Rosa

Rosa, CARL, whose real surname was ROSE, impresario, was born at Hamburg on 22d March 1843, and studied music at Leipzig and Paris. After conducting a concert and operatic tour in the United States in 1871-72, he came to England, his intention being to produce standard operas with an English text. But it was 1875 before he was able to carry out his intention. London gave him little encouragement; the prejudice against English opera was too strong. The provincies, however, welcomed the new undertaking and made it successful. Carl Rosa may be called the father of English opera in two senses: he not only produced the great operas of German, French, and Italian composers with English texts, but he encouraged native composers to write opera, by giving them commissions for works. It was in this way that such operas as Goring Thomas' Esmeralda and Nadeshda, Dr A. C. Mackenzie's Colomba and Troubadour, Dr V. Stanford's Canterbury Pilgrims, and others came to be written. Carl Rosa died on 30th April 1889.