Edward Siedle (May 30, 1858 – March 30, 1925) was a British-American property master and technical director who worked mainly at the Metropolitan Opera. During his tenure at The Met, he was directly in charge of all technical elements through one of its most innovative eras.
Biography Siedle was born in Dulwich, England, on May 30, 1858. His parents were both German. He emigrated to the United States in 1878. In 1883, he married Caroline Siedle, a costume designer for theatre. They had a son named Edward Vincent Siedle who was born around 1888. The 1900 US Census lists their residence as Westchester."United States Census, 1900," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MSPH-9YH : accessed 07 Aug 2013), Edward Siedle, 1900. By 1907, they were living in Ludlow Park, Yonkers. Caroline died in 1907."Costume Designer Dead," New York Times, February 28, 1907 Siedle remarried.
Siedle's sister, Philippine Siedle, an opera singer, was married to composer Julian Edwards."Composer Julian Edwards Dead", The Music Trade Review, Vol LI, No 11, Sept 10, 1910, pg 1 His son, Edward Vincent Siedle, served on the Mexican border in 1916 and in France as a captain in the 369th United States Infantry. He received the Croix de Guerre.New York Tribune, September 24, 1920
Siedle was described as "a man large in frame, stooped, with a big cigar drooping from the corner of his mouth... He looked a bit like the Winston Churchill of today.""Life with the Met", by Helen Klaffky Noble, G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York, 1954. pg 7. He was rarely seen without a black fedora hat and a cigar in his mouth."Twenty Thousand Distinct Objects in the Opera's Property Room", The Sun, Feb 25, 1912, pg 16 His office was described as "cluttered with books, papers, boxes, wigs, and full of a truly startling and heterogeneous collection of furniture, hangings, materials, and odds and ends.""Life with the Met", by Helen Klaffky Noble, G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York, 1954. pg 8.
Siedle was a member of St. Cecile Lodge 568, F. & A. M. He had four dogs of various breeds which he frequently brought to his office."Life with the Met", by Helen Klaffky Noble, G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York, 1954. pg 12.
He died on March 30, 1925, at his home in Port Chester, New York."Edw. Siedle's Funeral Tomorrow", The New York Times, 01 Apr 1925, pg 23. He had become ill, stayed home for a few weeks, and died. His funeral was held in the Grand Lodge Room of the Masonic Hall on West Twenty-third street. Most of the staff of the Metropolitan Opera attended, including Gatti-Casazza and Edward Ziegler, as well as representatives of the Theatrical Protective Union and the Theatrical Mechanics' Association. His honorary pallbearers included Jefferson de Angelis, William D. Lang, Philip Crispano, John Nash and Gustave A. Weldhaas. The Masonic Quartet sang The Long Day Closes. He was buried at Woodlawn Cemetery. Siedle was replaced by Walter Jagemann, one of his long-time assistants."Life with the Met", by Helen Klaffky Noble, G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York, 1954. pg 47."Edward Siedle's Funeral", The New York Times, 03 Apr 1925, pg 19
Career Siedle began his career helping out the visiting property men at a theatre in his home town of Dulwich, where he received his first permanent job as "props" at the age of 17, receiving 2 shillings a week. After one season, a visiting showman brought him to London to be a regular props man at a small theatre. He began working at Drury Lane with James Henry Mapleson."Behind the Curtain with "Tannhauser' At the Metropolitan", Sylvester Rawling, The Evening World, March 2, 1912, Final Edition, Page 6 While there, one of his teachers was Bradwell (first name unknown), a famed property man and theatre mechanic.
Siedle first came to the US on one of the opera tours of Mapleson. Lester Wallack brought him to the US in the 1870s, where he remained. He toured with a company for two seasons at $7 a week. After the tour, he settled in New York City and became the technical director for the Star Theatre. He began working at the Metropolitan Opera around 1891"Back Stage at the Metropolitan, It is Caruso the Man Who Will Be Missed", New York Tribune, August 2, 1921, pg 2 and became property master within the next decade."Magic: Stage Illusions and Scientific Diversions, Including Trick Photography", compiled and edited by Albert A. Hopkins, Munn & Company, 1901, pg 251.
