William Henry Fry Born: 10 Aug. 1815, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA Died: 21 Dec.1864, Santa Cruz, West Indies (now U.S. Virgin Islands)

(U.S. Opera Home Page)

• Aurelia the Vestal (comp. 1841) [unproduced]
• Leonora, grand opera in 3 acts; libretto by J.R, Fry after Edward Bulwer-Lytton's play The Lady of Lyons (Chestnut St. Theater, Philadelphia, 4 June 1845)
• Giulio e Leonore [4-act rev. of Leonore] (29 March 1858, Academy of Music, NY)
• Notre Dame of Paris, opera after the novel Notre Dame de Paris by Victor Hugo (1864; Philadelphia) [premiere cond. by Theodore Thomas]

One of the most prominent musical figures of his generation, Fry might be considered the father of American opera; his Leonora, with a libretto by the composer's brother, was the first opera by an American composer to be performed in the United States; its permiere was funded in part by the composer, then was revived in New York a few years later by the Academy of Music. (an earlier work of Fry's, Aurelia the Vestal, remains unperformed to this day.) Fry is best known today as a passionate advocate for American music and music educator. Fry's own works have been criticized as derivative, and his operatic writings are said to be highly Italianate; it is impossible to read any criticism or review of Leonora without reading the name of Bellini or the adjective "italianate".