William Charles John Pitcher
Encyclopedia
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
artist, costume and scenery designer, best known for his designs for ballets, pantomime
Pantomime
Pantomime — not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime—is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is mostly performed during the...
s, comic operas, and Edwardian musical comedies.
Life and career
Wilhelm was born at NorthfleetNorthfleet
Northfleet is a town in the Borough of Gravesham in Kent, England. Its name is derived from North creek , and the settlement on the shore of the River Thames adjacent to Gravesend was known as Norfluet in the Domesday Book, and Northflet in 1201...
, in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, England, the son of a shipbuilder.
The young artist showed early promise, and J. R. Planché recommended him to design for the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane is a West End theatre in Covent Garden, in the City of Westminster, a borough of London. The building faces Catherine Street and backs onto Drury Lane. The building standing today is the most recent in a line of four theatres at the same location dating back to 1663,...
. There, Wilhelm created costumes, beginning in 1877, for numerous works, including the famous pantomimes of Sir Augustus Harris
Augustus Harris
Sir Augustus Henry Glossop Harris , was a British actor, impresario, and dramatist.-Early life:Harris was born in Paris, France, the son of Augustus Glossop Harris , who was also a dramatist, and his wife, née Maria Ann Bone, a theatrical costumier...
and for others until 1897, including the spectacular drama, Armada (1888). He also designed costumes for various music hall
Music hall
Music Hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960. The term can refer to:# A particular form of variety entertainment involving a mixture of popular song, comedy and speciality acts...
artists and for many London theatres, including Her Majesty's Theatre
Her Majesty's Theatre
Her Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre, in Haymarket, City of Westminster, London. The present building was designed by Charles J. Phipps and was constructed in 1897 for actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, who established the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art at the theatre...
, The Coliseum, The Crystal Palace
The Crystal Palace
The Crystal Palace was a cast-iron and glass building originally erected in Hyde Park, London, England, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. More than 14,000 exhibitors from around the world gathered in the Palace's of exhibition space to display examples of the latest technology developed in...
, and for three pantomimes at the Lyceum Theatre. For Robert Courtneidge
Robert Courtneidge
Robert Courtneidge was a British theatrical manager-producer and playwright. He is best remembered as the co-author of the light opera Tom Jones and the producer of The Arcadians...
in Manchester, England, Wilhelm designed two Shakespeare plays: A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta...
and As You Like It
As You Like It
As You Like It is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 or early 1600 and first published in the folio of 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 has been suggested as a possibility...
. Wilhelm also designed costumes for numerous pantomimes, including Cinderella, Dick Whittington, and Blue Beard. He was the designer for some of the costumes in several of the original Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the librettist W. S. Gilbert and the composer Arthur Sullivan . The two men collaborated on fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which H.M.S...
operas at the Savoy Theatre
Savoy Theatre
The Savoy Theatre is a West End theatre located in the Strand in the City of Westminster, London, England. The theatre opened on 10 October 1881 and was built by Richard D'Oyly Carte on the site of the old Savoy Palace as a showcase for the popular series of comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan,...
in the 1880s, including Iolanthe
Iolanthe
Iolanthe; or, The Peer and the Peri is a comic opera with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It is one of the Savoy operas and is the seventh collaboration of the fourteen between Gilbert and Sullivan....
, Princess Ida
Princess Ida
Princess Ida; or, Castle Adamant is a comic opera with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It was their eighth operatic collaboration of fourteen. Princess Ida opened at the Savoy Theatre on January 5, 1884, for a run of 246 performances...
, The Sorcerer
The Sorcerer
The Sorcerer is a two-act comic opera, with a libretto by W. S. Gilbert and music by Arthur Sullivan. It was the British duo's third operatic collaboration. The plot of The Sorcerer is based on a Christmas story, An Elixir of Love, that Gilbert wrote for The Graphic magazine in 1876...
(revival), The Mikado
The Mikado
The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen operatic collaborations...
, and Ruddigore
Ruddigore
Ruddigore; or, The Witch's Curse, originally called Ruddygore, is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It is one of the Savoy Operas and the tenth of fourteen comic operas written together by Gilbert and Sullivan...
. He also designed costumes for Jane Annie
Jane Annie
Jane Annie, or The Good Conduct Prize is an opera written in 1893 by J. M. Barrie and Arthur Conan Doyle, with music by Ernest Ford, a conductor and occasional composer....
at the Savoy (1893) and for the Olympia, London
Olympia, London
Olympia is an exhibition centre and conference centre in West Kensington, on the boundary between The Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea and Hammersmith & Fulham, London, W14 8UX, England. It opened in the 19th century and was originally known as the National Agricultural Hall.Opened in 1886,...
spectacles Nero (1889) and Venice (1891).
