# George Musgrove

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{{Short description|English-born Australian theatre producer (1854–1916)}}
{{for|the Ontario politician|George Musgrove (politician)}}
{{Use Australian English|date=June 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| image        = George Musgrove.jpg
| caption      =
| name         = George Musgrove
| birth_name   = 
| birth_date   = 21 January 1854
| birth_place  = [Surbiton](/source/Surbiton), England
| death_date   = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1916|1|21|1854|1|21}}
| death_place  = Sydney, Australia
| other_names  = 
| occupation   = Theatre producer
| years_active = 1880–1916 
}}

'''George Musgrove''' (21 January 1854 – 21 January 1916) was an English-born Australian theatre producer.

==Early life==
Musgrove was born at [Surbiton](/source/Surbiton), England, the son of Thomas John Watson Musgrove, an accountant, and his wife, Fanny Hodson, an actress and sister of Georgiana Rosa Hodson who married [William Saurin Lyster](/source/William_Saurin_Lyster).  Fanny's brother was composer, singer and comedian George Alfred Hodson, the father of [Henrietta Hodson](/source/Henrietta_Hodson) .<ref name=dab>{{Dictionary of Australian Biography|First=George|Last=Musgrove|shortlink=0-dict-biogMu-My.html#musgrove1|accessdate=3 October 2008}}</ref><ref name=adb>{{Australian Dictionary of Biography
|last=Gittins 
|first=Jean 
|year=1974
|id=A050371b
|title= Musgrove, George (1854–1916) 
|accessdate=1 November 2009 }}</ref> Musgrove married Emily Fisk Knight at All Saints Church, St Kilda, on 1 August 1874.<ref name=adb/>

==Opera and theatre career==
He, [J. C. Williamson](/source/J._C._Williamson), and [Arthur Garner](/source/Arthur_Garner) formed the [Williamson, Garner and Musgrove](/source/Williamson%2C_Garner_and_Musgrove) company in July 1882<ref>reported in Amusements in Sydney, ''The Era'', 18 March 1882; p. 9, col. C</ref> when they became joint lessees of the [Theatre Royal, Melbourne](/source/Theatre_Royal%2C_Melbourne) and [Theatre Royal, Sydney](/source/Theatre_Royal%2C_Sydney). The partnership split in March 1890<ref>[http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=OW18900306.1.36&e=01-01-1889-----en--41-DA---0musgrove+garner+williamson-all The Stage in Australia, ''Otago Witness'', 6 March 1890; p. 36, col. B]</ref> following Williamson and Musgrove falling out.<ref name=austlit>{{cite web | title=Williamson Garner and Musgrove | website=[AustLit](/source/AustLit) | date=4 April 2014 | url=https://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/A113175 | access-date=26 December 2022}}</ref>

Williamson and Garner continued to run the Theatre Royal and [Princess Theatre](/source/Princess_Theatre%2C_Melbourne) in [Melbourne](/source/Melbourne), and Musgrove taking control of the Theatre Royal in [Sydney](/source/Sydney).  At the end of 1892, Williamson and Musgrove joined to stage<ref name=austlit/> with the pantomime ''Little Red Riding Hood'', which opened a new "[Lyceum](/source/New_Lyceum%2C_Sydney)" theatre on [Pitt Street, Sydney](/source/Pitt_Street%2C_Sydney).<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article113319497 |title=The Lyceum Pantomime |newspaper=[The Evening News (Sydney)](/source/The_Evening_News_(Sydney)) |issue=7979 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=27 December 1892 |access-date=19 September 2021 |page=3 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref><ref name=dab/>

In 1902–03, he presented [Nellie Melba](/source/Nellie_Melba) in her first and most successful concert tour of Australia and New Zealand, managed by [Thomas P. Hudson](/source/Thomas_P._Hudson).<ref>
{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article203486992 |title=C. A. P. |newspaper=[The Evening Star](/source/The_Evening_Star_(Boulder%2C_Western_Australia)) |volume=IV |issue=1418 |location=Western Australia |date=24 November 1902 |access-date=18 April 2021 |page=4 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

In 1907 Musgrove produced a German grand opera company that introduced ''[Die Walküre](/source/Die_Walk%C3%BCre)'' (The Valkyrie), ''[Romeo and Juliet](/source/Rom%C3%A9o_et_Juliette)'' and ''[Hänsel und Gretel](/source/H%C3%A4nsel_und_Gretel_(opera))'' to the Australian public, again under the baton of [Gustave Slapoffski](/source/Gustave_Slapoffski). Another opera season in 1909 was less successful. In late 1914 Musgrove produced [David Belasco](/source/David_Belasco)'s play ''Du Barry'' in Melbourne with his lover [Nellie Stewart](/source/Nellie_Stewart) in the title role as well as his daughter Nancye Stewart as Marie Antoinette, age 16.<ref>{{Cite news|date=29 October 1914 |title=King's Theatre |page=22 |newspaper=Table Talk (magazine) |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article146329339|access-date=2 October 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|year=1914 |title=Du Barry |url=http://search.slv.vic.gov.au/permalink/f/1cl35st/SLV_VOYAGER3186506|access-date=1 October 2020 |website=State Library Victoria (Australia)|publisher=Fred Lory|type=Theatre Programmes Collection}}</ref> Musgrove died suddenly at his home in [Sydney](/source/Sydney) on 21 January 1916, his sixty-second birthday.<ref name=adb/>

