Edward Solomon (July 25 1855 – January 22 1895) was a prolific English composer, as well as a conductor, orchestrator and pianist. Though he died before his fortieth birthday, he wrote dozens of works produced for the stage, including several for the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, among others.

Edward ("Teddy") Solomon was born in London. His first comic opera was A Will With a Vengeance (1876) a one act work with a libretto by Frederick Hay, based on La Vendetta. With Henry Pottinger "Pot" Stephens, he achieved his first successes, Billie Taylor (1880), a "nuatical comic opera" in two acts; and Claude Duval (1881), both of which enjoyed years of popularity on both sides of the Atlantic. Other Stephens & Solomon works were Lord Bateman (1882), Virginia and Paul (1883), and The Red Hussar (1889), a "comedy opera" in three acts.

Solomon's most successful work with librettist Sydney Grundy was The Vicar of Bray (1882), a comic opera in two acts. Together, they would also write Popsy Wopsy, a "musical absurdity" (1880) and Pocahontas (1884). From 1891–93, after Gilbert and Sullivan had temporarily separated, Richard D'Oyly Carte mounted a number of non-G&S pieces to keep the Savoy Theatre open, including a revival of The Vicar of Bray in 1892.

Several of Solomon's works were produced by the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, which often took them on tour in the British provinces and in America. Perhaps his most famous work for that company was The Nautch Girl or The Rajah of Chutneypore (1891), an "Indian comic opera" in two acts with a libretto by George Dance and lyrics by George Dance and Frank Desprez. It initially ran for 200 performances and then toured. His last stage work was On the March (1896), a musical comedy in two acts, with John Crook and Frederic Clay, to a libretto by William Yardley, B. C. Stephenson and Cecil Clay, based on In Camp by Victoria Vokes.

Solomon gained notoriety for his bigamous marriage to American prima donna Lillian Russell. It ended when she sued for divorce after learning of his previous marriage. He died in London of typhoid fever at the age of 39.

External Links

• Profile of Solomon
• List of many of Solomon's stage works

1855 births | 1895 deaths | English composers | Operetta composers | People associated with Gilbert and Sullivan