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''Gretchen'' is a tragic four-act play, in blank verse, written by W. S. Gilbert in 1878–79 based on Goethe's version of part of the Faust legend. The play was first performed at the Olympic Theatre on 24 March 1879. The piece starred Marion Terry in the title role, H. B. Conway as Faustus and Frank Archer as Mephisto. The play was not a success and closed after about 18 performances on 12 April 1879.〔Moss, Simon. ("Gretchen" ) at ''Gilbert & Sullivan: a selling exhibition of memorabilia'', c20th.com, accessed 16 November 2009〕 ==Background== Gilbert and Sullivan produced their hit comic opera ''H.M.S. Pinafore'' in May 1878, and Gilbert turned to ''Gretchen'' as his next project. Gilbert was by then one of the most famous playwrights in England, but he was known more for comedies than dramas, and so ''Gretchen'' was anticipated with much curiosity.〔Stedman, p. 168〕 Although Gilbert had met with some success in earlier dramas, his last such piece, ''The Ne'er-do-Weel'' (also at the Olympic), had met with a difficult reception in 1878.〔Knight, Joseph. (''Theatrical Notes'', ) (Lawrence & Bullen: 1893), pp. 206–15〕 Gilbert was inspired to write ''Gretchen'' after seeing a picture called "Regrets", showing two priests, one of whom looks wistfully at a pair of lovers.〔Stedman, p. 167〕 He began to study Goethe's ''Faust'' in April 1878 and was ready to show his plot outline to Henry Neville, manager of the Olympic Theatre, in June 1878.〔Stedman, p. 163〕 Gilbert worked for a total of ten months on the play.〔 He finished writing the play in December 1878 but did not agree with Neville on many production details, including which set and costume designers to use and some of the casting decisions.〔Stedman, p. 165〕〔Ainger, pp. 167–68〕 The cover of the theatre programme carried a lengthy note by Gilbert earnestly explaining that he was not attempting to put ''Faust'' on stage in its entirety, but simply to "re-model... the story of Gretchen's downfall".〔Gilbert, W. S. ''Gretchen'' theatre programme, 24 March 1879〕 Gilbert's version of the story differs from most Faust tellings in that Faust makes no agreement with the Devil. The Devil shows him a vision of Gretchen, and Gretchen sees Faust in a dream before she meets him. The Devil, in Gilbert's version, becomes a mere anticlerical ''raisonneur''.〔 Gretchen lasted only three weeks,〔 although it was given in America in 1886, with May Fortescue in the title role.〔("Miss Fortescue as Gretchen", ) ''The New York Times'' 19 October 1886, p. 5, accessed 29 October 2009〕 After the failure of ''Gretchen'', Gilbert concentrated on the highly profitable Savoy Operas, writing only a few more plays during the rest of his life.〔(List of Gilbert's Plays ), The Gilbert and Sullivan Archive, accessed 2 September 2012〕 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「Gretchen (play)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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