46-635: The Ivor Novello Awards , named after the Welsh entertainer Ivor Novello , are awards for songwriting and composing . They have been presented annually in London by the Ivors Academy , formerly called the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers, and Authors , since 1956. The awards are presented at two annual ceremonies known as The Ivors and The Ivors Composer Awards . The award itself
92-513: A Pinero play, with a book by Fred Thompson , lyrics by Clifford Grey , and music by Howard Talbot and Novello, and The Golden Moth by Thompson and P. G. Wodehouse (1921), for which Novello provided the entire score. For Charlot, he contributed numbers to the revues Tabs (1918), A to Z (1921) and Puppets (1924). For the second of these, his songs included one of his few well-known comedy numbers, "And Her Mother Came Too", with lyrics by Dion Titheradge , written for Jack Buchanan . At
138-555: A coronary thrombosis at the age of 58, a few hours after completing a performance of King's Rhapsody . He was cremated at the Golders Green Crematorium , and his ashes are buried beneath a lilac bush and marked with a plaque that reads "Ivor Novello 6th March 1951 'Till you are home once more'." He left an estate worth £160,000 (£6 million in 2023). Only a few weeks before Novello's death, Coward had written of him: "Theatre – good, bad and indifferent –
184-589: A career in music, Novello from his early youth showed a facility for writing songs, and when he was only 15, one of his songs was published. After leaving school, he gave piano lessons in Cardiff, and then moved to London in 1913 with his mother. They took a flat above the Strand Theatre , which became his London home for the rest of his life. In London he found a mentor in Sir Edward Marsh ,
230-474: A critical mauling, the show announced its final performance for 15 December 2007, having played just four weeks of previews and four weeks of open run, losing over £3.5 million. A quick replacement came in the form of the cross-West End transfer of Shadowlands from the Wyndham's Theatre , commencing 21 December 2007 for a 12-week run to 25 February 2008. Producer Phil McIntyre opened ZooNation's adaptation of
276-514: A joint disaster when Novello starred in Coward's play Sirocco in 1927, which was a débâcle, and closed within a month of opening. In 1928 Novello starred in the silent adaptation of Coward's much more successful The Vortex , and made his last silent film, A South Sea Bubble . During the late 1920s Novello was the most popular male British film star, and was often dubbed Britain's "handsomest screen actor". Novello returned to composing for
322-575: A plaque in his honour set at the entrance. On 27 June 2009, a statue of Novello was unveiled outside the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff Bay . Plaques detailing some of his best-known songs are fitted to the pedestal, along with a dedication to Novello. Novello's memory is promoted by The Ivor Novello Appreciation Bureau , which holds annual events around Britain, including an annual pilgrimage to Redroofs each June. Redroofs
368-507: A probationary flight sub-lieutenant. After Novello twice crashed aeroplanes, Marsh arranged his move to the Admiralty office in central London for the rest of the war. Novello continued to write songs while serving in the RNAS. He had his first stage success with Theodore & Co in 1916, a production by George Grossmith Jr. and Edward Laurillard with a score composed by Novello and
414-543: A rent collector for the city council, and his wife, Clara Novello Davies , an internationally known singing teacher and choral conductor. As a boy, Novello was a successful singer in the Welsh Eisteddfod . His mother set up as a voice teacher in London, where he met leading performers, including members of George Edwardes 's Gaiety Theatre company, classical musicians such as Landon Ronald , and singers such as Adelina Patti . Another of his mother's associates
460-667: A run of only two months on 4 August 2007 after failing to attract audiences, despite positive notices. It was announced on 10 July 2007, just three days after the announcement of Drowsy's premature closure that the theatre would be the home of a new musical version of the MGM motion picture Desperately Seeking Susan with music by Blondie and Deborah Harry , directed by Angus Jackson, and starring Emma Williams and Kelly Price. The musical previewed on 16 October 2007 (originally 12 October 2007), receiving its world première on 15 November 2007. However, just two weeks after its opening, following
506-560: A songwriter. His first big hit was " Keep the Home Fires Burning " (1914), which was enormously popular during the First World War . His 1917 show, Theodore & Co , was a wartime hit. After the war, Novello contributed numbers to several successful musical comedies and was eventually commissioned to write the scores of complete shows. He wrote his musicals in the style of operetta and often composed his music to
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#1732779699622552-404: A well-known patron of the arts and Winston Churchill 's secretary. Marsh encouraged him to compose and introduced him to people who could help his career. He adopted his mother's middle name, "Novello", as his professional surname, although he did not change it legally until 1927. In 1914, at the start of the First World War , Novello wrote " Keep the Home Fires Burning ", a song that expressed
