Victor Herbert

Victor Herbert had always felt music in his blood. He knew he was to be a musician from an early age. Even his grandfather, Samuel Lover, was a musician of sorts. He wrote songs and for part of his life was a traveling performer. When Victor was three his father died. When his mother remarried shortly after, Victor’s mother took a great interest in her son’s musical future. She enrolled him where he studied the cello, which would later become his principle instrument. Victor studied the cello his whole life and when he was an adult, he became a cellist at the Stuttgart Opera in Stuttgart, Germany. While there, he met the leading soprano of the opera, Miss Theresa Foerster. They quickly fell in love and were married. Soon after, she was asked to move to America to become the leading soprano for The Metropolitan. Theresa wanted to go, but said she would only comply if her husband, Victor Herbert, be asked to become the first cellist at The Metropolitan also. He was readily accepted and they made their move to New York.

During their time there they had five children, but sadly, only two survived. The eldest was a girl named Ella Victoria who later became the executive over her father’s business a

. . .

View the whole essay, without interruption

There is an excerpt from an article that was written a few years after Herbert left the orchestra.

In 1898 Herbert accepted a position as conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. The grand extravaganza-like show included characters such as Contrary Mary, The Widow Piper, Little Bo-Peep and The Master Toymaker, who designs the toys of the world. Members of the Lambs, The Friars and the Irish Societies all of which to whom he had belonged, gathered there along with musicians from nearly every orchestra in the city. The librettist was a woman by the name of Rida Johnson Young. He is a thoroughgoing musician, a man of deep musical learning who mastered all the symphonies before he himself developed into the master of comic opera…”(Purdy) Herbert was a wonderfully talented man who’s presence commanded respect. They were scheduled to gather the next day for practice. The band of players fail to entertain the king, but are saved by a traveling poet who amuses the king. It was produced at The Casino Theater in New York on November 4th, 1895. Songs from The Red Mill include “By the Side of the Mill,” “Mignonette,” “You Can Never Tell About a Woman,” “Whistle It,” “The Isle of Our Dreams,” “Go While the Going is Good,” and “Moonbeams. There were titles such as “If I Were on the Stage” (known better as “Kiss Me Again”), “Love Me, Love My Dog,” and “Hats Make the Woman. This was one of the most successful operettas. A band of players are ordered to appear before the king and to entertain him or else they would suffer the consequences. The king then orders the High Chamberlain to be killed.

Approximate Word count = 1468
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

Simply subscribe to view this paper, and 100,000 others.