==Personality and family==
Musgrove was reputed to value artistic quality over profitability.<ref name=adb/>  
Musgrove's marriage produced two daughters, Emily Musgrove and Rose Musgrove, an actress in comedies and [Edwardian musical comedies](/source/Edwardian_musical_comedies).{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}  His eldest daughter, Lily Musgrove, married Melbourne barrister [Casimir Zichy-Woinarski](/source/Casimir_Zichy-Woinarski) in 1898.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article9840577 |title=Family Notices |newspaper=[The Argus (Melbourne)](/source/The_Argus_(Melbourne)) |issue=16,223 |location=Victoria, Australia |date=2 July 1898 |accessdate=2 August 2020 |page=1 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>
His third daughter, [Nancye Doris Stewart](/source/Nancye_Doris_Stewart), was also known as Nancye Doris Lynton, (1893–1973), the child of his lover, actress and singer [Nellie Stewart](/source/Nellie_Stewart).<ref>{{Australian Dictionary of Biography |last=Rutledge |first=Martha |year=1967 |id=A150729b |title= Lynton, Nancye Doris (1893–1973) |accessdate=1 November 2009 }}</ref>

His brother Harry Musgrove (c. 1861 – 2 November 1931) was also involved in theatre management. He had two sons, Harry<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article212489093 |title=Melbourne Notes |newspaper=[Critic](/source/The_Critic_(Adelaide)) |volume=XXXI |issue=1204 |location=South Australia |date=23 March 1921 |accessdate=2 August 2020 |page=18 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> and Victor, and a daughter, actress Georgie Musgrove.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article156223572 |title=Passing of Harry Musgrove |newspaper=[Mudgee Guardian and North-western Representative](/source/Mudgee_Guardian_and_North-western_Representative) |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=5 November 1931 |accessdate=2 August 2020 |page=3 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>
Harry George Musgrove (c. 1883 – 27 April 1951)<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article248641695 |title=Ex-theatre man dies |newspaper=[The Daily Telegraph (Sydney)](/source/The_Daily_Telegraph_(Sydney)) |volume=XVI |issue=31 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=28 April 1951 |accessdate=2 August 2020 |page=4 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> who, with [E. J. Carroll](/source/E._J._Carroll) and Dan Carroll, founded the magnificent [Prince Edward Theatre](/source/Prince_Edward_Theatre_(Sydney)) on [Castlereagh Street, Sydney](/source/Castlereagh_Street%2C_Sydney), later bankrupt.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18029424 |title=Theatre Man No Longer a Bankrupt |newspaper=[The Sydney Morning Herald](/source/The_Sydney_Morning_Herald) |issue=34,154 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=10 June 1947 |accessdate=2 August 2020 |page=7 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

== Legacy ==
Musgrove Opera, an [opera company](/source/opera_company) which bears his name, was founded in Sydney in 2018. The company debuted at the Zenith Theatre, [Chatswood](/source/Chatswood%2C_New_South_Wales) with a production of ''"Pinocchio!"'' which  subsequently toured to South Coast NSW.<ref>{{Cite web|title=About|url=http://www.musgroveopera.com.au/about.html|access-date=2021-01-28|website=Musgrove Opera|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Thomas|first=Michelle Haines|date=2019-11-26|title=Puppet tale hits high note|url=https://www.southcoastregister.com.au/story/6500105/puppet-tale-hits-high-note/|access-date=2021-01-28|website=South Coast Register|language=en-AU}}</ref> More recently, the company has performed a series of concerts in the Utzon Room at the Sydney Opera House.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sid the Serpent who Wanted to Sing |url=https://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/content/soh/events/whats-on/Kids-and-Families/2022/sid-the-serpent-who-wanted-to-sing.html |access-date=2022-05-01 |website=Sydney Opera House |language=en}}</ref> Australian conductor Lachlan Massey acts as its founding [Artistic director](/source/Artistic_director).<ref>{{Cite web|title=Artistic Director|url=http://www.musgroveopera.com.au/artisticdirector.html|access-date=2021-01-28|website=Musgrove Opera|language=en}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Musgrove, George}}
Category:1854 births
Category:1916 deaths
Category:Australian theatre managers and producers
Category:English emigrants to colonial Australia
Category:19th-century Australian businesspeople
Category:British emigrants to the Colony of Victoria

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