|
''Two Merry Monarchs'' is an Edwardian musical comedy in two acts with a book by Arthur Anderson and George Levy, lyrics by Anderson and Hartley Carrick, and music by Orlando Morgan. It opened at the Savoy Theatre in London on 10 March 1910, under the management of C. H. Workman, and ran there for 43 performances.〔Scowcroft, Philip L. ("A 123rd Garland of British Light Music Composers" ). Classical Music Web, accessed 4 June 2010〕 It starred Workman, Robert Whyte Jr., Lennox Pawle, Daisy le Hay and Roland Cunningham. The work was the last piece that could be considered a Savoy opera.〔Farrell, p. 75〕 There was a brief transfer to the Strand Theatre in London, which ran for an additional six performances, from 30 April to 6 May 1910, and a provincial tour in the late summer of 1910, both starring Hayden Coffin.〔Ganzl, p. 1050〕〔Farrell, p. 77〕 Another tour was given in the spring of 1911.〔Theatre programme, Royal Opera House, Leicester, dated 17 April 1911〕 The score is apparently lost, and the comedy was not subsequently revived. ==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 Carte leased the theatre to actor C. 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〕 Workman produced a season of light opera, beginning with ''The Mountaineers'' and ''Fallen Fairies''. Neither of these works had been very successful (despite the cachet of W. S. Gilbert as librettist for the latter), so Workman decided to follow the prevailing tastes of the London public by presenting an Edwardian musical comedy for his third production. Unlike previous Savoy Theatre premieres, and except for Workman and Cunningham, the cast consisted of musical comedy performers and comedians who had neither appeared at the Savoy nor had previously been connected with the D'Oyly Carte organisation.〔Wearing, J. P. ''The London Stage, 1910–1919: A Calendar of Plays and Players'', The Scarecrow Press (1982) ISBN 0-8108-1596-6〕 ''Two Merry Monarchs'' opened on 10 March 1910 to an enthusiastic public, but it received mostly poor notices. Despite a lavish production and the skill of the performers concerned, ''Two Merry Monarchs'' was withdrawn from the Savoy stage on 23 April 1910, after 43 performances, one of the shortest runs of any Savoy opera.〔''The Times'', 10 March 1910, p. 10; and 23 April 1910, p 14.〕 Producer Austen Hurgon picked it up for an attempt at a low-price season of musical comedy at the Strand Theatre, and the production was transferred in whole with the same cast, scenery and costuming, beginning on 30 April 1910. Added to the cast were provincial musical comedy star Philip Smith as Rolandyl and West End leading-man Hayden Coffin as Prince Charmis.〔''The Times'', 2 May 1910, p. 8〕 But the death of King Edward VII on 6 May forced all theatres to be closed for a week in mourning, and ''Two Merry Monarchs'' closed after only six performances there.〔 There was a provincial tour, in which Coffin participated, in the late summer of 1910.〔 When the Strand reopened in September, ''Two Merry Monarchs'' was gone from the bill. The piece has not been produced since then using the original score.〔''The Times'', 11 July 1910, p. 12〕 Although the libretto to ''Two Merry Monarchs'' survives in a license copy, the score has not been located.〔Farrell, p. 74〕 Workman's last production at the Savoy was a brief run of Gluck's ''Orpheus'', which starred concert artist Marie Brema, and closed after 23 performances. Workman relinquished control of the Savoy. Helen Carte and then her son, Rupert D'Oyly Carte, leased the theatre to other managers, and no more new Savoy operas were produced.〔Rollins and Witts, p. 22 ''et. seq.''〕 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「Two Merry Monarchs」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|