opera
Comic opera denotes a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending.Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a new operatic genre, opera buffa, emerged as an alternative to opera seria...
s. He also taught dance to many who became famous performers.
Early years
As a child, D'Auban appeared with his sister, Marie, as Madame D'Auban's "celebrated infant dancers", from 1850 onwards, and continued to appear as part of the D'Auban family song and dance act throughout his childhood. As adults, he and his sister appeared together in a comic dance double act at the Crystal PalaceThe Crystal Palace
The Crystal Palace was a cast-iron and glass building originally erected in Hyde Park, London, England, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. More than 14,000 exhibitors from around the world gathered in the Palace's of exhibition space to display examples of the latest technology developed in...
in 1863. They appeared together in a Harlequinade
Harlequinade
Harlequinade is a comic theatrical genre, defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as "that part of a pantomime in which the harlequin and clown play the principal parts". It developed in England between the 17th and mid-19th centuries...
at the opening of the Surrey Theatre
Surrey Theatre
The Surrey Theatre began life in 1782 as the Royal Circus and Equestrian Philharmonic Academy, one of the many circuses that provided contemporary London entertainment of both horsemanship and drama...
, as Harlequin and Columbine, which ran during the Christmas season that year. They repeated their Harlequinade with variations during the Christmas seasons of 1868, 1869 and 1871.
Burlesque, pantomime and other early work
Alhambra Theatre
The Alhambra was a popular theatre and music hall located on the east side of Leicester Square, in the West End of London. It was built originally as The Royal Panopticon of Science and Arts opening on 18 March 1854. It was closed after two years and reopened as the Alhambra. The building was...
burlesques and pantomime
Pantomime
Pantomime — not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime—is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is mostly performed during the...
s under director John Hollingshead
John Hollingshead
John Hollingshead was an English theatrical impresario, journalist and writer during the latter half of the 19th century. He is best remembered as the first manager of the Gaiety Theatre, London...
. He made a sensation in Paris in 1866, introducing that city to the star-trap. According to Hollingshead, D'Auban was the champion of star-trap jumpers, able to spring through the trap, from below the stage, high up in the air in sight of the audience.
D'Auban began his forty-year association with W. S. Gilbert
W. S. Gilbert
Sir William Schwenck Gilbert was an English dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for his fourteen comic operas produced in collaboration with the composer Sir Arthur Sullivan, of which the most famous include H.M.S...
in 1868 by appearing in the bill at the opening of Hollingshead's Gaiety Theatre, London
Gaiety Theatre, London
The Gaiety Theatre, London was a West End theatre in London, located on Aldwych at the eastern end of the Strand. The theatre was established as the Strand Musick Hall , in 1864 on the former site of the Lyceum Theatre. It was rebuilt several times, but closed from the beginning of World War II...
, including as one of two mysterious fiddlers in Gilbert's burlesque Robert the Devil
Robert the Devil (Gilbert)
Robert the Devil, or The Nun, the Dun, and the Son of a Gun is an operatic parody by W. S. Gilbert of Giacomo Meyerbeer's romantic opera Robert le diable, which was named after, but bears little resemblance to, the medieval French legend of the same name. Gilbert set new lyrics to tunes by...
. The other was John Warde, elder brother of Willie Warde
Willie Warde
Willie Warde was an English actor, dancer, singer and choreographer. The son of a dancer, his first theatre work was with a dance company. He was engaged to arrange dances for London productions and was later cast as a comic actor in musical theatre...
. D'Auban and John Warde were billed at the theatre's "principal grotesque dancers and pantomimists". D'Auban then acted as ballet-master at the Gaiety, choreographing its famous burlesques, until 1891. In 1870 and in 1875 at the Gaiety, D'Auban choreographed Charles Dibdin
Charles Dibdin
Charles Dibdin was a British musician, dramatist, novelist, actor and songwriter. The son of a parish clerk, he was born in Southampton on or before 4 March 1745, and was the youngest of a family of 18....
's musical farce, The Waterman. From 1868 to 1909, D'Auban arranged the dances for more than 150 productions in the West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
, at 30 different theatres.
D'Auban married Warde's sister, Emma, in 1871, with whom he also performed. In the 1871 Christmas season, in the Harlequinade section of the pantomime Nip Van Winkle at the Pavilion Theatre
Pavilion Theatre
Pavilion Theatre may refer to:*Pavilion Theatre , Scotland*Pavilion Theatre , part of the Bournemouth International Centre complex*Pavilion Theatre , southern England...
