Charles Zachary Barnett (c1813 – 1849) was an English librettist and playwright of Jewish descent[1] notable for writing the libretti for two operas by his brother the composer John Barnett as well as for his early theatrical adaptations of the works of Charles Dickens.
He was the son of a Hungarian mother and Bernhard Beer, a Prussian Jew who changed his surname to Barnett on settling in England as a diamond merchant and jeweller.
He also wrote several plays including early adaptations of the works of Charles Dickens, such as the three-act burletta Oliver Twist; Or, The Parish Boy's Progress, which opened at the Theatre Royal, Marylebone on 21 May 1838.
[7][8][9] Other plays written by Barnett include The Banks of Allan Water, or the Death of Fair Eleanor (1831), performed at the Pavilion Theatre at Mile End;[10] and a drama based on the Rothschilds - The Rise of the Rothschildes: Or, The Honest Jew of Frankfort (1838).
[11] Other dramas from the pen of Barnett included The Drum of Fate or Sarah the Jewess (1838); The Minister's Dream or the Jew of Plymouth (1838);[12] Linda; The Pearl of Savoy, adaptation of Rossi's libretto Linda di Chamounix;[13] Victorine of Paris; Dominique, and Bohemians of Paris.