# Charles Corri

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{{Short description|British conductor}}
{{For|those of a similar name|Charles Corey (disambiguation)}}
{{EngvarB|date=November 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2017}}
'''Charles Montague Corri''' (22 June 1861<ref>Charles M. Corri, retired musician. ''1939 England and Wales Register''</ref> – 8 June 1941) was an English musician, conductor and arranger. He spent most of his career working for [Lilian Baylis](/source/Lilian_Baylis), as her musical director at the [Old Vic](/source/Old_Vic) Theatre, and then at [Sadler's Wells Opera](/source/English_National_Opera).

==Life and career==
Corri was born in [Walworth](/source/Walworth), London, the son of William Charles Cunningham Corri and Maria Louisa Pennal. He came from an Italian family of musicians who settled in Britain in the 18th century. ''[Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians](/source/Grove_Dictionary_of_Music_and_Musicians)'' lists eight members of the Corri family active as musicians in Britain from 1771 onwards, which includes [Domenico Corri](/source/Domenico_Corri), [Sophia Corri Dussek](/source/Sophia_Corri_Dussek), [Philip Antony Corri](/source/Philip_Antony_Corri), and [Fanny Corri-Paltoni](/source/Fanny_Corri-Paltoni).<ref>Ward Jones, Peter, et al. [http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/06565 "Corri"], ''Grove Music Online'', Oxford Music Online. Retrieved 6 June 2011 {{subscription required}}</ref> 

Corri married Martha Mayell in Liverpool in 1889. They had ten children

In 1898, [Emma Cons](/source/Emma_Cons), who ran the [Old Vic](/source/Old_Vic) Theatre, engaged him as musical director. At the same time she recruited her niece [Lilian Baylis](/source/Lilian_Baylis) to help run the theatre.<ref name=times>"Obituary – Mr. Charles Corri", ''The Times'', 13 June 1941, p. 7</ref> The Old Vic was operated on a small budget for the benefit of the local community in a poor area of London. By 1898, Cons had already begun to present regular operatic evenings, offering condensed versions of major operas, always sung in English.<ref>Gilbert, p. 11</ref> Corri was given the task of arranging the opera scores for the Old Vic's tiny orchestra. ''[The Times](/source/The_Times)'' wrote, "His masterpiece was said to be a transcription of ''[Tristan](/source/Tristan_und_Isolde)'' for an orchestra of 13 players";<ref name=times/> Baylis's biographer [Elizabeth Schafer](/source/Elizabeth_Schafer) states that the Old Vic's orchestra comprised 18 players.<ref>Schafer, pp. 104–105</ref>

After Emma Cons died in 1912, Baylis obtained a licence allowing the Old Vic to stage full performances of operas.<ref>Schafer, p. 102</ref> In the 1914–15 season, Baylis staged 16 operas and 16 plays (13 of which were by Shakespeare).<ref name=gilbert23>Gilbert, p. 23. The operas were: ''[Carmen](/source/Carmen)'', ''[The Daughter of the Regiment](/source/La_fille_du_r%C3%A9giment)'', ''[Lucia di Lammermoor](/source/Lucia_di_Lammermoor)'', ''[Lohengrin](/source/Lohengrin_(opera))'', ''[Faust](/source/Faust_(opera))'', ''[La traviata](/source/La_traviata)'', ''Il trovatore'', ''[Rigoletto](/source/Rigoletto)'', ''[Cavalleria rusticana](/source/Cavalleria_rusticana)'' and ''[Pagliacci](/source/Pagliacci)'', ''[Martha](/source/Martha_(opera))'', ''[Fra Diavolo](/source/Fra_Diavolo_(opera))'', ''[The Lily of Killarney](/source/The_Lily_of_Killarney)'', ''[Maritana](/source/Maritana)'', ''[The Bohemian Girl](/source/The_Bohemian_Girl)'' and ''[Don Giovanni](/source/Don_Giovanni)''.</ref> Corri arranged and conducted the music for the operas, and all the [incidental music](/source/incidental_music) for the plays. In the years after the First World War, Corri was praised for his conducting of [Mozart](/source/Wolfgang_Amadeus_Mozart) operas, not as well known then as in recent times. His singers included established stars such as [Clive Carey](/source/Clive_Carey) and [Heddle Nash](/source/Heddle_Nash) and up-and-coming singers including [Winifred Lawson](/source/Winifred_Lawson), [Steuart Wilson](/source/Steuart_Wilson) and [Joan Cross](/source/Joan_Cross).<ref>"Mozart at the 'Old Vic.' Opera For All", ''The Times'', 17 January 1920, p. 8</ref><ref>"Mozart at the 'Old Vic.'  'The Magic Flute'", ''The Times'', 30 April 1920, p. 12</ref> In 1922, Corri conducted [Grieg](/source/Edvard_Grieg)'s incidental music for ''[Peer Gynt](/source/Peer_Gynt_(Grieg))'' when [Ibsen](/source/Henrik_Ibsen)'s play received its British premiere at the Old Vic.<ref>"'Peer Gynt'. First Production in England", ''The Times'', 7 March 1922, p. 10</ref> ''The Times'' considered the music "extraordinarily well played by Mr. Corri and his orchestra".<ref>Colles, H. C. "Music in Waiting. Grieg and Cowen, The Art of Illustration", ''The Times'', 11 March 1922, p. 8</ref>

