William Saurin Lyster

W. Saurin Lyster

William Saurin Lyster (21 March 1828 – 27 November 1880), often referred to as W. Saurin Lyster, was an Irish impresario, active in Australia.

Early life

He was born in Dublin, the son of Chaworth Lyster, a former British Army officer, and was named after William Saurin. His mother was Anne Keightley, daughter of Thomas Keightley of Newtown, County Kildare and sister of Thomas Keightley the author.

Lyster went to sea, and visited Australia in 1842. He went to India. He served as a volunteer under Sir Harry Smith in the Seventh Xhosa War. In the mid-1850s he went to Nicaragua with the filibuster William Walker.

In the USA, Lyster became involved with the Lyster Opera Company, a "second-rate troupe" run by his brother Frederick whose wife Rosalie Durand was prima donna. After a season in San Francisco ending in December 1860, the company set sail for Australia.

Impresario in Australia

The Lyster Opera Company headed by Lucy Escott and the tenor Henry Squires crossed to Australia on the SS Achilles. They toured for years, breaking new ground.

In eastern Australia of the 1860s Lyster had a large theatrical touring company. In common with George Coppin, he worked towards tours that could be intercolonial. At Sydney's Prince of Wales Opera House he took a lease and alternated opera and drama seasons.

Interlude

In 1868 Lyster brought the Company, now including the Australian tenor Armes Beaumont, back to San Francisco. A short season at the Metropolitan Theatre there did not go well, and the Company broke up, with Frederick Lyster remaining at the Metropolitan as musical director. William travelled on to Europe to engage singers, finding the Australian contralto Lucy Chambers and others.

Return to Australia

Back in Melbourne early in 1870, Lyster was reunited with Beaumont, and started a new season there with Ernani.

In the 1870s Lyster controlled the Prince of Wales Opera House, Melbourne, and also ran several touring opera companies. At the Opera House he built an elaborately-staged 1877 season around the drama Les Danischeff by Pierre Newsky and Alexandre Dumas fils, with the leading actor Edward Lytton Sothern, which he then took on tour; and he supported the London Comedy Company of Arthur Garner.

Legacy

The 1880s production era of Williamson, Garner, & Musgrove had been presaged, since Lyster, who died in 1880, had associated with both Garner and George Musgrove, who adapted his management approach.

References

  1. ↑ O'Neill, Sally; Radic, Thérèse, "Lyster, William Saurin (1828–1880)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 20 October 2021
  2. ↑ "DEATH OF MR. W. S. LYSTER". The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957). 29 November 1880. p. 6.
  3. ↑ Denny, Henry Lyttelton Lyster (1913). Memorials of an Ancient House: A History of the Family of Lister Or Lyster. author. p. 67.
  4. 1 2 3 4 O'Neill, Sally; Radic, Thérèse (1974). "William Saurin Lyster (1828–1880)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Vol. 5. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 12 September 2026.
  5. ↑ History of Music Project (1940). Celebrities in El Dorado: 1850-1906. Works Projects Administration, Northern California. p. 26.
  6. ↑ "The Tenor Henry Squires: From Albany, America to Australia ... - Theatre Heritage Australia". theatreheritage.org.au.
  7. ↑ Garran, Andrew (1892). Australasia Illustrated. Picturesque atlas Publishing Company, limited. p. 1453.
  8. ↑ Parsons, Philip; Chance, Victoria, eds. (1995). Companion to Theatre in Australia. Sydney: Currency Press in association with Cambridge University Press. p. 353. ISBN 0521345286.
  9. ↑ Parsons, Philip; Chance, Victoria, eds. (1995). Companion to Theatre in Australia. Sydney: Currency Press in association with Cambridge University Press. p. 464. ISBN 0521345286.
  10. ↑ Parsons, Philip; Chance, Victoria, eds. (1995). Companion to Theatre in Australia. Sydney: Currency Press in association with Cambridge University Press. pp. 488–489. ISBN 0521345286.
  11. 1 2 Parsons, Philip; Chance, Victoria, eds. (1995). Companion to Theatre in Australia. Sydney: Currency Press in association with Cambridge University Press. p. 333. ISBN 0521345286.
  12. ↑ The Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic News. 1877. p. 530.