598-608: Is a West End theatre on Aldwych , in the City of Westminster . It was known as the Strand Theatre between 1913 and 2005. The theatre was built as one of a pair with the Aldwych Theatre on either side of The Waldorf Hilton, London , both being designed by W. G. R. Sprague . The theatre was opened by The Shubert Organization as the Waldorf Theatre on 22 May 1905, and was renamed the Strand Theatre , in 1909. It
644-426: Is a solid bronze sculpture of Euterpe , the muse of lyric poetry. It was designed in 1955 by Hazel Underwood. Ivor Novello Ivor Novello (born David Ivor Davies ; 15 January 1893 – 6 March 1951) was a Welsh actor, dramatist, singer and composer who became one of the most popular British entertainers of the first half of the 20th century. He was born into a musical family, and his first successes were as
690-423: Is generally thought of as "romantic" and " Ruritanian ", his music "was far more varied than his current reputation suggests". Webb contends that such romantic hits as "Someday My Heart Will Awake" were balanced by "rousing operetta choruses ... and jazz age numbers" while " 'Rose of England' is a stately patriotic piece that stands comparison with Elgar or Walton ". Novello Theatre The Novello Theatre
736-680: Is the love of his life. For him, other human endeavours are mere shadows. ... The reward of his work lies in the indisputable fact that whenever and wherever he appears the vast majority of the British public flock to see him." The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians writes of Novello that he was "until the advent of Andrew Lloyd Webber , the 20th century's most consistently successful composer of British musicals". The Ivor Novello Awards for songwriting, established in 1955 in Novello's memory, are awarded each year by The Ivors Academy (formerly
782-529: The London Coliseum . Careless Rapture ran from 11 September 1936 for 296 performances, with Novello, Dorothy Dickson and Zena Dare in the leading roles. Crest of the Wave starred Novello, Dickson and Gilbert, and ran from 1 September 1937 for 203 performances. The last of Novello's prewar musicals was The Dancing Years , which starred Novello, Ellis and Gilbert, opened at Drury Lane, closed on
828-631: The libretti of Christopher Hassall . In the 1920s he turned to acting, first in British films and then on stage, with considerable success in both. He starred in two silent films directed by Alfred Hitchcock , The Lodger and Downhill (both 1927). On stage, he played the title character in the first London production of Liliom (1926). Novello briefly went to Hollywood but soon returned to Britain, where he had more successes, especially on stage, appearing in his own lavish West End productions of musicals. The best-known of these were Glamorous Night (1935) and The Dancing Years (1939). From
874-528: The 1930s he often performed with Zena Dare , writing parts for her in his works. He continued to write for film, but in his later career his biggest successes were with stage musicals: Perchance to Dream (1945), King's Rhapsody (1949) and Gay's the Word (1951). The Ivor Novello Awards were named after him in 1955. Novello was born David Ivor Davies in Cardiff , Wales, to David Davies (c. 1852–1931),
920-796: The 2021 Terence Davies film Benediction , about the life of his one-time lover, the war poet Siegfried Sassoon . Among Novello's well-known songs are " Keep the Home Fires Burning ", "Fold Your Wings", "Shine Through My Dreams", " Rose of England ", "I Can Give You the Starlight", "And Her Mother Came Too", "My Dearest Dear", "The Land of Might-Have-Been", "When I Curtsied to the King", " We'll Gather Lilacs ", "Someday My Heart Will Awake", "Yesterday", "Waltz of My Heart", "Why Isn't It You", "My Life Belongs to You", "Fly Home Little Heart", "Take Your Girl" and "Primrose". In Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians , Webb writes that although Novello's oeuvre
966-530: The British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors (BASCA)) to British songwriters and composers as well as to an outstanding international music writer. A scholarship in memory of Novello was established at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art , and in 1952 a bronze bust of him by Clemence Dane was unveiled at Drury Lane. In St. Paul's, Covent Garden , known as the actors' church , a panel
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#17327796996221012-535: The Broadway musical Footloose , starring Cheryl Baker . Ending on 11 November, Footloose made way for the Royal Shakespeare Company's return season for 2006–7, following which the Broadway musical The Drowsy Chaperone made its European première on 6 June 2007. The London production starred Elaine Paige , Bob Martin, Summer Strallen and John Partridge. The London production closed after
1058-487: The Second World War. Arc de Triomphe (1943), a musical vehicle for Mary Ellis, was only a modest success, but Perchance to Dream (1945) was immensely successful, running for 1,022 performances. In between the two shows, Novello had been in serious legal trouble and served four weeks in prison for misuse of petrol coupons, a serious offence under rationing laws in wartime Britain. An admiring fan had stolen
