This is the Paperback version. Colonel, King and Emperor - a remarkable Victorian character whose wheeler-dealer approach to opera management became legendary. From an impressionable childhood in the heart of London's theatreland, through an early singing career under an alias, James Henry Mapleson became supremo of a turbulent merry-go-round of fledgling starlets and prime donne, magnificent theatres and hair-raising contract deals that led him into the midst of royal society.From Her Majesty's Theatre, The Lyceum, Drury Lane and Covent Garden, he took tours to the UK provinces, to Ireland and right across the early American west. He battled with rivals such as Gye and Abbey, even taking on the Metropolitan Opera House of New York. Rarely daunted, even by terrible disasters, his ambition to create his own national opera house in London became an obsession.What happened in the thirty years of his life that do not appear in "The Mapleson Memoirs" (1888) and what led to his downfall? This is a compelling true story, told with the benefits of original new research and interpretation. It includes intriguing comparisons with Elvis Presley's manager Colonel Tom Parker. It is indexed. It features contemporary illustrations.

Table of Contents

List of illustrations; Acknowledgements; Author's Preface; 1 Master of the art; 2 Debut; 3 Brydges Street; 4 Street wise; 5 South bank; 6 Entrances and exits; 7 The orchestra; 8 Reaching for the stars; 9 Learning from Lumley; 10 Out in the cold; 11 Romantic entanglement; 12 Alias; 13 The agent; 14 Birds on the trees; 15 Jostling for position; 16 On parade; 17 Under new management; 18 Lady luck; 19 Recuperations and recoveries; 20 In the bag; 21 Turning up the heat; 22 One hour in the long night; 23 Feather fans and silver fringes; 24 Old enemies, new rivals; 25 Club and clique; 26 Ladies first; 27 High stakes; 28 Clouds; 29 A campaign begins; 30 Battles of wills; 31 Losing grip; 32 Battle stations; 33 Rumblings; 34 An emperor and his subjects; 35 Trojan horses; 36 The retreat; 37 The end of the line; 38 Calling in the past; 39 Colonels of music; 40 The Mapleson philosophy; Key dates in the life of Colonel J. H. Mapleson; Index; About the author; Other titles by this author.

Author Biography

SUSIE TIMMS is a distant cousin of the great nineteenth century soprano Therese Tietjens (known as Titiens) and cousin to the twentieth century educational musician Freda Dinn (author of the Observer's Book of Music and more). Susie is also great-great-granddaughter of a flute maker, granddaughter of a banjo-mandolinist and daughter of a church organist. So it is hardly surprising that at a young age she became an accomplished guitarist, singer, composer and pianist, as well as a master class student of ballet. She has recorded for the BBC and appeared in many stage events including Victorian music hall. She has been an academic librarian, archivist, administrator, researcher, local historian, freelance cartoonist and business columnist and has been publishing variously for over thirty years.