, D'Auban played Harlequin, Emma was the "Harlequin à la Watteau", D'Auban's sister Marie was Columbine, and John Warde was Clown. The next Christmas, D'Auban and John Warde appeared together as the eponymous Valentine and Orson at the Elephant and Castle Theatre. At the Gaiety, D'Auban appeared in and choreographed Fiz-Gig, "a new pantomimic ballet" in 1874.
Comic opera; Drury Lane
In 1876, D'Auban arranged the dances for the Gilbert and Frederic ClayFrederic Clay
Frederic Emes Clay was an English composer known principally for his music written for the stage. Clay, a great friend of Arthur Sullivan's, wrote four comic operas with W. S...
comic opera
Comic opera
Comic opera denotes a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending.Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a new operatic genre, opera buffa, emerged as an alternative to opera seria...
Princess Toto
Princess Toto
Princess Toto is a three-act comic opera by W. S. Gilbert and his long-time collaborator Frederic Clay. It opened on 24 June 1876 at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham, starring Kate Santley, W. S. Penley and J. H. Ryley. It transferred to the Royal Strand Theatre in London on 2 October 1876 for a run...
, starring Kate Santley
Kate Santley
Kate Santley was an American-born English actress, singer, comedienne, and theatre manager. Her brother was the English baritone, Sir Charles Santley, famous in Wagner's Flying Dutchman among other roles.-Musical theatre career:...
. In 1877, D'Auban began working with Richard D'Oyly Carte
Richard D'Oyly Carte
Richard D'Oyly Carte was an English talent agent, theatrical impresario, composer and hotelier during the latter half of the Victorian era...
, Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan
Arthur Sullivan
Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan MVO was an English composer of Irish and Italian ancestry. He is best known for his series of 14 operatic collaborations with the dramatist W. S. Gilbert, including such enduring works as H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado...
by arranging the dances for their comic opera The Sorcerer
The Sorcerer
The Sorcerer is a two-act comic opera, with a libretto by W. S. Gilbert and music by Arthur Sullivan. It was the British duo's third operatic collaboration. The plot of The Sorcerer is based on a Christmas story, An Elixir of Love, that Gilbert wrote for The Graphic magazine in 1876...
. In 1878, D'Auban trained Gilbert in his dances as Harlequin
Harlequin
Harlequin or Arlecchino in Italian, Arlequin in French, and Arlequín in Spanish is the most popularly known of the zanni or comic servant characters from the Italian Commedia dell'arte and its descendant, the Harlequinade.-Origins:...
for the Harlequinade section of The Forty Thieves
The Forty Thieves
The Forty Thieves is a "Pantomime Burlesque" written by Robert Reece, W. S. Gilbert, F. C. Burnand and Henry J. Byron, created in 1878 as an amateur production for the Beefsteak Club of London. The Beefsteak Club still meets in Irving Street, London. It was founded by actor John Lawrence Toole...
. D'Auban arranged the dances for the next Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the librettist W. S. Gilbert and the composer Arthur Sullivan . The two men collaborated on fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which H.M.S...
opera, H.M.S. Pinafore
H.M.S. Pinafore
H.M.S. Pinafore; or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It opened at the Opera Comique in London, England, on 25 May 1878 and ran for 571 performances, which was the second-longest run of any musical...
, which became extraordinarily successful. For the Christmas season in 1879, he choreographed the extravaganza
Extravaganza
An extravaganza is a literary or musical work characterized by freedom of style and structure and usually containing elements of burlesque, pantomime, music hall and parody. It sometimes also has elements of cabaret, circus, revue, variety, vaudeville and mime...
burlesque of Gulliver's Travels by H. J. Byron at the Gaiety.
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane is a West End theatre in Covent Garden, in the City of Westminster, a borough of London. The building faces Catherine Street and backs onto Drury Lane. The building standing today is the most recent in a line of four theatres at the same location dating back to 1663,...
