Mundy, John, 1886-1971

John Mundy (1886-1971) was a concert cellist, trained at London’s Royal Academy of Music. After serving in World War I and teaching music in Ireland, Mundy came to the United States to pursue his musical career further. He was a freelance cellist and began composing his own music. He eventually joined the orchestra of The Metropolitan Opera, and became an orchestra manager there for thirteen years. In 1945, he collaborated with Edward Eager and Alfred Drake on The Burglar’s Opera, a musical comedy based on Italian commedia dell’arte. The Burglar’s Opera was staged at Catholic University, and then revised five years later for a brief Broadway run under the title, The Liar . Other incarnations of the musical were staged under the titles The Rascal, The Gay Rascal and The Burglar .

From the guide to the John Mundy papers, 1905-1965, (The New York Public Library. Music Division.)