1104-632: The Way to the Forum opened here in 1963, running for nearly two years. In 1971, the comedy No Sex Please, We're British opened here, remaining for over 10 years of its 16-year run until it transferred to the Garrick Theatre in 1982. The theatre was extensively refurbished in 1930 and again in the early 1970s. It was Grade II listed by English Heritage on 20 July 1971. After The Rat Pack: Live from Las Vegas in 2005, its 100th anniversary year,
1150-716: The coupons from her employer, but the court found that Novello was also culpable. The prison term, though short, came as a severe shock to Novello, both mentally and physically, and had serious lasting effects. Not everybody was supportive; Coward's sympathy was limited: "He's been fighting like a steer to keep going as before the war and hasn't done a thing for the general effort", but when Novello returned to The Dancing Years after his release, he received "a rapturous ovation" on his first entrance. Novello's last full-scale production in this style, King's Rhapsody (1949), was, in Webb's words, "a self-consciously romantic counter-blast to
1196-558: The dialogue for Tarzan the Ape Man . Returning to London, he starred in the sound remake of The Lodger (1932). After beginning the 1930s with a series of non-musical plays – I Lived with You (1932), Fresh Fields , Proscenium , Sunshine Sisters , Flies in the Sun (all 1933) and Murder in Mayfair (1934) – Novello returned to composition in 1935 with Glamorous Night , which
1242-518: The feelings of innumerable families sundered by the war. Novello composed the music for the song to a lyric by the American Lena Guilbert Ford , and it became a huge popular success, bringing Novello money and fame at the age of 21. In other respects, the war had less impact on Novello than on many young men of his age. He avoided enlistment until June 1916, when he reported to a Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) training depot as
1288-607: The following year. Novello made his stage debut in 1921 in Deburau by Sacha Guitry , and, among other stage engagements in the next years, he played Bingley in a charity adaptation of Pride and Prejudice . At about this time, Novello had an affair with the writer Siegfried Sassoon ; it was short-lived, but in the words of Sassoon's biographer John Stuart Roberts, Novello "was a consummate flirt who collected lovers as he gathered lilacs". In 1923, Novello made his American movie debut in D. W. Griffith 's The White Rose , and
1334-625: The lyric stage in 1929, writing eight numbers for the revue The House that Jack Built . In the same year, he presented his own play Symphony in Two Flats , which he took to New York the following year. It was followed by a successful Broadway production of his The Truth Game , which brought him to the attention of Hollywood studios. He accepted a contract to write for and appear in MGM films. He found little to do in Hollywood, however, beyond writing
1380-481: The modern musical: crown princes, ballrooms, royal yachts, beautiful princesses and a full-scale coronation". After the rigours of war, this escapist entertainment had strong box-office appeal and ran for 841 performances. The show starred Novello and the cast included Phyllis Dare , Zena Dare, Olive Gilbert and Bobbie Andrews. It was still running, at the Palace Theatre , when Novello's last show opened. This
1426-622: The musical Into the Woods , entitled Into the Hoods , on 26 March 2008. The longest running show in modern times is Mamma Mia!, which premiered in 2012 and is still running in 2024. This theatre is one of the 40 theatres featured in the 2012 DVD documentary series Great West End Theatres , presented by Donald Sinden . In 2020, following the nation-wide lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic , Delfont Mackintosh Theatres Ltd laid off most of
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1472-470: The operettas that he had grown up with (he saw Die lustige Witwe 27 times), but had a highly individual style of their own. Blending musicals with opera, operetta and both modern and classical dance, these shows were considered something of an anachronism in their own time, but that was part of their appeal. Another model was Coward's 1929 musical Bitter Sweet , which Novello called "a lovely , lovely thing ... sheer joy from beginning to end". That, too,
1518-653: The outbreak of the Second World War , toured and then reopened at the Adelphi Theatre , running in the West End for a combined total of 696 performances and closing on 8 July 1944. This show was the closest Novello came to fulfilling his mother's early ambitions for him to write operas; he played an Austrian composer-conductor at the Wiener Hofoper . Novello presented only two new shows during
1564-659: The same time as his successes as a composer, Novello was making a career as an actor. With "a classic profile that gained him matinee idol status amongst the film-going public", he was sought out, on the strength of a publicity photograph, by the Swiss film director Louis Mercanton . Mercanton offered him a silent-film role as the romantic lead in The Call of the Blood (1920). In the same year, he made another film for Mercanton, Miarka . Novello made his first British film, Carnival ,