Adeline Genée
Dame Adeline Genée DBE was a Danish/British ballet dancer.-Early years:Anina Kirstina Margarete Petra Jensen was born in Århus, Denmark. Her uncle, Alexandre Genée, gave her dancing lessons from the age of three. When she was eight, Alexandre and his wife, the former Antonia Zimmerman, adopted her...
, and which established a fashion for stage design and were much imitated. His later costume designs included The New Aladdin
The New Aladdin
The New Aladdin is an English musical comedy in two acts by James T. Tanner and W. H. Risque, with music by Ivan Caryll, Lionel Monckton, and additional numbers by Frank E. Tours, and lyrics by Adrian Ross, Percy Greenbank, W. H. Risque, and George Grossmith, Jr...
(1906); Edward German
Edward German
Sir Edward German was an English musician and composer of Welsh descent, best remembered for his extensive output of incidental music for the stage and as a successor to Arthur Sullivan in the field of English comic opera.As a youth, German played the violin and led the town orchestra, also...
's opera Tom Jones
Tom Jones (opera)
Tom Jones is a comic opera in three acts by Edward German founded upon Henry Fielding's 1749 novel, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, with a libretto by Robert Courtneidge and Alexander M. Thompson and lyrics by Charles H. Taylor....
(1907); Peter Pan (the famous mermaid costumes for the 1905 revival); and The Arcadians (1909) and The Mousmé (1911), among other musical comedies. Wilhelm's costume designs were seen on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
in Ruddigore
Ruddigore
Ruddigore; or, The Witch's Curse, originally called Ruddygore, is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It is one of the Savoy Operas and the tenth of fourteen comic operas written together by Gilbert and Sullivan...
(1887), A Runaway Girl
A Runaway Girl
A Runaway Girl is a musical comedy in two acts written in 1898 by Seymour Hicks and Harry Nicholls. The composer was Ivan Caryll, with additional music by Lionel Monckton and lyrics by Aubrey Hopwood and Harry Greenbank...
(1898–99), The Toreador
The Toreador
The Toreador is an Edwardian musical comedy in two acts by James T. Tanner and Harry Nicholls, with lyrics by Adrian Ross and Percy Greenbank and music by Ivan Caryll and Lionel Monckton. It opened at the Gaiety Theatre in London, managed by George Edwardes, on 17 June 1901 and ran for an...
(1902), Three Little Maids
Three Little Maids
Three Little Maids is an English musical by Paul Rubens with additional songs by Percy Greenbank and Howard Talbot. The story concerns three simple curate's daughters who go to London to earn their livings serving tea in a Bond Street tea shop...
(1903), The Babes and the Baron (1905–06), The Red Mill
The Red Mill
The Red Mill is an operetta written by Victor Herbert, with a libretto by Henry Blossom. It premiered on Broadway on September 24, 1906 at the Knickerbocker Theatre and ran for 274 performances, starring comedians Fred Stone and David Montgomery. It was revived on October 16, 1945, opening at the...
(1906–07), The Soul Kiss (1908), The Silver Star (1909–10), The Old Town (1910), The Arcadians (1910), The Girl in the Train
The Girl in the Train
Die geschiedene Frau , is an operetta in three acts by Leo Fall with a libretto by Victor Léon, after Victorien Sardou's Divorçons!...
(1910), The Lady of the Slipper (1912–13), Chin Chin (1914–15), The Yankee Princess (1922), Stepping Stones (scenic and costume design, 1923–24), Madame Pompadour (1924–25).
London's The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
wrote, "Wilhelm excelled especially in rendering the spirit and detail of historical periods, but he had also an amusing skill in turning modern costumes to his fantastic purposes.... to his imaginative gifts he added remarkable precision and firmness in execution and great ingenuity in the treatment of colour." Wilhelm also contributed a number of articles on the art of the theatre to The Magazine of Art, including "Art in Ballet" (1895). In his last years, he focused on watercolour painting, especially of flowers and plant life, and illustrating children's books, including The Child of the Air, and he was elected to the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours
Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours
The Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours , initially called the New Society of Painters in Water Colours, , is one of the societies in the Federation of British Artists, based in the Mall Galleries in London.-History:In 1831 the society was founded as the New Society of Painters in Water...
in 1920.
He died in London just short of his 67th birthday and is buried in Brompton cemetery
Brompton Cemetery
Brompton Cemetery is located near Earl's Court in South West London, England . It is managed by The Royal Parks and is one of the Magnificent Seven...
.
External links
- Numerous designs and notes by Wilhelm, 1890s
- Numerous Wilhelm costume designs
- Wilhelm design for The Mikado, 1885
- Photos of a Mikado production prominently showing reproductions of the Wilhelm costumes
- Wilhelm design for Ruddigore, 1886
- Wilhelm designs for Iolanthe, 1882
- Information about the portrayal of Wilhelm in the film Topsy-Turvey