Born Leicester, 9 April 1870.
Died Dorking, 13 May 1942.
English composer.
Colin McAlpin trained in London, at the Royal Academy of Music. His teachers were F W Davenport and Charles Steggall, He had the distinction in 1903 of winning the Manners Prize for the best new British opera. Not only was the prize money substantial (£250), but the opera in question, The Cross and the Crescent, was premiered by the Moody-Manners company at the Royal Opera House, with Fanny Moody in the leading role of Militza. He repeated the feat with a one-act opera, The Vow, in 1915. Sadly, neither had any lasting success.
His other dramatic works were no more successful. There were three operas, a schoolboy piece (Robin Hood) a first 'grown up' attempt, King Arthur, and another, Ingomar, based on a highly popular play of the time, and launched in a highly prestigious location, the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. There were also a couple of dramatic cantatas, The Prince of Peace (1902) and Excalibur (1920).
Operas performed in Scotland are shown in bold:
1 Robin Hood (Wellingborough c1885) (cpsr)
2 King Arthur (Leicester 1897) (cpsr)
3 The Cross and The Crescent (London 1903) (cpsr)
4 Ingomar (London 1910) (cpsr)
5 The Vow (Nottingham 1915) (cpsr)
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