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''Cox and Box;'' ''or, The Long-Lost Brothers'', is a one-act comic opera with a libretto by F. C. Burnand and music by Arthur Sullivan, based on the 1847 farce ''Box and Cox'' by John Maddison Morton. It was Sullivan's first successful comic opera. The story concerns a landlord who lets a room to two lodgers, one who works at night and one who works during the day. When one of them has the day off, they meet each other in the room and tempers flare. Sullivan wrote this piece five years before his first opera with W. S. Gilbert, ''Thespis''. The piece premiered in 1866 and was seen a few times at charity benefits in 1867. Once given a professional production in 1869, it became popular, running for 264 performances and enjoying many revivals and further charity performances. During the 20th century, it was frequently played by the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in an abridged version, as a curtain raiser for the shorter Gilbert and Sullivan operas. It has been played by numerous professional and amateur companies throughout the world and continues to be frequently produced. == Background == The Moray Minstrels were an informal gathering of notable members of London society and the arts, including painters, actors and writers (all male), who were mostly amateur musicians. They would meet for musical evenings at Moray Lodge, in Kensington, the home of Arthur James Lewis (1824–1901), a haberdasher and silk merchant (of the firm Lewis & Allenby), who married the actress Kate Terry in 1867.〔Gielgud, p. 5; and ("Arthur James Lewis, 1824-1901" ), The Correspondence of James McNeill Whistler, University of Glasgow, accessed 15 June 2013〕 The Minstrels would discuss the arts, smoke and sing part-songs and other popular music at monthly gatherings of more than 150 lovers of the arts; their conductor was John Foster. Foster, as well as the dramatist F. C. Burnand and many other members were friendly with young Arthur Sullivan, who joined the group.〔Walker, Raymond. "The Original Cox and Box", ''The Gilbert & Sullivan News'', vol. II, no. 13, Autumn–Winter 1998; pp. 13–15〕 On one occasion in early 1865, they heard a performance of Offenbach's short two-man operetta ''Les deux aveugles'' ("The Two Blind Men").〔"Leisure Hours of the Art World". ''The Musical World'', p. 174, 25 March 1865〕 After seeing another operetta at Moray Lodge the following winter, Burnand asked Sullivan to collaborate on a new piece to be performed for the Minstrels.〔Armstrong, pp. 20–21〕 Burnand adapted the libretto for this "triumviretta" from John Maddison Morton's famous farce, ''Box and Cox'', which had premiered in London in 1847, starring J. B. Buckstone.〔Morton, John Maddison. (''Box and Cox''. ) accessed 11 August 2010〕 The text follows Morton's play closely, differing in only two notable respects. First, in the play the protagonists lodge with Mrs Bouncer; in Burnand's version the character is Sergeant Bouncer. This change was necessitated by the intention of performing the piece for the all-male gathering of the Moray Minstrels. Secondly, Burnand wrote original lyrics to be set to music by the 24-year-old Sullivan. The date and venue of the first performance was much disputed, starting in 1890, in duelling letters to ''The World'', with Burnand and Lewis each claiming to have hosted it. Andrew Lamb has concluded that the run-through at Burnand's home on 23 May 1866 was a ''rehearsal'', followed by the first ''performance'' at Lewis's home on 26 May 1866.〔Lamb, Andrew. "Cox and Box" – A Postscript", ''The Gilbert & Sullivan Journal'', 1968, volume IX, 7, pp.132–133〕 A printed programme for the 23 May performance later surfaced, suggesting more than a mere rehearsal,〔Hulme, in Eden, pp. 5–6〕 but the composer himself supported the later date, writing to ''The World'', "I feel bound to say that Burnand's version came upon me with the freshness of a novel. My own recollection of the business is perfectly distinct".〔Harris, p. VIII, n. 8〕 George Grove noted in his diary of 13 May that he attended a performance of ''Cox and Box'', which Lamb takes to have been an open rehearsal; however, Foster calls the performance at Burnand's house a rehearsal.〔 The original cast was George du Maurier as Box, Harold Power as Cox, and John Foster as Bouncer, with Sullivan himself improvising the accompaniment at the piano.〔 Another performance at Moray Lodge took place eleven months later on 26 April 1867. This was followed by the first public performance, which was given as part of a charity benefit by the Moray Minstrels (along with Kate, Florence and Ellen Terry and others) for the widow and children of C. H. Bennett, on 11 May 1867 at the Adelphi Theatre, with du Maurier as Box, Quintin Twiss as Cox and Arthur Cecil as Bouncer, performing as an amateur under his birth name, Arthur Blunt.〔Jacobs, p. 51〕 A review in ''The Times'' commented that Burnand had adapted Morton's libretto well, and that Sullivan's music was "full of sparking tune and real comic humour". The rest of the evening's entertainment included a musicale by the Moray Minstrels, the play ''A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing'' and ''Les deux aveugles''.〔Gilbert, W. S. ''Fun'' magazine, issue for 1 June 1867, pp.128–29〕 The opera was heard with a full orchestra for the first time on that occasion, with Sullivan completing the orchestration a matter of hours before the first rehearsal. ''The Musical World'' praised both author and composer, suggesting that the piece would gain success if presented professionally.〔("Amateur Performance for the Late Mr. C. H. Bennett" ). ''The Musical World'', 18 May 1867, vol. 45, p. 318〕 It was repeated on 18 May 1867 at the Royal Gallery of Illustration in Regent Street. The critic for the magazine ''Fun'', W. S. Gilbert, wrote of the 11 May performance: At yet another charity performance, at the Theatre Royal, Manchester, on 29 July 1867, the overture was heard for the first time. The autograph full score is inscribed, ''Ouverture à la Triumvirette musicale 'Cox et Boxe' et 'Bouncer' composée par Arthur S. Sullivan, Paris, 23 Juillet 1867. Hotel Meurice''.〔Wimbush, Roger. "Here and There", ''The Gramophone'', October 1966, p. 202〕 The duet, "Stay, Bouncer, stay!" was probably first heard in this revival.〔Harris, p. XI〕 There were discussions about an 1867 professional production under the management of Thomas German Reed, but instead Reed commissioned Sullivan and Burnand to write a two-act comic opera, ''The Contrabandista'', which was less well received. ''Cox and Box'' had its first professional production under Reed's management at the Royal Gallery of Illustration on Easter Monday, 29 March 1869, with Gilbert and Frederic Clay's ''No Cards'' preceding it on the bill. The occasion marked the professional debut of Arthur Cecil, who played Box. German Reed played Cox and F. Seymour played Bouncer.〔("Royal Gallery of Illustration" ). Review of the premiere of ''No Cards'' and ''Cox and Box'' in ''The Musical World'', p. 234, J. Alfredo Novello, 3 April 1869〕 ''Cox and Box'' ran until 20 March 1870, a total of 264 performances, with a further 23 performances on tour. The production was a hit, although critics lamented the loss of Sullivan's orchestration (the Gallery of Illustration was too small for an orchestra): "The operetta loses something by the substitution... of a piano and harmonium accompaniment for the orchestral parts which Mr. Sullivan knows so well how to write; but the music is nevertheless welcome in any shape."〔''The Athenæum'', 3 April 1869, ''quoted'' in Harris, p. XII, n. 24〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Cox and Box」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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