Herbert Kretzmer
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Herbert Kretzmer (born 5 October 1925, Kroonstad, Orange Free State, South Africa[1]) is a South African born newspaperman and lyricist, best known for writing the lyrics of the hit musical, Les Misérables.
[edit] Career
Kretzmer moved to Europe after World War II, living in Paris, France for a time before settling in London in 1954.
He wrote for several Fleet Street newspapers as a feature writer, star interviewer as well as theatre critic (including a period of eighteen years on the London Daily Express) and television critic (eight years for the London Daily Mail, during which time he was awarded two British Press Awards).
During the early 1960s he contributed regular songs to the satirical television series, That Was The Week That Was.
He wrote the comic songs "Goodness Gracious Me", and "Bangers and Mash" which were hits for Peter Sellers and Sophia Loren, and the former of which won him an Ivor Novello Award. He also wrote the lyrics of the chart-topping Charles Aznavour song "She", and has collaborated with Aznavour for many years. Their songs include "Yesterday When I Was Young", "Happy Anniversary", "Sailor Boys".
In 1985, he was invited by producer Cameron Mackintosh to write the lyrics for the London production of the French musical theatre import Les Misérables, by Schonberg and Boublil. It is now the longest running musical in the world, it won eight Tony Awards and the Broadway cast album won a Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album in 1988.
A new musical Marguerite is from Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg, the creators of Les Misérables, Miss Saigon and Martin Guerre includes music by Michel Legrand with lyrics by Kretzmer. Marguerite, set during World War II in occupied Paris, and inspired by the romantic novel La Dame aux camélias by Alexandre Dumas, fils. The musical's story line concerns an ailing courtesan living openly in a Paris mansion with a high-ranking German officer. At her 40th birthday celebration she is passionately attracted to a musician half her age. The musical premiered in May 2008 at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket in London.[2]