Around 1900, he built a life-size elephant for Wang, where De Wolf Hopper sang "The Man With an Elephant on His Hands." It was such an achievement in the property business that it gained him fame and publicity. A play titled "Cupid Outwits Adam" at the Bijou Theatre in 1900 actually advertised a "mechanical effect by Edward Siedle" to help draw in audiences."Cupid Outwits Adam", The New York Times, September 11, 1900 A 1909 news article called Siedle "[t]he greatest master of properties in America","The Wizard of Wiseland", Rock Island Argus, September 1, 1909, Page 6. while a 1911 news article described him as "responsible for so many of the fine scenic effects at the opera house"."The Metropolitan Season", The Sun, New York, October 2, 1911, Page 7
Siedle became the technical director at the Met before 1909."Metropolitan Plans Great Opera Season", The New York Times, September 13, 1909. As technical director, Siedle was one of only two department heads (the other being Toscanini, the first conductor) to report directly to Gatti."The Business Side of Opera", by Pierre V.R. Key, The Saturday Evening Post, vol 184, issue 7, March 30, 1912, pg 20 The 1909 season had twenty new productions, including premieres or complete restagings. The scenery for the various operas was built and painted in Milan, Germany or Paris, as well as in New York by the Metropolitan's scenic artist, James Fox. In 1909, the estimated cost of the costumes and scenery for the season was over $100,000 (equivalent to $2.6 million in 2012)."Early Preparations for the Season at the Metropolitan", The New York Times, September 26, 1909. The cost of the scenery and properties for a single opera under Siedle's management ranged from $10,000 to $50,000.
He was credited as the technical director in the playbill for the world premiere of La fanciulla del west at the Metropolitan Opera (the first world premiere in the Met's history) on December 10, 1910."The Complete Operas of Puccini: A Critical Guide" by Charles Osborne, Da Capo Press, 1983, pg 179. 9780306802003. The decision to place the production of scenery, properties, costumes and effects in the hands of Edward Siedle was reached at a conference in Paris held by Gatti-Casazza, Puccini, Tito Ricordi, and his New York representative, Mr. Maxwell."Musical News and Notes", The New York Times, July 24, 1910
As technical director, Siedle was in charge of fifty stage carpenters, twenty property men, thirty electricians, five engineers, sixty wardrobe women. He oversaw the Met's seven storehouses "Life with the Met", by Helen Klaffky Noble, G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York, 1954. pg 89. (their locations included 40th St, between 7th and 8th Avenues; 41st St near 8th Avenue; 36th St near 11th Avenue; 50th Street near 11th Ave; 44th St near 11th Ave; and 41st St near 1st Ave)."After the Opera is Over at the Metropolitan", The New York Times, January 29, 1911 The storehouses of the Met held about one hundred complete productions, representing a total investment of $3,000,000 and employed an additional 12 workers."The Business Side of Opera", by Pierre V.R. Key, The Saturday Evening Post, vol 184, issue 7, March 30, 1912, pg 18
Under Siedle's reign, the technical department at the Met built up one of the finest musical and theatrical libraries in the US at the time. Siedle had a suite of rooms on the second floor of the building for his offices. They contained books on different kinds of architecture and costumes. He also kept many of the scenic models on display, whether the opera was performed at the Met, or whether the show had never made it to the stage.
Legacy Upon his death, The New York Times wrote that Siedle was "often called 'the invisible autocrat of the opera'," in reference to how he ruled over everything on the technical side, and no opera could proceed without his permission and approval.