. Thereafter, until at least 1909, he was ballet-master and director at Drury Lane, especially of the pantomimes, where he also continued to perform in the Christmas pantomimes. His son, Ernest Henry D'Auban (1874–1941), became the stage manager at Drury Lane for many years. In 1881, D'Auban appeared in and arranged the dances for Robinson Crusoe, followed in subsequent years by such Drury Lane pantomimes as Sinbad The Sailor, Cinderella and Aladdin. In 1880, he choreographed Billee Taylor
Billee Taylor
Billee Taylor, or The Reward of Virtue is "a nautical comedy opera" by Edward Solomon, with a libretto by Henry Pottinger Stephens.The piece was first produced at the Imperial Theatre in London on 30 October 1880, starring Arthur Williams as Sir Mincing Lane and Frederick Rivers as Billee. It...
at the Imperial Theatre
Royal Aquarium
The Royal Aquarium and Winter Garden was a Westminster, London place of amusement opened in 1876. The building was demolished in 1903. It was located immediately to the west of Westminster Abbey on Tothill Street. The building was designed by Alfred Bedborough in a highly ornamental style faced...
, Franz von Suppé
Franz von Suppé
Franz von Suppé or Francesco Suppé Demelli was an Austrian composer of light operas who was born in what is now Croatia during the time his father was working in this outpost of the Austro-Hungarian Empire...
's Boccaccio for H. B. Farnie, The Vicar of Bray
The Vicar of Bray (opera)
The Vicar of Bray is a comic opera by Edward Solomon with a libretto by Sydney Grundy which opened at the Globe Theatre, in London, on 22 July 1882, for a run of only 69 performances. The public was not amused at a clergyman's being made the subject of ridicule, and the opera was regarded by some...
at the Globe Theatre
Globe Theatre (Newcastle Street)
The Globe was a Victorian theatre built in 1868 and demolished in 1902. It was the third of five London theatres to bear the name. It was also known at various times as the Royal Globe Theatre or Globe Theatre Royal. Its repertoire consisted mainly of comedies and musical shows...
, and Rip van Winkle by Henri Meilhac
Henri Meilhac
Henri Meilhac , was a French dramatist and opera librettist.-Biography:Meilhac was born in Paris in 1831. As a young man, he began writing fanciful articles for Parisian newspapers and vaudevilles, in a vivacious boulevardier spirit which brought him to the forefront...
, Phillipe Gille and Farnie, both at the Comedy Theatre.
In 1886, D'Auban choreographed Vetah, a comic opera with a libretto by Kate Santley and music by Firmin Bernicat and Georges Jacobi, which toured the British provinces in 1886. He played Demonico in Frankenstein, or The Vampire's Victim
Frankenstein, or The Vampire's Victim
Frankenstein, or The Vampire's Victim is a musical burlesque written by Richard Henry . The music was composed by Meyer Lutz...
in 1887 at the Gaiety and arranged the dances. He also choreographed Faust up to date
Faust up to date
Faust up to Date is a musical burlesque with a score written by Meyer Lutz . The libretto was written by G. R. Sims and Henry Pettitt...
by Meyer Lutz
Meyer Lutz
Wilhelm Meyer Lutz was a German-born English composer and conductor who is best known for light music, musical theatre and burlesques of well-known works....
, including his famous ballet music, a Pas de Quatre (1888), that became very popular and is still available today on CD. In 1889, he choreographed Cinderella; Or, Ladybird, Ladybird, Fly Away Home at Her Majesty's Theatre
Her Majesty's Theatre
Her Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre, in Haymarket, City of Westminster, London. The present building was designed by Charles J. Phipps and was constructed in 1897 for actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, who established the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art at the theatre...
and both choreographed and appeared in Aladdin, and the Wonderful Lamp; or, The Willow Pattern plate and the Flying Crystal Palace at the Crystal Palace. Other later Gaiety burlesques choreographed by D'Auban included Ruy Blas and the Blasé Roue
Ruy Blas and the Blase Roue
Ruy Blas and the Blasé Roué is a burlesque written by A. C. Torr and Herbert F. Clark with music by Meyer Lutz. It is based on the Victor Hugo drama Ruy Blas. The piece was produced by George Edwardes. As with many of the Gaiety burlesques, the title is a pun...
(1889) and Carmen Up to Data
Carmen up to Data
Carmen up to Data is a musical burlesque with a score written by Meyer Lutz. The piece was a spoof of Bizet's 1875 opera Carmen. The libretto was written by G. R. Sims and Henry Pettitt....
(1990).
