The Adelphi Theatre 1806-1900 Preface - University of ...

Authors, Composers, and Titles
Authors, Composers, and Titles: Introduction
The basic entries are authors’ names followed by titles of the pieces (the latter are cross-referenced to
their creators). Usually, the entry is a title or an author’s surname followed by given name(s). If the
author is better known by an initial and his middle name, then the entry records this--J. Palgrave Simpson.
There is considerable difficulty in defining the word “author.” Readers may find it strange to discover
Edward Stirling was the author of Barnaby Rudge and Nicholas Nickleby. The authorship refers to the
play only. The term adapter is used in cases where a play has been altered for performance rather than
created from another work. Thus the author of Medea is Euripides, and the adapter, and/or translator,
remains unknown. An exception has to be made in the case of French plays. So many of them were
translated and adapted to the English stage that we retained the designation "author" for those who are
essentially adapters and/or translators.
Titles are given in full, with the main title in block capitals. Subtitles are cross-indexed to their main titles.
While a very broad definition of what constitutes a piece has been used, certain activities at the theatre
are not included, such as edifying lectures, oratorios and orchestral concerts. In the Sans Pareil's opening
season, 1806-1807, no plays, ballets, or operas were performed; however, the editors feel a record of this
season should be kept, and they enter some performances as if they were dramatic.
After a piece was first performed, different authors, composers, arrangers, and choreographers
sometimes altered it. These new names are treated as additional authorial information and appended to
the title entry and also listed independently. However, the complete list of dates a play was performed will
be found only under the original author's name.
Vol I: Sans Pareil/Adelphi Theatres—General Index: 1806-1899 41