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''The Mountaineers'' is an English "romantic comic opera" in three acts with a libretto by Australian-born Guy Eden (1864–1954) and Reginald Somerville (1867–1948), lyrics by Eden and music by Somerville. It opened at the Savoy Theatre in London on 29 September 1909, under the management of C. H. Workman, and ran for a total of 61 performances. It starred Workman, Elsie Spain, Claude Flemming, Jessie Rose and A. Laurence Legge. There was a provincial tour with many of the same cast, under the management of Harry P. Towers in the autumn of 1910.〔''Penny Illustrated Paper'', 23 April 1910, p. 530; Issue 2552〕 ==Background and production== Richard D'Oyly Carte died in 1901 leaving the management of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company and the Savoy Theatre in the hands of his widow, Helen.〔Joseph, p. 133〕 After a successful repertory season at the Savoy ending in March 1909, the now-frail Helen leased the theatre to actor Charles H. Workman, who had been a long-time principal performer with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company.〔Stedman, Jane W. ("Carte, Helen (1852–1913)", ) ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, September 2004, accessed 12 September 2008〕〔Joseph, p. 146〕 Encouraged by the success of the Gilbert and Sullivan seasons, Workman decided to produce his own season of light opera.〔A. K. "A New Opera at the Savoy", ''The Manchester Guardian'', 30 September 1909, p. 14〕 He continued the run of ''The Yeomen of the Guard'' until the end of March and then closed the theatre until he had a new work ready.〔Rollins and Witts, p. 22〕 Somerville is credited with the conception of ''The Mountaineers''. He was travelling in a train through the Rhine Valley when the idea came to him: "I had been glancing idly at a guide book, but the opening lines of a quaint legendary tale relating to some little village in the mountains suddenly held my interest, and when I had read it through I realised that here was the ideal story for an opera. Only the climax would have to be altered, for the story ended on a tragic note."〔Somerville, Reginald. "Memories of ''The Mountaineers''", in ''Music Masterpieces: Gems from the World's Famous Operas and Musical Plays'', Percy Pitt (ed.), vol. 3, part 15 (London: Amalgamated Press, 1926), p. 76〕 Somerville showed ''The Mountaineers'' to Workman, who was at once interested. He assembled several financial backers and formed the Comic Opera Syndicate.〔''The Era'', 11 Sept 1909, p. 15〕 The press referred to the work as a Savoy opera. 〔See, e.g., ''The Manchester Guardian'', 17 September 1910, p. 1, advertising ''The Mountaineers''.〕 ''The Mountaineers'' opened on 29 September 1909 at the Savoy Theatre, to a very enthusiastic audience.〔 Critical response was mixed, however, with most critics finding the piece light, pleasant and entertaining, in an old-fashioned way.〔("The Mountaineers" ) in ''The Musical Times'', Novello, 1909, p. 724〕 ''The Times'' declared that "it forms one of those instances of respectable mediocrity which are more difficult to describe than many far less meritorious works. This does not mean that it is dull, or 'not worth going to see.' On the contrary, it provides a very pleasant, pretty, amusing entertainment.... A good story, well told; but told without wit, without distinction."〔"Savoy Theatre", ''The Times'', 30 September 1909, p. 11〕 ''The Manchester Guardian'' found the both the story and music "simple and charming" but felt that the subject was not "strong enough to occupy a whole evening" and did not think that Workman's part in the piece was convincing.〔 ''The Musical Times'' called Somerville's music "graceful, melodious and, like the libretto, always refined"; it praised the comedy of Workman and the singing of Spain, Flemming, Legge and Rose.〔 The authors quickly reacted to the critique, hiring Arthur Wimperis, the lyricist of ''The Arcadians'', to brighten up the piece. Five new songs were added, as well as a duelling scene between Pierre and Gustave in the second act, and additional comic dialogue. The show contained songs that satirised the Chancellor of the Exchequer, David Lloyd George, which did not deter Lloyd George from attending a performance in November 1909. On the evening of the performance, the theatre was picketed by suffragettes demonstrating against the government in general and Lloyd George in particular. The performance was interrupted by demonstrations in the theatre by suffragettes in the audience who had been organised by the Women's Social and Political Union. The demonstrators were expelled forcibly from the theatre. When one woman claimed property that had been left behind during the expulsion, Workman complained to Christabel Pankhurst, the leader of the Women's Social and Political Union, about the damage her members had caused.〔"Politics in the Theatre – A 'Votes for Women' Demonstration", ''The Manchester Guardian'', 12 November 1909, p. 7; and "Suffragettes and the Savoy", ''The Observer'', 21 November 1909, p. 13〕 ''The Mountaineers'' closed on 27 November after 61 performances,〔Gänzl, p. 1036〕 making way for ''Fallen Fairies'', which needed to be rehearsed on the stage of the Savoy for an opening before Christmas.〔"The New Savoy Opera", ''The Observer'', 7 November 1909, p. 9〕 ''The Mountaineers'' later toured in the British provinces with many of the same cast, under management of Harry P. Towers (with Marie Dainton as Clarice), in the autumn of 1910.〔 A production of a Spanish translation of the opera was presented in Barcelona in early 1910.〔"Dramatis Personae", ''The Observer'', 16 January 1910, p. 5〕 ''Fallen Fairies'', by W. S. Gilbert and Edward German was unsuccessful despite the cachet of W. S. Gilbert as librettist.〔Morrison, Robert. ("The Controversy Surrounding Gilbert's Last Opera", ) ''The Gilbert and Sullivan Archive''〕 After this disappointment, Workman decided to follow the prevailing tastes of the London public by presenting an Edwardian musical comedy for his third production, ''Two Merry Monarchs'', but this also failed to catch on.〔Farrell, pp. 74–76〕 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「The Mountaineers (opera)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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