BARNETT, JOHN

BARNETT, JOHN (1802–1890), composer. Barnett was born in Bedford, England. His father Bernhard Beer, a cousin of Giacomo Meyerbeer, had changed his name to Barnett upon settling in England. John Barnett was a prolific composer for the London stage. In his opera The Mountain Sylph (1834) he reintroduced the composed recitative into English opera in place of the spoken dialogue. His attempt to establish an opera house at St. James's Theater was unsuccessful. In later life he settled at Cheltenham as a music teacher. He composed chamber music and songs, and published some writings on singing. His daughter, Clara Kathleen Rogers (1844–1931), became a well-known opera singer. BARNETT, JOHN FRANCIS BARNETT, JOHN FRANCIS (1837–1916), composer. Born in London, nephew of the composer john barnett , he won the Queen's Scholarship at the Royal Academy of Music at the age of 12, and played Mendelssohn's piano concerto at a performance conducted by Louis Spohr. He was appointed professor at the Royal College of Music, London, in 1883. His works include piano, chamber, and orchestral music, and choral cantatas; the most successful were settings of Coleridge's Ancient Mariner (1867) and Keats' Eve of St. Agnes (1913).