Tim Rice(I)
- Music Department
- Writer
- Producer
A prolific lyricist and librettist, Tim Rice was born in Amersham,
Buckinghamshire, in the fall of 1944. Rice pursued his university
education at Lancing College and, briefly, at l'Universite de Paris -
Sorbonne. He was considering a legal career around the time that he met
Andrew Lloyd Webber in 1965. Three
years later, the two young men composed a 20-minute pop oratorio that
would eventually become "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat".
The piece was premiered on 1st March 1968 at the Colet Court School in
the City of London. During the following months, Rice and Webber
lengthened the oratorio to 30 minutes, and a record album of "Joseph"
(with Rice singing the role of "Pharaoh") was made at the end of 1968.
Remaining in partnership with Webber, his next project was "Jesus
Christ Superstar". Introduced to the public as a concept album in 1970,
the opera propelled Rice and Webber to international stardom. Staged
versions appeared the following year, and their popularity led to the
film
Jesus Christ Superstar (1973).
Following "Superstar", Rice and Webber returned to their previous
project and expanded it into (more or less) its finalised form. The
concept album for "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" was
released in 1974.
Inexplicably eclipsed by his collaborator, Rice may never have received
the acclaim that he deserved for his contributions to the partnership.
The death-throws of the Rice-Webber collaboration produced a third
opera, called "Evita". Its concept album was released in 1976.
Rice continued on with a piece called "Blondel", which appeared in
1983. Set to music by
Stephen Oliver, "Blondel" was
arguably the most comic and witty of Rice's major works. The opera
"Chess" followed, with its concept album arriving in 1984. Former
ABBA songwriters
Björn Ulvaeus and
Benny Andersson provided the
music for "Chess", and the concept album was an international hit.
"Chess" was staged in London in 1986 with great success, but the 1988
Broadway production was radically revised without Rice's knowledge or
permission, and it was quickly shut down.
In 1987 Rice was asked by Freddie Mercury and Mike Moran to write lyrics for Freddie's album with Montserrat Caballé "Barcelona", released in 1988, one entitled "The Fallen Priest" and the other "The Golden Boy".
In 1991, he was hired to finish the lyrics for the
Walt Disney film
Aladdin (1992). Disney subsequently
teamed him with Elton John for
The Lion King (1994). Rice also
composed additional lyrics for the stage version of Disney's film
Beauty and the Beast (1991),
which opened on Broadway in 1994. A stage version of
The Lion King (1994) opened on
Broadway in 1997, as he was working with
Elton John on two new projects - "Aida",
which opened on Broadway in 2000, and the Dreamworks film,
The Road to El Dorado (2000).
The 1991 to 2000 period also saw a flurry of activity for Tim Rice's
earlier works. Major revival productions of "Joseph and the Amazing
Technicolor Dreamcoat" and "Jesus Christ Superstar" were staged in many
parts of the world. Additionally, there was the film,
Evita (1996), as well as the video-films
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat (1991),
and
Jesus Christ Superstar (2000).
Apart from theatre and film, Rice has written recurring columns for UK
newspapers, as well as having shown up regularly on BBC Radio and
Television. In 1973, he founded a cricket side - The Heartaches - for
which he serves as a manager as well as a player. He also makes regular
contributions to various cricket magazines. He continues to have
projects in development for the theatre and for film. Most anxiously
awaited - especially by audiences in Canada and the United States - is,
perhaps, a revival of the authentic 1986 London version of "Chess".
Buckinghamshire, in the fall of 1944. Rice pursued his university
education at Lancing College and, briefly, at l'Universite de Paris -
Sorbonne. He was considering a legal career around the time that he met
Andrew Lloyd Webber in 1965. Three
years later, the two young men composed a 20-minute pop oratorio that
would eventually become "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat".
The piece was premiered on 1st March 1968 at the Colet Court School in
the City of London. During the following months, Rice and Webber
lengthened the oratorio to 30 minutes, and a record album of "Joseph"
(with Rice singing the role of "Pharaoh") was made at the end of 1968.
Remaining in partnership with Webber, his next project was "Jesus
Christ Superstar". Introduced to the public as a concept album in 1970,
the opera propelled Rice and Webber to international stardom. Staged
versions appeared the following year, and their popularity led to the
film
Jesus Christ Superstar (1973).
Following "Superstar", Rice and Webber returned to their previous
project and expanded it into (more or less) its finalised form. The
concept album for "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" was
released in 1974.
Inexplicably eclipsed by his collaborator, Rice may never have received
the acclaim that he deserved for his contributions to the partnership.
The death-throws of the Rice-Webber collaboration produced a third
opera, called "Evita". Its concept album was released in 1976.
Rice continued on with a piece called "Blondel", which appeared in
1983. Set to music by
Stephen Oliver, "Blondel" was
arguably the most comic and witty of Rice's major works. The opera
"Chess" followed, with its concept album arriving in 1984. Former
ABBA songwriters
Björn Ulvaeus and
Benny Andersson provided the
music for "Chess", and the concept album was an international hit.
"Chess" was staged in London in 1986 with great success, but the 1988
Broadway production was radically revised without Rice's knowledge or
permission, and it was quickly shut down.
In 1987 Rice was asked by Freddie Mercury and Mike Moran to write lyrics for Freddie's album with Montserrat Caballé "Barcelona", released in 1988, one entitled "The Fallen Priest" and the other "The Golden Boy".
In 1991, he was hired to finish the lyrics for the
Walt Disney film
Aladdin (1992). Disney subsequently
teamed him with Elton John for
The Lion King (1994). Rice also
composed additional lyrics for the stage version of Disney's film
Beauty and the Beast (1991),
which opened on Broadway in 1994. A stage version of
The Lion King (1994) opened on
Broadway in 1997, as he was working with
Elton John on two new projects - "Aida",
which opened on Broadway in 2000, and the Dreamworks film,
The Road to El Dorado (2000).
The 1991 to 2000 period also saw a flurry of activity for Tim Rice's
earlier works. Major revival productions of "Joseph and the Amazing
Technicolor Dreamcoat" and "Jesus Christ Superstar" were staged in many
parts of the world. Additionally, there was the film,
Evita (1996), as well as the video-films
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat (1991),
and
Jesus Christ Superstar (2000).
Apart from theatre and film, Rice has written recurring columns for UK
newspapers, as well as having shown up regularly on BBC Radio and
Television. In 1973, he founded a cricket side - The Heartaches - for
which he serves as a manager as well as a player. He also makes regular
contributions to various cricket magazines. He continues to have
projects in development for the theatre and for film. Most anxiously
awaited - especially by audiences in Canada and the United States - is,
perhaps, a revival of the authentic 1986 London version of "Chess".