Frederick Gye Diaries

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Frederick Gye was General Manager of the Royal Italian Opera from 1847 until his death in 1878. Deposited on loan to the Royal Ballet and Opera by current members of the Gye family, Gye’s diaries offer a unique insight into the organisation of a major 19th-century opera house. The diaries date from 1825 to 1878 and are supplemented by those of his daughter Clara, who worked as her father's secretary for many years, and by two volumes by his son Ernest, who succeeded him as manager of the theatre in 1878.

Image © Royal Ballet and Opera