Peter d'Egville And The Forty Thieves

While trying to discover which d'Egvilles were living in Paris in the first years of the nineteenth century I found evidence of a collaboration between Michael Kelly and Peter d'Egville in London during 1806. A simple reference to Songs, duets, trios, chorusses, &c. &c. &c. in the grand operatical romance of the Forty thieves : first performed at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, April 8th, 1806 published by C. Lowndes of London possibly provides us with some illumination on Peter's later life.

Michael Kelly
Frontispiece (engraved by Henry Hoppner Meyer (1782?–1847) from a drawing by Abraham Wivell) to Michael Kelly, Reminiscences of Michael Kelly...2 vols (London: Henry Colburn, 1826).

Michael Kelly (1762-1826) was an Irish tenor, composer and theatrical manager. Mozart wrote the roles of Don Basilio and Don Curzio in Le Nozze di Figaro for him. He became principal tenor at the Drury Lane theatre and, in 1793, acting-manager of the King's Theatre Haymarket.

The catalogue information needs to be checked because at this date I would have guessed that any collaboration is more likely to be with James. If the attribution is correct then Peter is in London in 1806 and still active as a choreographer. Fewer than one hundred copies of this work have survived in various libraries throughout the world. I've added it to my "to do" list for my next visit to Oxford.