1610-641: The same year he starred in The Man Without Desire , among other British films. He next co-wrote, produced and starred in the successful 1924 play The Rat . The play was made into a film in 1925, which was so successful that two sequels followed in 1926 and 1928. His dramatic roles in the West End included the title character in the first London production of Ferenc Molnár 's Liliom (1926). Other films in which Novello starred included Alfred Hitchcock 's The Lodger , where he played
1656-532: The theatre was extensively refurbished. The current seating capacity is 1,105. The theatre reopened on 8 December 2005 with the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC)'s annual London season, playing to 4-week runs of Twelfth Night , The Comedy of Errors , A Midsummer Night's Dream and As You Like It , concluding in March 2006. In 2006, the theatre played host to the London première of
1702-621: The title character, and Downhill (both in 1927). The British film company Gainsborough Pictures offered Novello a lucrative contract, which enabled him to buy a country house in Littlewick Green , near Maidenhead . He renamed the property 'Redroofs', and he entertained there famously and with little regard for convention. Cecil Beaton , noting the frequent homosexual excesses, coined the phrase, "the Ivor – Noel naughty set". Coward had by now caught up to Novello professionally, despite
1748-439: The young Jerome Kern . In the same year, Novello contributed to André Charlot 's revue See-Saw . In 1917 he wrote for another Grossmith and Laurillard production, the operetta Arlette , for which he contributed additional numbers to an existing French score by Jane Vieu and Guy le Feuvre. In the same year, Marsh introduced him to the actor Bobbie Andrews , who became Novello's life partner. Andrews introduced Novello to
1794-446: The young Noël Coward . Coward, six years Novello's junior, was deeply envious of Novello's effortless glamour. He wrote, "I just felt suddenly conscious of the long way I had to go before I could break into the magic atmosphere in which he moved and breathed with such nonchalance". In 1918 and after the war, Novello continued to write successfully for musical comedy and revue. The former included Who's Hooper? (1919), an adaptation of
1840-432: Was Gay's the Word (1951). Novello had written no role for himself; the show starred the comedy actress Cicely Courtneidge and was a departure from his established pattern, balancing the contrasting styles of European operetta and post-war American musicals. The Times commented that the show "cheerfully parodied the very Ruritanian romances to which he owed his most triumphant successes". Novello died suddenly from
1886-666: Was Clara Butt , who taught him to sing " Abide with Me " when he was a boy of six. Novello was educated privately in Cardiff and then in Gloucester, where he studied harmony and counterpoint with Herbert Brewer , the cathedral organist. From there he won a scholarship to Magdalen College School in Oxford , where he was a solo treble in the college choir. He later said that this prolonged youthful exposure to early sacred choral music had turned his tastes, in reaction, to lush romantic music. Although Brewer had told him he would not have
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1932-628: Was again renamed as the Whitney Theatre in 1911, before again becoming the Strand Theatre in 1913. In 2005, the theatre was renamed by its owners ( Delfont Mackintosh Theatres ) the Novello Theatre in honour of Ivor Novello , who lived in a flat above the theatre from 1913 to 1951. The black comedy Arsenic and Old Lace had a run of 1337 performances here in the 1940s, and Sailor Beware! ran for 1231 performances from 1955. Stephen Sondheim 's musical A Funny Thing Happened on
1978-443: Was an old-fashioned musical, "so full of regret ... for a vanished kindly silly darling age". For all his four 1930s musicals, Novello wrote the book and music, Christopher Hassall wrote the lyrics, and the orchestrations were by Charles Prentice. Glamorous Night starred Novello and Mary Ellis , with a cast including Zena Dare , Olive Gilbert and Elizabeth Welch , and ran from 2 May 1935 to 18 July 1936, at Drury Lane and then
2024-571: Was installed to commemorate Novello, and in 1972, to mark the 21st anniversary of his death, a memorial stone was unveiled in St. Paul's Cathedral . In 1993, the centenary of Novello's birth was marked by several celebratory shows around the UK, including one at the Players Theatre in London. In 2005, the Strand Theatre , above which Novello lived for many years, was renamed the Novello Theatre, with
2070-492: Was sold after Novello's death, and is now a theatre training school. Novello was portrayed in Robert Altman 's 2001 film Gosford Park by Jeremy Northam , and several of his songs were used for the film's soundtrack, including "Waltz of My Heart", "And Her Mother Came Too", "I Can Give You the Starlight", "What a Duke Should Be", "Why Isn't It You?" and "The Land of Might-Have-Been". Jeremy Irvine played Novello in
2116-539: Was the first of a series of enormously popular musicals. The Times considered that it was for these that Novello would be popularly remembered. Paul Webb, in the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians , writes that Novello's show saved the fortunes of the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane : Dominating the British musical theatre from the mid-1930s to the early 1950s, his shows were heavily influenced by
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