Henry Eugene Abbey
{{Short description|American theatre manager and producer}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Henry Eugene Abbey
| image = Harvard Theatre Collection - Henry E. Abbey TCS 1.6 (cropped).jpg
| caption = Portrait of H. E. Abbey
| pronunciation =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1846|06|27}}
| birth_place = Akron, Ohio, U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1896|10|17|1846|06|27}}
| death_place = New York City, U.S.
| death_cause =
| burial_place =
| nationality =
| citizenship =
| education =
| alma_mater =
| occupation = Manager
| years_active = 1870–1896
| era =
| employer =
| agent =
| term =
| predecessor =
| successor =
| boards =
| spouses = Kate Kingsley, Florence Gerard
| children =
| parents =
| mother = Elizabeth Smith Abbey
| father = Henry Stephen Abbey
| relatives =
| family =
| awards =
| signature =
| footnotes =
}}
Henry Eugene Abbey (June 27, 1846 – October 17, 1896) was an American theatre manager and producer.{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=X5wMAQAAMAAJ&q=Henry+Eugene+Abbey|title= America's Successful Men of Affairs: The city of New York|date= 1985|author= Henry Hall|publisher= New York Tribune}}
Early life
Henry E. Abbey was born in Akron, Ohio on June 27, 1846, to clockmaker Henry Stephen Abbey and Elizabeth Smith Abbey.{{cite news |ref={{harvid|The New York Times|18 October 1896|p=25}} |newspaper=The New York Times |title=Death of Henry E. Abbey |date=18 October 1896 |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1896/10/18/108256396.pdf |access-date=18 April 2017}} He engaged in business with his father, a jeweller, until 1869, when he leased the Akron Opera House.{{BDA1906 |wstitle= Abbey, Henry Eugene |volume= 1 |pages= 22 |short=}}
Career
During the 1870s - 1890s, he managed such prominent Broadway theatres as Booth's, Wallack's, Abbey's Theatre and Abbey's Park Theatre promoting the talents of some of the foremost American actors of his day, as well as European stars. In 1882 with John B. Schoeffel and Maurice Grau he formed the theatrical management partnership of Abbey, Schoeffel and Grau.
Abbey was the first lessee and manager of the inaugural season in 1883 of the 'old' Metropolitan Opera House, with Grau's own Opera Company and stars. The season was a critical success but a financial flop. Abbey as manager was personally responsible for losses of $250,000.{{cite journal |last=Herx |first=Stephen |title=Marcella Sembrich and Three Great Events at the Metropolitan |journal=Opera Quarterly |year=1999 |volume=15 |issue=1 |pages=49–71 |doi=10.1093/oq/15.1.49}} (subscription required) Christina Nilsson's and Marcella Sembrich's cachets, known to be high, explain 40% of this losses.{{Cite book |last=Christiansen |first=Rupert |title=Prima Donna, a History |publisher=Penguin |year=1984 |pages=173}}
He managed the tours of Adelina Patti, Francesco Tamagno and the London Gaity in America, and he introduced Sarah Bernhardt to America. He opened Boston's Park Theatre in 1879.{{cite book |ref= |last=Winsor |first=Justin
|title=The Memorial History of Boston, vol. 4 |place=Boston |publisher=Ticknor and Company |year=1881
|url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924086340548/page/378/mode/2up?view=theater |page=378 |oclc=1838124 |ol=24155402M }} He also opened Abbey's Theatre in 1890, one of the first theatrical managers to present expensive shows outside of the major cities.{{cite book|chapter-url= https://archive.org/details/biographicalency00chic/page/89/mode/1up?view=theater |chapter=Henry Eugene Abbey|title= Biographical Encyclopedia of the United States|publisher= American Biographical Publishing Company|date= 1901 |page=89}}
Abbey, Schoeffel and Grau returned to the 'Met' in 1891, and Abbey continued as manager there until his death. He died in New York City on October 17, 1896, at the age of 50.
Legacy
One of his longest lasting legacies was his bringing a group of Spanish performers, known as the Spanish Students, to the United States. These performers inspired imitators and gave rise to the widespread playing of the mandolin in the United States, where it was previously unknown.Jean Dickson, [http://wings.buffalo.edu/research/anthrogis/JWA/V2N2/Dickson-art.pdf "Mandolin Mania in Buffalo’s Italian Community, 1895 to 1918"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120917052859/http://wings.buffalo.edu/research/anthrogis/JWA/V2N2/Dickson-art.pdf |date=2012-09-17 }}. Journal of World Anthropology. Occasional Papers: Volume II, Number 2. University at Buffalo (SUNY).]Paul Sparks, The Classical Mandolin, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1995, pages 26-27.
Personal life
He married Kate Kingsley in 1876, and had two children with her. He married again in 1886, to the actress Florence Gerard. She appeared at the new Wallack's Theatre at 30th Street and Broadway while Abbey was manager there.{{sfn|Brown|1903|p=325}}
References
;Notes
{{reflist}}
;Citations
- {{cite book | author=Bordman, Gerald | title=The Concise Oxford Companion to American Theatre | location=New York | publisher=Oxford University Press | year=1987 | isbn=0-19-505121-1 | url-access=registration | url=https://archive.org/details/conciseoxfordcom00bord }}
- {{cite book |ref= |last=Brown |first=Thomas Allston |title=A History of the New York Stage, Vol. 3. |publisher=Dodd, Mead and Company |place=New York |year=1903 |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.32044100864198;view=2up;seq=4}}
- Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607-1896. (1967). Chicago, IL: Marquis Who's Who.
External links
- {{Cite Collier's|wstitle=Abbey, Henry Eugene |short=x}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abbey, Henry Eugene}}
Category:American theatre managers and producers
Category:American opera managers
Category:Metropolitan Opera people
Category:Businesspeople from Akron, Ohio