George Rodwell

George Herbert Bonaparte Rodwell (London, 15 November 1800 – London, 22 January 1852) was an English composer and playwright whose work developed almost entirely on London stages in the first half of the nineteenth century. His name today appears mainly in studies of British musical theatre of the period, where he occupied a middle ground between the practice of the popular theatres and the aspiration to a national opera.

His training was provided by Vincent Novello and Henry Bishop, two leading figures in London's musical life. The family connection was decisive for his career: his brother, (James) Thomas Gooderham Rodwell, owned and managed the Adelphi Theatre, where Waverley, his first stage work with music, premiered in 1824. After his brother's death in March 1825, Rodwell inherited ownership of the theatre. In 1828 he became professor of harmony and composition at the Royal Academy of Music, and in 1836 he was appointed musical director of Covent Garden, where his most popular piece, Teddy the Tiler, had triumphed in 1830.

At Covent Garden he took part in the policy of anticipating the repertoire of Drury Lane, as shown by his version of Auber's Le cheval de bronze. He also wrote the texts of numerous farces and melodramas, as well as a novel, Memoirs of an Umbrella (1846). Between 1837 and 1838 he was music teacher to Princess Victoria before her accession to the throne, and for her eighteenth birthday he composed three glees. For many years he insistently championed the creation of a national opera.

His songs, glees and stage works enjoyed considerable popularity in his time, but they scarcely outlived him and, to modern taste, retain a very faint appeal. His importance today lies more in the testimony he offers about London theatrical life than in the durability of his music.