Opera Scotland

William Grist Suggest updates

English translator.

In the Norwood News of Saturday, 11 May 1889 (page 5), there is a brief description of the recent funeral of Carl Rosa.  It gives William Grist at that point as being a local resident and the most frequently employed provider of English libretti for the Carl Rosa company.   His translations included the operas Benvenuto Cellini, Fadette,   Ruy Blas,  Galatea and The Jewess.  It claims that he was,  at the time of Rosa's death, negotiating terms for a translation of Mastersingers.  This did not come to fruition.

He is best remembered for his later translation of Puccini's La bohème,  though he died before its completion.  This continued in regular  use well into the 20th century.