In the 1930–31 season, Corri was joined by [Lawrance Collingwood](/source/Lawrance_Collingwood) as his assistant conductor. In that season, Corri conducted ''[The Force of Destiny](/source/La_forza_del_destino)'', ''[Cavalleria Rusticana](/source/Cavalleria_Rusticana)'', ''[Pagliacci](/source/Pagliacci)'', ''[Madame Butterfly](/source/Madama_Butterfly)'', ''[Lohengrin](/source/Lohengrin_(opera))'', ''[Faust](/source/Faust_(opera))'', ''[Don Giovanni](/source/Don_Giovanni)'', ''[Il trovatore](/source/Il_trovatore)'', ''[La bohème](/source/La_boh%C3%A8me)'', ''[Tannhäuser](/source/Tannh%C3%A4user_(opera))'', and ''[Hansel and Gretel](/source/H%C3%A4nsel_und_Gretel_(opera))''; Collingwood conducted ''[Carmen](/source/Carmen)'', ''[The Marriage of Figaro](/source/Le_nozze_di_Figaro)'' and ''[Tosca](/source/Tosca)'' – continuing their policy of presenting opera in English.<ref>"The Theatres – Opera Season at The Old Vic", ''The Times'', 15 September 1930, p. 10</ref> In January 1931, Baylis re-opened the newly rebuilt [Sadler's Wells](/source/Sadler's_Wells) Theatre. For a time, opera was presented at both the Old Vic and Sadler's Wells. Corri and Collingwood were joined by guest conductors including [Percy Pitt](/source/Percy_Pitt), [Constant Lambert](/source/Constant_Lambert), [Geoffrey Toye](/source/Geoffrey_Toye) and [Anthony Collins](/source/Anthony_Collins_(composer)).<ref>"Opera in English", ''The Times'', 14 September 1931, p. 10</ref><ref name=wells>[https://www.jstor.org/stable/922643 "The Story of Sadler's Wells"], ''[The Musical Times](/source/The_Musical_Times)'', September 1937, pp. 781–786 {{subscription required}}</ref>

By the middle of the 1930s, the opera company had come to be based at Sadler's Wells. The orchestra was increased to 48 players.<ref>Gilbert, p. 58</ref> In the 1930s, Corri and the company presented standard repertoire works including operas by [Mozart](/source/Wolfgang_Amadeus_Mozart), [Verdi](/source/Giuseppe_Verdi), [Wagner](/source/Richard_Wagner) and [Puccini](/source/Giacomo_Puccini), lighter works by [Balfe](/source/Michael_William_Balfe), [Donizetti](/source/Gaetano_Donizetti), [Offenbach](/source/Jacques_Offenbach) and [Johann Strauss](/source/Johann_Strauss_II), some novelties including operas by [Holst](/source/Gustav_Holst), [Ethel Smyth](/source/Ethel_Smyth) and [Charles Villiers Stanford](/source/Charles_Villiers_Stanford), and a staged version of [Mendelssohn](/source/Felix_Mendelssohn)'s oratorio ''[Elijah](/source/Elijah_(oratorio))''.<ref name=wells/>

Corri retired in 1935, and died at the age of 79 in June 1941.<ref name=times/><ref>Gilbert, p. 47</ref>

==Notes==
https://www.streathamsociety.org.uk/blogs--posts/charles-montague-corri

==References==
{{reflist}}
* {{cite book|last=Gilbert |first= Susie|year=2009 |title=Opera for Everybody |location=London |publisher=Faber and Faber |isbn= 978-0-571-22493-7}}
* {{cite book | last=Schafer | first=Elizabeth | year= 2006 | title=Lilian Baylis: A Biography | location=Hatfield | publisher=University of Hertfordshire Press| isbn=1-902806-64-6 }}

{{s-start}}
{{s-culture}}
{{succession box | title=[Music Director, Sadler's Wells](/source/English_National_Opera) | before=none | Charles Corri | years=1898–1935 | after=[Lawrance Collingwood](/source/Lawrance_Collingwood)}}
{{s-end}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Corri, Charles}}
Category:1861 births
Category:1941 deaths
Category:Musicians from the London Borough of Southwark
Category:English conductors (music)
Category:British male conductors (music)
Category:Music directors (opera)
Category:English people of Italian descent

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Charles Corri](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Corri) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Corri?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.