D'Auban continued to choreograph most of the Gilbert and Sullivan and other Savoy Theatre
Savoy Theatre
The Savoy Theatre is a West End theatre located in the Strand in the City of Westminster, London, England. The theatre opened on 10 October 1881 and was built by Richard D'Oyly Carte on the site of the old Savoy Palace as a showcase for the popular series of comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan,...
pieces throughout the 1880s and 1890s. These included Iolanthe
Iolanthe
Iolanthe; or, The Peer and the Peri is a comic opera with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It is one of the Savoy operas and is the seventh collaboration of the fourteen between Gilbert and Sullivan....
(1882),Princess Ida
Princess Ida
Princess Ida; or, Castle Adamant is a comic opera with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It was their eighth operatic collaboration of fourteen. Princess Ida opened at the Savoy Theatre on January 5, 1884, for a run of 246 performances...
(1884), The Mikado
The Mikado
The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen operatic collaborations...
(1885) (D'Auban is played by Andy Serkis
Andy Serkis
Andrew Clement G. "Andy" Serkis is an English actor, director and author. He is popularly known for playing Gollum in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, for which he earned several award nominations, including the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in The Two Towers...
in the 1999 film Topsy-Turvy
Topsy-Turvy
Topsy-Turvy is a 1999 musical drama film written and directed by Mike Leigh and stars Allan Corduner as Arthur Sullivan and Jim Broadbent as W. S. Gilbert, along with Timothy Spall and Lesley Manville. The story concerns the 15-month period in 1884 and 1885 leading up to the premiere of Gilbert...
concerning the making of The Mikado), Ruddigore
Ruddigore
Ruddigore; or, The Witch's Curse, originally called Ruddygore, is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It is one of the Savoy Operas and the tenth of fourteen comic operas written together by Gilbert and Sullivan...
(1887), The Yeomen of the Guard
The Yeomen of the Guard
The Yeomen of the Guard; or, The Merryman and His Maid, is a Savoy Opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It premiered at the Savoy Theatre on 3 October 1888, and ran for 423 performances...
(1888), The Vicar of Bray
The Vicar of Bray
The Vicar of Bray is a satirical description of an individual fundamentally changing his principles to remain in ecclesiastical office as external requirements change around him...
(1892), Captain Billy
Captain Billy
Captain Billy is a one-act comic opera with a libretto by Harry Greenbank and music by François Cellier. It was first performed at the Savoy Theatre on 24 September 1891 until 16 January 1892, as a curtain raiser to The Nautch Girl, and from 1 February 1892 to 18 June 1892, as a curtain raiser to...
(1892), Haddon Hall
Haddon Hall
Haddon Hall is an English country house on the River Wye at Bakewell, Derbyshire, one of the seats of the Duke of Rutland, occupied by Lord Edward Manners and his family. In form a medieval manor house, it has been described as "the most complete and most interesting house of [its]...
(1892), Jane Annie
Jane Annie
Jane Annie, or The Good Conduct Prize is an opera written in 1893 by J. M. Barrie and Arthur Conan Doyle, with music by Ernest Ford, a conductor and occasional composer....
(1892) , Utopia Limited (1893), The Chieftain
The Chieftain
The Chieftain is a two-act comic opera by Arthur Sullivan and F. C. Burnand based on their 1867 opera, The Contrabandista. It consists of substantially the same first act as the 1867 work with a completely new second act...
(1894), The Grand Duke
The Grand Duke
The Grand Duke; or, The Statutory Duel, is the final Savoy Opera written by librettist W. S. Gilbert and composer Arthur Sullivan, their fourteenth and last opera together. It premiered at the Savoy Theatre on March 7, 1896, and ran for 123 performances...
(1896), His Majesty (1897), The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein (1897), The Beauty Stone
The Beauty Stone
The Beauty Stone is an opera, billed as a "romantic musical drama" in three acts, composed by Arthur Sullivan to a libretto by Arthur Wing Pinero and J. Comyns Carr. The medieval Faustian story concerns an ugly, crippled girl, who dreams of being beautiful and meeting a handsome prince. The Devil...
(1898) and The Emerald Isle
The Emerald Isle
The Emerald Isle; or, The Caves of Carrig-Cleena, is a two-act comic opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and Edward German, and a libretto by Basil Hood. It premiered at the Savoy Theatre on 27 April 1901, closing on 9 November 1901 after a run of 205 performances...
(1901).
