Figure 1.--Cyril sat for this portrait in New York City, probably in the early-1890s. Note the short curls and Fauntleroy blouse. He looks to be about 13 years old. We are not sure if this was his regular clothing or how he was dressed for performances. We do know that this was a cabinet card made fir sale to his adoring public. Fans would have piced these cards in scrap books.

Cyril Roderic Tyler was a popular boy prodigy who sang at importsant venues in America, Europe, and other countries. His parents were musiciams who performed around the world. He was norn in Milan, Italy and had a brother. From at least 1890 when Cyril was 9 and continuing until his voice changed they traveled to Australia, England, Europe, San Francisco where Cyril performed as a child soprano. He performed for Queen Victoria on several occasions and became a protege of the great prima dona Patti. Cyril was billed as a 'phenomenal boy soprano'. Ww hve been unable to find ny information about adult performnces.

Parents

Cyril's parents were Americans, George Lewis Tyler and Mary Hewitt. Both of his parents were musicians who performed all over the world. The family has references to their performances at LaScala, Milan and several U.S. locales. George Lewis Tyler eventually changed his name to Gio Taglieri, presumably because it had better billboard appeal. He remarried and ended up in Portland, Oregon where he performed and taught.

Childhood

Cyril Roderic Tyler was born in Naples, Italy (1879). His parents were preumably performing in Europe at the time. He had a brother Lewis Hewitt Tyler. We know very little about his chidhood.

Performances

From at least 1890 when Cyril was 9 and continuing until his voice changed they traveled to Australia, England, Europe, San Francisco where Cyril performed as a 'child soprano'. He performed for Queen Victoria on several occasions and became a protege of the great prima dona Patti. Cyril was billed as a 'phenomenal boy soprano'. A portrait of him was taken in New York City (figure 1). The New York protrait shows that he performed in New York City. There is some indication that he sang popular balads, but his repotoire was much wider. We know he sang 'Because You Were an Old Sweetheart of Mine' by Harry I. Robinson and, Maurice L. Jacobs, published by M. Witmark & Sons in 1902. We do not, however, know what age he was at the time. The portrait here is unfortunately undated, but looks to have been taken in the late 1890s or perhaps about 1900. Cyril apparently also went on cross country concert tours, including Texas. One of the few items we could find on Cyril was a photograph in a flyer for a concert at the Hollis St. Theatre on October 27 and 30, unfortunately the years is not indicated. This is in the collection of the Harry Ranson Humanities Resarch Center at the University of Texas at Austin (location FC4). The Center reports, "We have one photograph and one concert flyer. We were unable to find his exact birth year but he was 11 years old at the time of this concert program. The concert was performed at the Hollis St. Theatre in Boston. There is a nice, albeit brief, page of biographical information on the inside of the flyer. It states that he had a "repertoire consisting of classic, operatic, church and oratorio music" and that he sang completely from memory. Also, his manager was Edgar Strakosch, who managed other famous personalities, such as Sarah Bernhardt."

Clothing

Cyril in the portrait here wears short curls and an all white outfit including a fancy Fauntleroy blouse (figure 1). He looks to be about 13 years old. A German reader writes, "My guess is that this portrait was taken about 1900. Cyril was famous for his treble voice. So I think he sang this title as treble. So in a a 1902 performance he could not be older than 15. HBC's estimate for the portrait was age 13. Thus I think the portrait might have been taken in 1900 or a little earlier in the late 1890s. Note that card bord is green. (Not seen in the image posted here.) In the 1890s white was more common. Starting in 1900 dark colors of cardboard became more fashionable, although there is no way to be sure about this." Another reder writes, "Certainly coloured cards were more common in the early 1900's, but that's not to say they weren't used earlier. Thickness of the card, any embossing, bevelling of the edges are all relevant." We also do not know how Cyril was dressed for his performances. We are not sure if the portrait here shows his regular clothing or how he was dressed for performances.

Figure 2.--This is another cabinet card portrait made for sale to Cyril's fans. This one was done in Boston, confirming tht he pergormned there. It also is mot dated, but looks to have been taken in the late-1880s or about 1890. He is dressed in fancy outfits, but not the popular Fayntleroy style of the day. Studio: Conly in Boston

Hair Styling

We know portraits of Cyril with different hair styles. One portrait shows him with curly hair (figure 1). Another shows him with straight hair (figure 2). This means that mother for some performnces cured his haie. He performed during the Fauyntleroy Era when some boys, usully younger boys, wore long ringlet curls. Dyril's hair is not done in runglets, but it is defnited curled.

Adult Life

We note no other information about Cyril Tyler on the internet. This suggests that as an adult, he made no further contribution to the world of music of any importance. He married Winnifred or Winifred on December 26, 1910. He passed away in 1937.

Sources

Andrews, Patsy. E-mail message, August 5, 2009.

Schneider, Nicolette. Collection Assistant Performing Arts Collection Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center, e-Mail message, March 10, 2003.

Sydney Morning Herald (October 22, 1894). There were promotional ad for performances on page 2 for “The Marvelous Boy Soprano” and “Master Cyril Tyler” and a review on page 3 entitled “The Cyril Tyler Concerts” .

Created: March 5, 2003
Last updated: 4:33 PM 10/8/2017