Basil Hood
Basil Willett Charles Hood (5 April 1864 – 7 August 1917) was a British dramatist and lyricist, perhaps best known for writing the libretti of half a dozen Savoy Operas and for his English adaptations of operettas, including The Merry Widow. He embarked on a career in the British Army, rising to the rank of captain, while writing theatrical pieces in his spare time. After some modest success, Hood and his collaborator, the composer Walter Slaughter, had a major hit with their long-running show, Gentleman Joe, in 1895. Another long-running success was The French Maid (1896). Hood then resigned from the army to pursue his career as a librettist full-time. With Arthur Sullivan and then Edward German, he wrote several well-received pieces for the Savoy Theatre, including The Rose of Persia (1899), The Emerald Isle (1901), Merrie England (1902) and A Princess of Kensington (1903). After comic opera went out of fashion, Hood turned to Edwardian musical comedy, writing lyrics for The Belle of Mayfair (1906) and The Girls of Gottenberg (1907), among others. He then found his greatest success with adaptations of continental operettas for the impresario George Edwardes, writing English versions of such works as (1907), The Dollar Princess (1908), A Waltz Dream (1908) and The Count of Luxembourg (1911), among others, sometimes drastically rewriting the book and lyrics. At the outbreak of World War I, he took up a demanding post in the British War Office, which is believed to have contributed to his early death. |
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Victor | [Pre-matrix A-]534 | 7-in. | 11/21/1900 | Drinking song | Harry Macdonough | Male vocal solo | lyricist | |
Victor | [Pre-matrix A-]563 | 7-in. | 12/5/1900 | Drinking song | J. J. Fisher | Male vocal solo | lyricist | |
Victor | C-11456 | 12-in. | 1/12/1912 | Gems from The count of Luxembourg | Victor Light Opera Company | Vocal chorus and soloists, with orchestra | lyricist | |
Victor | C-12557 | 12-in. | 11/1/1912 | Say not love is a dream | Olive Kline | Female vocal solo, with orchestra | lyricist | |
Victor | D7VB-1931 | 10-in. | 10/27/1947 | Are you going to dance? | Al Goodman Orchestra ; Eileen Farrell ; Charles Fredericks | Female-male vocal duet, with instrumental ensemble | lyricist | |
Victor | D7VB-1942 | 10-in. | 10/28/1947 | Say not love is a dream | Al Goodman Orchestra ; Eileen Farrell ; Charles Fredericks | Female-male vocal duet, with instrumental ensemble | lyricist | |
Columbia | 59 | 10-in. | ca. 1901 | Drinking song | Artists vary | Male vocal solo, with piano | lyricist | |
Columbia | 59 | 7-in. | ca. 1901-Sept. 1902 | Drinking song | Artists vary | Male vocal solo, with piano | lyricist | |
Columbia | 198 | 10-in. | ca. 1901 | Drinking song | Artists vary | Male vocal solo, with piano | lyricist | |
Columbia | 198 | 7-in. | ca. 1901 | Drinking song | Artists vary | Male vocal solo, with piano | lyricist | |
Columbia | 38193 | 10-in. | 8/9/1912 | Are you going to dance? | Charles Harrison ; Beulah Gaylord Young | Female-male vocal duet, with orchestra | lyricist | |
Columbia | 75088 | 12-in. | 9/5/1922 | Come to Arcadie | Hubert Eisdell ; Dora Labbette | Female-male vocal duet, with orchestra | lyricist |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Hood, Basil," accessed September 4, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/321735.
Hood, Basil. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved September 4, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/321735.
"Hood, Basil." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 4 September 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Basil Hood
Discogs: Basil Hood
Grove: Basil Hood
IMSLP: Basil Hood
RISM: Basil Hood
IMDb: Basil Hood
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Hood, Basil, 1864-1917 - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n83065104
Wikidata: Basil Hood - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q4867189
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/30911098
MusicBrainz: Basil Hood - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/e842525d-fc6d-40dc-989a-d2aa3b0248c6
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