1890s and 1900s
The 1890s were D'Auban's most prolific decade as a choreographer, with more than 70 productions in the West EndWest End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
, in some of which he also danced. In addition to the many comic operas that he choreographed at the Savoy in the 1990s, he choreographed a series of musical pieces at the Lyric Theatre, beginning with The Red Hussar
The Red Hussar
The Red Hussar is a comedy opera in three acts by Edward Solomon, with a libretto by Henry Pottinger Stephens, which opened at the Lyric Theatre in London on 23 November 1889, running for 175 performances. It was the revised version of an opera written several years earlier called The White Sergeant...
(1889), and including La Cigale
La Cigale
La Cigale is a theater at 120, boulevard de Rochechouart near Place Pigalle, in the 18th arrondissement of Paris. The theatre is part of a complex that is connected to Le Trabendo and the Boule Noire. The hall can accommodate 1389 people or 954 people...
(1890), Little Christopher Columbus
Little Christopher Columbus
Little Christopher Columbus is a burlesque opera in two acts, with music by Ivan Caryll and Gustave Kerker and a libretto by George R. Sims and Cecil Raleigh. It opened on 10 October 1893 at the Lyric Theatre in London and then transferred to Terry's Theatre, running for a total of 421...
(1893) and others. In 1890, D'Auban played the Beast in the Drury Lane's Christmas pantomime of Beauty and the Beast, and he both performed in and choreographed Humpty Dumpty or, Harlequin the Yellow Dwarf, and the Fair One with the Golden Locks (1891). He and his wife danced in a revised version of The Golden Web, libretto by Frederick Corder and B. C. Stephenson
B. C. Stephenson
Benjamin Charles Stephenson or B. C. Stephenson was an English dramatist, lyricist and librettist. After beginning a career in the civil service, he started to write for the theatre, using the pen name "Bolton Rowe". He was author or co-author of several long-running shows of the Victorian theatre...
, music by Arthur Goring Thomas
Arthur Goring Thomas
Arthur Goring Thomas was an English composer. He was the youngest son of Freeman Thomas and Amelia, daughter of Colonel Thomas Frederick.He was born at Ratton Park, Sussex, and educated at Haileybury College...
at the Lyric in 1893. He was the resident choreographer at the Adelphi Theatre
Adelphi Theatre
The Adelphi Theatre is a 1500-seat West End theatre, located on the Strand in the City of Westminster. The present building is the fourth on the site. The theatre has specialised in comedy and musical theatre, and today it is a receiving house for a variety of productions, including many musicals...
in 1892 to 1893.
His other choreographic work during this period embraced pantomime, comic opera and musical comedy
Edwardian Musical Comedy
Edwardian musical comedies were British musical theatre shows from the period between the early 1890s, when the Gilbert and Sullivan operas' dominance had ended, until the rise of the American musicals by Jerome Kern, Rodgers and Hart, George Gershwin and Cole Porter following World War I.Between...
, including a revival of the hit comic opera Dorothy
Dorothy (opera)
Dorothy is a comic opera in three acts with music by Alfred Cellier and a libretto by B. C. Stephenson. The story involves a rake who falls in love with his disguised fiancée.It was first produced at the Gaiety Theatre in London on in 1886...
by B. C. Stephenson and Alfred Cellier
Alfred Cellier
Alfred Cellier was an English composer, orchestrator and conductor.In addition to conducting and music directing the original productions of several of the most famous Gilbert and Sullivan works and writing the overtures to some of them, Cellier conducted at many theatres in London, New York and...
at the Trafalgar Square Theatre
Duke of York's Theatre
The Duke of York's Theatre is a West End Theatre in St Martin's Lane, in the City of Westminster. It was built for Frank Wyatt and his wife, Violet Melnotte, who retained ownership of the theatre, until her death in 1935. It opened on 10 September 1892 as the Trafalgar Square Theatre, with Wedding...
(1892), Gilbert's The Mountebanks at the Lyric (1892), The Black Domino by George R. Sims and Robert Buchanan at the Adelphi Theatre
Adelphi Theatre
The Adelphi Theatre is a 1500-seat West End theatre, located on the Strand in the City of Westminster. The present building is the fourth on the site. The theatre has specialised in comedy and musical theatre, and today it is a receiving house for a variety of productions, including many musicals...
(1893) and Gilbert's His Excellency
His Excellency (opera)
His Excellency is a two-act comic opera with a libretto by W. S. Gilbert and music by F. Osmond Carr. The piece concerns a practical-joking governor whose pranks threaten to make everyone miserable, until the Prince Regent kindly foils the governor's plans...
at the Lyric (1894). At the beginning of the transition of British musical theatre from comic opera and burlesque to Edwardian musical comedy
Edwardian Musical Comedy
Edwardian musical comedies were British musical theatre shows from the period between the early 1890s, when the Gilbert and Sullivan operas' dominance had ended, until the rise of the American musicals by Jerome Kern, Rodgers and Hart, George Gershwin and Cole Porter following World War I.Between...