Credits Mechanical Effects: Cupid Outwits Adam – Bijou – 1900
Properties: Madame Sans Gene – Albaugh's Grand Opera House, Washington, DC – 1894"Amusements", The Washington Times, November 1, 1894, pg 7 The Jolly Musketeer (with costume design by his wife, Caroline) – Jefferson De Angelis Opera Company – 1898"At the Theaters", The Saint Paul Globe, February 26, 1899, Page 13. Wizard of Wiseland – Illinois Theatre – 1909
Properties and Effects: All Star Imperial Russian Ballet, Mikail Mordkin – American tour – 1911–12"The Theatre", Rock Island Argus, November 30, 1911, pg 3. Monte Cristo – English's, Indianapolis – 1901 – (Playbill lists "Costumes, designs and effects by Edward and Caroline")Amusements, The Indianapolis Journal, February 17, 1901, Page 14.
Technical Director: La fanciulla del west – 1910 Natoma – Philadelphia-Chicago Grand Opera Company – 1910Natoma: an opera in three acts, book by Joseph D. Redding; music by Victor Herbert, Published 1911 by G. Schirmer in New York, pg 33 Mona – 1912"$10,000 American Opera Next Metropolitan Novelty", The New York Times, March 10, 1912. Cyrano – 1913"Cyrano de Bergerac an Opera Novelty" New York Times, April 18, 1912 Grand Opera in Atlanta by the Metropolitan Opera Company – 1913Fourth Annual Season of Grand Opera in Atlanta by the Metropolitan Opera Company playbill, 1913, (https://archive.org/details/MetropolitanOperaInAtlantaApril1913) Internet Archive, accessed Aug 24, 2013. Julien – 1914"Charpentier's New Opera, 'Julien,' Sung", The New York Times, February 27, 1914 Die Walkure – Metropolitan Opera Company at City College Stadium – 1916 Cavalleria Rusticana – Metropolitan Opera Company at City College Stadium – 1916 Pagliacci – Metropolitan Opera Company at City College Stadium – 1916"Casts for Stadium Operas", The New York Times, September 9, 1916 Brian Boru – Philadelphia, Metropolitan Opera House – 1917Opera in Philadelphia Performance Chronology 1900–1924, Compiled by Frank Hamilton, 2009, (http://www.frankhamilton.org/ph/ph0.pdf ), accessed August 20, 2013 Don Carlos – 1920"Plans of the Metropolitan and Chicago Companies", New York Tribune, October 17, 1920, pg 8. Die Tote Stadt – 1921"Marie Jeritza Acclaimed in Korngold Opera", New York Tribune, November 20, 1921, pg 16 Cosi Fan Tutti – 1922"Mozart's Opera Buffa To Be Given First Time", New York Tribune, March 13, 1922, pg 7.
Scenery Construction Supervisor L'oracolo – Philadelphia, Metropolitan Opera House – 1919
Siedle Studios Siedle Studios was a warehouse which Edward Siedle filled with props that he rented out, sometimes to the Met. His wife, Caroline, was a lover of auctions and antiques, and purchased many of the items for the Studios. Siedle owned the warehouse building itself until 1905, when he transferred ownership to his wife."Real Estate Transfers", New-York Tribune, June 24, 1905, Page 16 It was located at 538 W. 29th Street in Manhattan."The Trow (formerly Wilson's) Copartnership and Corporation Directory, of the Boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx, City of New York", March 1910, Trow Directory, Printing & Bookbinding, Co., New York, pg 754 In 1912, the Studio employed 18 men and 2 women in the shop.First Annual Industrial Directory of New York State, compiled and published by John Williams, Albany, JB Lyon Company, Printers, 1913, pg 231
For the fiftieth anniversary celebration of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, some of the decorations in the great hall of the Fifth Avenue Entrance were provided by Siedle Studios.The Fiftieth Anniversary Celebration: MDCCCLXX-MCMXX. by Metropolitan Museum of Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1921.
Siedle Studios Credits