John Laurence Seymour

Who was John Laurence Seymour?

John Laurence Seymour was an American composer and playwright. He studied composition with Ildebrando Pizzetti and Felice Boghen in Italy between 1923 and 1928. He also studied with Vincent d'Indy in France. From 1928 to 1936 he served on the faculty at the University of California, Berkeley where he lectured mostly on opera and drama. In 1940 he earned a PhD in English literature from Berkeley; his dissertation, Drama and Libretto, consisted of four adaptations of two Shakespeare plays. In 1941 he became chairman of the theatre department of Sacramento Junior College where he stayed for more than two decades. From 1969–1985 he was a librarian at Southern Utah College in Cedar City, Utah.

As a composer Seymour is best known for his operas, which have been praised for their complex orchestral textures and italianate lyricism. His fifth opera, In the Pasha's Garden, received the Bispham Memorial Medal Award. It was first performed on January 24, 1935 at the Metropolitan Opera with Lawrence Tibbett in the title role. In 1977 his tenth opera, Ollanta, el Jefe Kolla, won prizes in the cultural division of the Bolivarian Games in La Paz.