, he choreographed An Artist's Model
An Artist's Model
An Artist's Model is a two-act musical by Owen Hall, with lyrics by Harry Greenbank and music by Sidney Jones, with additional songs by Joseph and Mary Watson, Paul Lincke, Frederick Ross, Henry Hamilton and Leopold Wenzel. It opened at Daly's Theatre in London, produced by George Edwardes and...
at Daly's Theatre
Daly's Theatre
Daly's Theatre was a theatre in the City of Westminster. It was located at 2 Cranbourn Street, just off Leicester Square. It opened on 27 June 1893, and was demolished in 1937.-Early years:...
for George Edwardes
George Edwardes
George Joseph Edwardes was an English theatre manager of Irish ancestry who brought a new era in musical theatre to the British stage and beyond....
in 1895. In 1896, he choreographed a revised version of a musical, The New Barmaid, followed by A Man About Town and The Mermaids at the Avenue Theatre, Aladdin at Drury Lane, in which his son Ernest appeared with Decima Moore
Decima Moore
Lilian Decima, Lady Moore-Guggisberg, CBE , better known by her stage name Decima Moore, was an English singer and actress, known for her performances in soprano roles with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company and in musical comedies. She was the youngest of ten siblings...
, Dan Leno
Dan Leno
Dan Leno , born George Wild Galvin, was an English comedian and actor, famous for appearing in music hall and dozens of comic plays, pantomimes, Victorian burlesques and musical comedies during the Victorian era...
and Paul Cinquevalli
Paul Cinquevalli
Paul Cinquevalli was a famous juggler from the late 19th century to the early 20th century. His birth name is given by The Cambridge Guide to Theatre as Paul Kestner, but other sources give it as Paul Braun-Lehmann and Emile Otto Lehmann-Braun.-Early life:Cinquevalli was born in Lissa in what is...
and Black-ey'ed Susan at the Adelphi. He then choreographed A Day in Paris or, Lost! Stolen!! Strayed!!! (1897) a musical comedy by J. Cheever Goodwin, Woolson Morse and Leslie Stuart
Leslie Stuart
Leslie Stuart was an English composer of early musical theatre, best known for the hit show Florodora and many popular songs. Stuart began writing songs in the late 1870s, including songs for blackface performers, such as "Lily of Laguna"; songs for musical theatre; and ballads such as "Soldiers...
at the Duke of York's Theatre
Duke of York's Theatre
The Duke of York's Theatre is a West End Theatre in St Martin's Lane, in the City of Westminster. It was built for Frank Wyatt and his wife, Violet Melnotte, who retained ownership of the theatre, until her death in 1935. It opened on 10 September 1892 as the Trafalgar Square Theatre, with Wedding...
and Babes in the Wood
Babes in the Wood
Babes in the Wood is a traditional children's tale, as well as a popular pantomime subject. It has also been the name of some other unrelated works. The expression has passed into common language, referring to inexperienced innocents entering unawares into any potentially dangerous or hostile...
at Drury Lane (1898). In 1897, he was also back at Her Majesty's Theatre with Rip Van Winkle, Hansel and Gretel and The 'Prentice Pillar and at the Shaftesbury Theatre
Shaftesbury Theatre
The Shaftesbury Theatre is a West End Theatre, located on Shaftesbury Avenue, in the London Borough of Camden.-History:The theatre was designed for the brothers Walter and Frederick Melville by Bertie Crewe and opened on 26 December 1911 with a production of The Three Musketeers, as the New...
choreographing The Yashmak
The Yashmak
The Yashmak, A Story of the East is a musical play, with a libretto by Cecil Raleigh and Seymour Hicks, adapted from an Armenian operetta, Leblébidji Horhor, which had been a success in 1896 in Constantinople. The music was composed by Napoleon Lambelet , and additional songs were composed by...
and The Wizard of the Nile
The Wizard of the Nile
The Wizard of the Nile was a burlesque operetta in three acts, composed by Victor Herbert to a libretto by Harry B. Smith.Herbert's second operetta after Prince Ananias, The Wizard of the Nile was his first real success...
.
