IN: Alfred Cellier (1 December 1844 - 28 December 1891) was an English composer, orchestrator and conductor. In addition to conducting and music directing the original productions of several of the most famous Gilbert and Sullivan works and writing the overtures to some of them, Cellier conducted at many theatres in London, New York and on tour in Britain, America and Australia. He composed over a dozen operas and other works for the theatre, as well as for orchestra, but his 1886 comic opera, Dorothy, was by far his most successful work. It became the longest-running piece of musical theatre in the nineteenth century.

In 1885, Cellier composed a song, "There once was a time, my darling", for a piece produced by George Edwardes, Little Jack Sheppard (1885). Meanwhile he had composed what would become his greatest success, the comic opera Dorothy, with a libretto by B. C. Stephenson. To create the score, Cellier repurposed some of his music from his 1876 failure, Nell Gwynne, which had, nevertheless, received praise for its music. Dorothy had been announced for production at the Royalty Theatre in 1884, but ultimately Edwardes mounted it at his Gaiety Theatre on 25 September 1886. Cellier was in Australia from February 1886 to February 1887, conducting The Mikado and other Gilbert and Sullivan operas for the J. C. Williamson organization and was absent from London during the productions of The Carp, at the Savoy, and Dorothy. Neither the music nor the libretto of Dorothy initially attracted critical praise. The Times wrote, "Gentility reigns supreme, and with it unfortunately also a good deal of the refined feebleness and the ineptitude which are the defects of that quality." Stephenson rewrote the lyrics of one of Cellier's old songs, "Old Dreams" as "Queen of My Heart"; this helped the work to find success after it transferred in December to the Prince of Wales Theatre. The following year H. J. Leslie took over the production from Edwardes and introduced new stars, including Marie Tempest. Dorothy became an even greater success at the box office and transferred in December 1888 to the Lyric Theatre, built using the profits from the production, where it ran into 1889. Its initial run of a total of 931 performances was the longest of any piece of musical theatre up to that time, longer than even The Mikado, a fact that caused consternation to Cellier's friend Arthur Sullivan. Some critics reconsidered their earlier condemnation, the work became regarded as a classic Victorian piece, and the initially despised plot was traced seriously back to the Restoration playwrights David Garrick and Aphra Behn, and to Oliver Goldsmith and even Shakespeare. Its success led to revivals of some of Cellier's earlier works.  Cellier returned to Australia in 1888 to conduct Dorothy and made a final brief visit there for health reasons in early 1891, together with Stephenson. His last comic operas, Doris (1889, with Stephenson) and The Mountebanks (with Gilbert, produced in January 1892, a few days after the composer's death), were both modestly successful. Also after Cellier's death, Rutland Barrington used some of his music in his 1902 adaptation of Water Babies. Often in ill health throughout his life, Cellier was unable to finish The Mountebanks, and Ivan Caryll completed the score.  Cellier owed much to the influence of Sullivan. He was a fertile melodist, and his writing exhibited elegance and refinement, although he was not able to infuse his music with humour in the way that Sullivan did.  Cellier died at his home in Bloomsbury, London, at the age of 47. He was buried in West Norwood Cemetery.

What are some of his other later pieces?

OUT: His last comic operas, Doris (1889, with Stephenson) and The Mountebanks (with Gilbert, produced in January 1892,


IN: Taylor Hicks was born in Birmingham, Alabama on October 7, 1976, to Bradley Hicks and Pamela Dickinson. He and his family moved to the suburb of Hoover when he was eight years old. His hair started turning gray by the time he was 14. His parents divorced, and stepmother Linda shared custody of their son until he became of age.

While in college, Hicks was part of a band called Passing Through, which he later quit to start his own band. In 1997, he independently recorded In Your Time, an album which included both studio and live tracks. In 2000, he moved to pursue a music career in Nashville, Tennessee, where he worked with Nashville veterans Billy Earl McClelland and Percy Sledge to record a three-track demo but was unable to find a label that would sign him. He left Nashville after a year due to what he called the "oversaturation of the market". Hicks returned to Alabama and launched a professional music career, performing at various venues and parties mostly around the Southeastern United States, including The War Eagle Supper Club (a popular college bar) in Auburn, Alabama. Hicks has performed with the likes of Widespread Panic, James Brown, Tom Petty, Jackson Browne, Drive-By Truckers, Robert Randolph, Snoop Dogg and Keb Mo. He also performed in the huge infield of Talladega Superspeedway in 2004 during a NASCAR race weekend.  He recorded, produced, and released a second album, Under the Radar, in 2005. Despite releasing two albums prior to appearing on American Idol, he did not violate their requirements for contestants, as he had never held a recording contract.  Hicks has allowed audience members to record his concerts for personal, non-commercial use, and has authorized the Internet Archive to create a section for fans to upload and share their recordings. The Archive does not accept the upload of concerts recorded after January 1, 2006 due to the terms of his "American Idol" contract.

was it a success?

OUT: