The Spectre Knight
Encyclopedia
The Spectre Knight is a one-act "fanciful operetta
" with a libretto by James Albery
and music by Alfred Cellier
. It was first performed on 9 February 1878 at the Opera Comique
by the Comedy Opera Company
as a companion piece to The Sorcerer
. The piece continued to run until 23 March 1878 and was revived by the company from 28 May 1878 to 10 August 1878 as a companion piece to H.M.S. Pinafore
. The piece had a run in New York in 1880 and was toured in Britain and America.
No libretto appears to have been published. A copy of the vocal score, published by Metzler, is in British Library at F.739. The vocal score contains no dialogue, although it has a synopsis of the plot. The license copy of the libretto is in Lord Chamberlain's collection at Add. MS. 53199, Play no. H, Jan–Feb 1878.
was to present long evenings in the theatre, and so producer Richard D'Oyly Carte
preceded his Savoy opera
s with curtain raisers
such as The Spectre Knight. W. J. MacQueen-Pope
commented, concerning such curtain raisers:
The Spectre Knight is a particularly long curtain-raiser, with sixteen songs, and running over an hour.
The eccentric Grand Duke, with his daughter Viola and the remains of his court, has been banished and live in a lonely glen where they try to keep up the semblance of their former grandeur. Viola has known no other life and never seen another human being except those of their party. She is thus greatly delighted when the Duke's nephew Otho arrives in the glen disguised as a friar. Otho falls in love with his cousin at first sight, and having learned from her of the legend of the spectre knight who is supposed to haunt the glen, he appears in the disguise of the ghost. He wins Viola's heart and finally introduces himself to her as Otho who has just overthrown the usurper of her father's throne. He promises that they can all go home again. The Duke consents to Otho's union with Viola, and all ends happily.
During the run of The Sorcerer, Barrington was replaced by F. Talbot, Muncey by Miss Hervey (possibly Rose Hervey), and Warwick by Laura Clement. When revived with Pinafore, the cast was Clifton, Talbot, Everard, Muncey, Clement, and Temple. During the run, Muncey was replaced again by Hervey and Clement by Alice Burville
.
Operetta
Operetta is a genre of light opera, light in terms both of music and subject matter. It is also closely related, in English-language works, to forms of musical theatre.-Origins:...
" with a libretto by James Albery
James Albery
James Albery was an English dramatist.-Life and career:Albery was born in London. On leaving school Albery entered an architect's office, and started to write plays. His farce A Pretty Piece of Chiselling was given its first production by the Ingoldsby Club in 1864...
and music by Alfred Cellier
Alfred Cellier
Alfred Cellier was an English composer, orchestrator and conductor.In addition to conducting and music directing the original productions of several of the most famous Gilbert and Sullivan works and writing the overtures to some of them, Cellier conducted at many theatres in London, New York and...
. It was first performed on 9 February 1878 at the Opera Comique
Opera Comique
The Opera Comique was a 19th-century theatre constructed in Westminster, London, between Wych Street and Holywell Street with entrances on the East Strand. It opened in 1870 and was demolished in 1902, to make way for the construction of the Aldwych and Kingsway...
by the Comedy Opera Company
D'Oyly Carte Opera Company
The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company was a professional light opera company that staged Gilbert and Sullivan's Savoy operas. The company performed nearly year-round in the UK and sometimes toured in Europe, North America and elsewhere, from the 1870s until it closed in 1982. It was revived in 1988 and...
as a companion piece to The Sorcerer
The Sorcerer
The Sorcerer is a two-act comic opera, with a libretto by W. S. Gilbert and music by Arthur Sullivan. It was the British duo's third operatic collaboration. The plot of The Sorcerer is based on a Christmas story, An Elixir of Love, that Gilbert wrote for The Graphic magazine in 1876...
. The piece continued to run until 23 March 1878 and was revived by the company from 28 May 1878 to 10 August 1878 as a companion piece to H.M.S. Pinafore
H.M.S. Pinafore
H.M.S. Pinafore; or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It opened at the Opera Comique in London, England, on 25 May 1878 and ran for 571 performances, which was the second-longest run of any musical...
. The piece had a run in New York in 1880 and was toured in Britain and America.
No libretto appears to have been published. A copy of the vocal score, published by Metzler, is in British Library at F.739. The vocal score contains no dialogue, although it has a synopsis of the plot. The license copy of the libretto is in Lord Chamberlain's collection at Add. MS. 53199, Play no. H, Jan–Feb 1878.
Background
The fashion in the late Victorian eraVictorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
was to present long evenings in the theatre, and so producer Richard D'Oyly Carte
Richard D'Oyly Carte
Richard D'Oyly Carte was an English talent agent, theatrical impresario, composer and hotelier during the latter half of the Victorian era...
preceded his Savoy opera
Savoy opera
The Savoy Operas denote a style of comic opera that developed in Victorian England in the late 19th century, with W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan as the original and most successful practitioners. The name is derived from the Savoy Theatre, which impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte built to house...
s with curtain raisers
Curtain raiser (drama)
A curtain raiser is a performance, stage act, show, actor or performer that opens a show for the main attraction. The term is derived from the act of raising the stage curtain...
such as The Spectre Knight. W. J. MacQueen-Pope
W. J. MacQueen-Pope
Walter James MacQueen-Pope was an English theatre historian and publicist. From a theatrical family which could be traced back to contemporaries of Shakespeare, he was in management for the first part of his career, but switched to publicity, in which field he became well-known...
commented, concerning such curtain raisers:
- This was a one-act play, seen only by the early comers. It would play to empty boxes, half-empty upper circle, to a gradually filling stalls and dress circle, but to an attentive, grateful and appreciative pit and gallery. Often these plays were little gems. They deserved much better treatment than they got, but those who saw them delighted in them. ... [They] served to give young actors and actresses a chance to win their spurs ... the stalls and the boxes lost much by missing the curtain-raiser, but to them dinner was more important.
The Spectre Knight is a particularly long curtain-raiser, with sixteen songs, and running over an hour.
Synopsis
- Scene - A Haunted Glen.
- Time - The educated will perceive; the uneducated will not require to know.
The eccentric Grand Duke, with his daughter Viola and the remains of his court, has been banished and live in a lonely glen where they try to keep up the semblance of their former grandeur. Viola has known no other life and never seen another human being except those of their party. She is thus greatly delighted when the Duke's nephew Otho arrives in the glen disguised as a friar. Otho falls in love with his cousin at first sight, and having learned from her of the legend of the spectre knight who is supposed to haunt the glen, he appears in the disguise of the ghost. He wins Viola's heart and finally introduces himself to her as Otho who has just overthrown the usurper of her father's throne. He promises that they can all go home again. The Duke consents to Otho's union with Viola, and all ends happily.
Musical numbers
- Overture
- No. 1 - Recit. - Chamberlain -- "Potatoes a pound and onions a rope..."
- No. 2 - Recit. - Duke and Chamberlain -- "What letters have you brought from the Palace?"
- No. 3 - Duo - Duke and Chamberlain -- "Your Grace, I am an eligible Count..."
- No. 4 - Quartett - Ladies in Waiting, Chamberlain and Duke -- "You may talk, you may talk, you may scold..."
- No. 5 - Song - Otho -- "Said Cupid to me, come hither to see..."
- No. 6 - Vocal Waltz - Princess -- "I am free, I am free, for my labour is done..."
- No. 7 - Recit. and Trio - Otho, Viola and 1st. Lady -- "Pardon me, madam, I've a word to say to this young lady..."
- No. 8 - Duett - Viola and Otho -- "The little goldfinch in her nest is but a homely bird at best..."
- No. 8(bis) - Replica of Duet -- "You should not be long alone..."
- No. 9 - Recit and Quartett - Viola, 1st. Lady, Chamberlain and Duke -- "Fill up, and let us drink to one another..."
- No. 10 - Round - Viola, 1st. Lady, Chamberlain and Duke -- "Too-whit, too-whoo, too-whoo, too-whit..."
- No. 10b -- Melodrame
- No. 11 & 12 - Entrance and Song of the Spectre - Otho -- "I only mix with ghosts well known..."
- No. 13 - Scena - Viola, 1st. & 2nd. Lady, Chamberlain, Duke, Otho & Pages -- "I am here... close at hand... at your will..."
- No. 14 -- Banquet Music
- No. 15 - Song - Viola -- "I have been taught that I should love my father and my friends..."
- No. 16 - Finale -- "He has come to our undoing..."
Roles and cast
- The Grand Duke (banished at the age of 40) (bass) – Frederic Clifton
- The Lord Chamberlain (banished at the age of 35) (baritoneBaritoneBaritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
) – Rutland BarringtonRutland BarringtonRutland Barrington was an English singer, actor, comedian, and Edwardian musical comedy star. Best remembered for originating the lyric baritone roles in the Gilbert and Sullivan operas from 1877 to 1896, his performing career spanned more than four decades... - 1st lady in waiting (banished at the age of --) (mezzo-sopranoMezzo-sopranoA mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above...
) – Harriett EverardHarriett EverardHarriett Everard was an English singer and actress best known for creating the role of Little Buttercup in the Gilbert and Sullivan hit H.M.S. Pinafore. Her career was cut short by an onstage accident during a rehearsal, from which she never fully recovered.Everard had a stage career of 20 years,... - 2nd lady in waiting (banished at the age of --) (sopranoSopranoA soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
) – Lisa Muncey - Lady Viola (banished at the age of 1) (soprano) – Giulia WarwickGiulia WarwickGiulia Warwick was an English operatic soprano and actress, best known for roles in with Richard D'Oyly Carte's and the Carl Rosa Opera Company in the last quarter of the 19th century.-Life and career:...
- Ghost ("The Spectre Knight" - an Imposter, buried A.D. 1294) (bass-baritoneBass-baritoneA bass-baritone is a high-lying bass or low-lying "classical" baritone voice type which shares certain qualities with the true baritone voice. The term arose in the late 19th century to describe the particular type of voice required to sing three Wagnerian roles: the Dutchman in Der fliegende...
) – Richard Temple - The Spectre Knight (banished at the age of 7) (bass-baritone) – Richard Temple
During the run of The Sorcerer, Barrington was replaced by F. Talbot, Muncey by Miss Hervey (possibly Rose Hervey), and Warwick by Laura Clement. When revived with Pinafore, the cast was Clifton, Talbot, Everard, Muncey, Clement, and Temple. During the run, Muncey was replaced again by Hervey and Clement by Alice Burville
Alice Burville
Alice Julia Burville was an English soprano and actress, best known for her performances in Gilbert and Sullivan operas and other operettas in the 1870s and 1880s....
.