Haymarket Theatre
The Theatre Royal Haymarket is a West End theatre in the Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in use...
with Sweet Nell of Old Drury and The School for Scandal
The School for Scandal
The School for Scandal is a play written by Richard Brinsley Sheridan. It was first performed in London at Drury Lane Theatre on May 8, 1777.The prologue, written by David Garrick, commends the play, its subject, and its author to the audience...
. In 1903, he choreographed Monsieur Beaucaire
Monsieur Beaucaire (operetta)
Monsieur Beaucaire is a romantic opera in three acts, composed by André Messager. The libretto, based on the 1900 novel by Booth Tarkington, is by Frederick Lonsdale, with lyrics by Adrian Ross...
at the Imperial, also choreographing many revivals of this piece in London throughout the decade. He choreographed W. S. Gilbert's Harlequin and the Fairy's Dilemma at the Garrick Theatre
Garrick Theatre
The Garrick Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Charing Cross Road, in the City of Westminster. It opened on 24 April 1889 with The Profligate, a play by Arthur Wing Pinero. In its early years, it appears to have specialised in the performance of melodrama, and today the theatre is a...
(1904). In 1905, he first choreographed The Scarlet Pimpernel
The Scarlet Pimpernel
The Scarlet Pimpernel is a play and adventure novel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy, set during the Reign of Terror following the start of the French Revolution. The story is a precursor to the "disguised superhero" tales such as Zorro and Batman....
at the New Theatre
Noël Coward Theatre
The Noël Coward Theatre, formerly known as the Albery Theatre, is a West End theatre on St. Martin's Lane in the City of Westminster. It opened on 12 March 1903 as the New Theatre and was built by Sir Charles Wyndham behind Wyndham's Theatre which was completed in 1899. The building was designed by...
, a work that he saw through several revivals. He then choreographed revivals of The Yeomen of the Guard (1906) and The Gondoliers (1907) at the Savoy for Helen Carte. His final productions were Gilbert's last opera, Fallen Fairies
Fallen Fairies
Fallen Fairies; or, The Wicked World, is a two-act comic opera, with a libretto by W. S. Gilbert and music by Edward German. Premiering at London's Savoy Theatre on December 15, 1909, it failed miserably, closing after just 50 performances...
(1909) and another Aladdin at Drury Lane, both in December 1909.
Dance teacher and last years
D'Auban became so famous as a dance teacher that his teaching style became known as the "D'Auban school". Among his dance students were Sylvia GreySylvia Grey
Sylvia Grey was an English actress and dancer best remembered for her roles in burlesque productions in London during the Victorian era.-Life and career:...
, Mabel Love
Mabel Love
Mabel Love , was a British dancer and stage actress. She was considered to be one of the great stage beauties of her age, and her career spanned the late Victorian era and Edwardian period...
, Margaret Morris
Margaret Morris (dancer)
Margaret Morris was a British dancer, choreographer and teacher. She was the first proponent of the Isadora Duncan technique in Great Britain...
, Lillie Langtry
Lillie Langtry
Lillie Langtry , usually spelled Lily Langtry when she was in the U.S., born Emilie Charlotte Le Breton, was a British actress born on the island of Jersey...
, Mary Anderson
Mary Anderson
Mary Anderson may refer to:*Mary Anderson *Mary Anderson *Mary Anderson *Mary Anderson *Mary Anderson...
and Letty Lind
Letty Lind
Letitia Elizabeth Rudge, better known as Letty Lind , was an English actress, dancer and acrobat, best known for her work in burlesque at the Gaiety Theatre, and in musical theatre at Daly's Theatre, in London....
. He partly inspired the art of skirt dancing.
The humour magazine Punch
Punch (magazine)
Punch, or the London Charivari was a British weekly magazine of humour and satire established in 1841 by Henry Mayhew and engraver Ebenezer Landells. Historically, it was most influential in the 1840s and 50s, when it helped to coin the term "cartoon" in its modern sense as a humorous illustration...
honoured D'Auban in the following verse:
See Mr. Johnny D'Auban,
He's so quick and nimble,
He'd dance on a thimble,
He's more like an elf than a man.
D'Auban died at his home in Maida Vale
Maida Vale
Maida Vale is a residential district in West London between St John's Wood and Kilburn. It is part of the City of Westminster. The area is mostly residential, and mainly affluent, consisting of many large late Victorian and Edwardian blocks of mansion flats...
, London at the age of 80.