| Augustus Glossop Harris | |
| Birth Name: | Augustus Frederick Glossop |
| Birth Date: | 5 June 1825 |
| Birth Place: | Portici, Naples, Italy |
| Death Place: | London, England |
| Burial Place: | Brompton Cemetery |
| Occupation: | Actor, writer, theatre manager |
| Children: | 5, including Patience and Augustus |
Augustus Frederick Glossop Harris (5 June 1825 – 19 April 1873) was a British actor, writer, and theatre manager.
Born in Portici, Naples, Italy, on 5 June 1825,[1] he was the son of Joseph Glossop, first manager of the Royal Coburg Theatre (now known as the Victoria Theatre or the Old Vic), and opera singer Mme Féron (aka Fearon), a former prima donna assoluta at La Scala in Milan.[2] [3]
His early career saw limited success as a comedian in London, and he was imprisoned for bankruptcy in June 1848.[4] By 1851 he had adopted the surname Harris.[5]
Harris became a leading manager of opera and ballet, notably at Covent Garden, London, but also in Paris, Berlin and St. Petersburg. He wrote the libretto, with Edmund Falconer, for the opera The Rose of Castille, with music by Michael William Balfe; it was produced in London in 1857 and on Broadway in 1867. In the last four years of his life, he put on Christmas spectacles at Covent Garden.[2]
He married Maria Ann Bone on 17 February 1846. They had five children: daughters Ellen (Nelly), Maria, and Patience, a costume designer, and sons Charles and Augustus, an actor and theatrical manager.[2] [6]
He died at his home in London on 19 April 1873, and is buried in Brompton Cemetery.[2] [7] [8]