Wallace, (William) Vincent

Wallace, (William) Vincent, Irish violinist, organist, and composer; b. Waterford, March 11, 1812; d. Château de Bagen, Haute- Garonne, France, Oct. 12, 1865. The son of a bandmaster, Wallace was brought up in a musical atmosphere. He was 13 when the family moved to Dublin. He soon entered a professional career, playing violin in theater orchs. and organ in churches. One of his earliest compositions was The Harp in the Air, which later became famous when he incorporated it into his opera Maritana. In 1831 he married Isabella Kelly. He applied himself to the study of violin, and subsequently was able to give successful concerts. With his wife he traveled in Australia, South America, Mexico, and the U.S. Returning to Europe in 1844, he toured Germany; in 1845 he was in London, where he produced his opera Maritana (Drury Lane, Nov. 15, 1845), which obtained excellent success; it was followed by another opera, Matilda of Hungary (Drury Lane, Feb. 2, 1847), which was a failure. About 1850 he “married” the American pianist Hélène Stoepel, declaring his first marriage invalid; she made appearances as Mrs. Wallace from 1851. From 1850 to 1853 he visited South and North America. His other operas include Lurline (1847; Covent Garden, Feb. 23, 1860), The Maid of Zürich (unpubl.), The Amber Witch (Haymarket, Feb. 28, 1861), Love’s Triumph (Covent Garden, Nov. 3, 1862), and The Desert Flower (Covent Garden, Oct. 12, 1863); he also wrote the opera Estrella (unfinished) and the operettas Guiñare and Olga. Other works include the cantata Maypole, a Violin Concerto, and numerous piano pieces.

Bibliography

A. Pougin, W.V. W.: Étude biographique et critique (Paris, 1866); W. Flood, W.V. W.: A Memoir (Waterford, 1912); R. Phelan, W.V W.: A Vagabond Composer (Waterford, Ireland, 1994).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire