Colman family

English family of theatre managers and librettists.

(b Kensington, London, bap. March 16, 1691; d Pisa, April 20, 1733). Diplomat and opera lover. Through the influence of William Pulteney, his wife’s brother-in-law and later Earl of Bath, he was appointed special envoy to Vienna in 1721. Three years later he was transferred to the court of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, at Florence, where he remained until his death. Letters to Handel and to Owen Swiney show that he helped re-engage Senesino for London in 1730. He adapted the libretto for Handel’s Arianna in Creta (1734, London) and...

English family of theatre managers and librettists.

(b Kensington, London, bap. March 16, 1691; d Pisa, April 20, 1733). Diplomat and opera lover. Through the influence of William Pulteney, his wife’s brother-in-law and later Earl of Bath, he was appointed special envoy to Vienna in 1721. Three years later he was transferred to the court of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, at Florence, where he remained until his death. Letters to Handel and to Owen Swiney show that he helped re-engage Senesino for London in 1730. He adapted the libretto for Handel’s Arianna in Creta (1734, London) and he is believed by some to be the author of the ‘Opera Register’ (GB-Lbl), a brief record of operatic performances in London, 1712–15 and occasionally to 1734.

(b Florence, bap. April 18, 1732; d Paddington, London, Aug 14, 1794). Playwright, librettist and ...