Two Merry Monarchs
Encyclopedia
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. 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
.
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. Another tour was given in the spring of 1911. The score is apparently lost, and the comedy was not subsequently revived.
died in 1901, leaving the management of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company
and the Savoy Theatre
in the hands of his widow, Helen. 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. 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.
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 Despite a lavish production and the skill of the performers concerned, Two Merry Monarchs was withdrawn from the Savoy stage on 23 April 1910, after 43 performances, one of the shortest runs of any Savoy opera. 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. 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. Although the libretto to Two Merry Monarchs survives in a license copy, the score has not been located.
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 opera
s were produced.
-hung Courtyard outside the Royal Palace of Esperanto
A tocsin-bell summons the populace, who rush out to hear the king's herald, Helvanoise, announce a new law: Kissing is now forbidden for one year under penalty of banishment. Those who wish to continue to kiss must purchase a kissing license from Rolandyl, the Post-Master General. Princess Iris has known about the law for the past three days because she is engaged to the Post-Master General. Princess Cynthia, King Paul's adopted daughter, is in love with Prince Charmis, the Governor of Police. They agree to keep their engagement a secret and do not get a kissing license.
The public is incensed about the new law, and led by Caroline, they protest the edict on the steps of the palace. King Paul justifies his decision to enact the law, and when the crowd does not accept his argument, he weeps them into submission. King Paul tells his life story to Rolandyl. Nine hundred years ago, King Paul was an alchemist who discovered the Elixir of Life, and when he drank it, he became immortal. His bonehead assistant stole some of the Elixir and drank it as well. Twenty years ago, King Paul betrothed the adopted daughter of the late King to the King of Utopia
, who comes to Esperanto today to claim his affianced bride. King Paul has brought up Princess Cynthia on slow poisons so that she may take a heavy dose of poison without feeling the effects. King Paul plans to get her to kiss the King of Utopia, and he will barter crown and country for an antidote, then King Paul will rule throughout the world.
Meanwhile, Helvanoise is furious to learn that Iris has been flirting with Rolandyl. King Paul tells Cynthia about her betrothal, and when she begins to cry, he gives her an "extra special sweet" to make her feel better. King Utops of Utopia arrives, accompanied by Mandamus
and the King's Bodyguard. Princess Cynthia is presented to him, and when he tries to kiss her hand, Charmis interrupts him and informs him that he must get a license before kissing anybody.
Act II - The Reception Room inside the Royal Palace of Esperanto. Evening.
Charmis has called in the constables to act as flunkeys in case of any disturbance this evening. He swears he will protect Cynthia from King Utops at any cost. Six ladies-in-waiting are late for the ball, so Mandamus will not admit them. They press Helvanoise to choose a girl from the six of them, but he declines to make a selection. The ballroom guests appear with Iris, who tells the ladies where they might get a kissing license, even though the men show no interest in purchasing one. Iris decides that when Cynthia and Charmis announce their engagement, she will announce her engagement to the Post-Master General. King Utops works his charm on Cynthia, and when he moves to kiss her, Charmis interrupts them again. Utops produces his license - a license to sell wines and consume liquor on the premises! Utops complains to Paul that Rolandyl sold him the wrong license, and that he doesn't like Charmis hanging around Cynthia. King Paul orders Rolandyl to set up his office in the reception room and sell licenses to the public.
Utops finally kisses Cynthia, but when Utops fails to respond to the poison, he admits that he was Paul's assistant when he discovered the Elixir of Life. The world isn't big enough for two immortal kings, so they decide to fight a duel, in which they drink from two glasses. One is filled with water, the other is filled with a liquid which makes the drinker mortal. So that there is no cheating, Charmis and Mandamus are summoned to supervise the duel. King Paul tells Charmis about the Elixir and explains that he still has a phial in his cabinet. Charmis is to get the phial and bring to him at once. Unbeknownst to them, Charmis mixed the drinks while the kings were blindfolded, and when they drink, they are both in the cart. Charmis returns with Cynthia and everyone, saying that they drank the Elixir and will live forever as King and Queen of Esperanto. Mandamus is appointed King of Utopia, Utops becomes his Lord Chief Justice, and Paul becomes Charmis' Governor of Police. Helvanoise is named the new Post-Master General, and when Rolandyl tries to speak to Iris, she reminds him that she will marry the Post-Master General, who is now Helvanoise. The kissing law is repealed, and the happy couples leave Rolandyl, Utops and Paul disconsolate.
Act II
Additional songs
stated that the musical "lacks several elements which are requisite to make a good comic opera". The paper pronounced the music "not very distinguished" and concluded its review, "When one was not regretting Gilbert
, one was regretting Sullivan
; and when one ceased for a moment to regret Sullivan, one regretted Gilbert." The Era declared "The story becomes less easy to follow as the play proceeds; indeed, it serves as a thread on which to string musical numbers, dances and dialogue." The Daily Telegraph
was similarly unimpressed, saying "the composer falls below the level of accomplishment one might have reasonably expected. There are numbers in the piece, however, which seem to point to his possession of a gift for facile melody. ... The scoring throughout is decidedly thin even for musical comedy." The Sunday Times
even hinted at plagiarism: "The music was tuneful in parts, sometimes strangely familiar." The Observer
commented that the contribution of the costume designer, Percy Anderson
, outshone those of the composer and librettists. The Evening Standard and St. James's, however, praised the music, saying "It is not extraordinary, but neither is it commonplace except occasionally. He does not write particularly well for the voice, but he has, generally, originality and is always melodious. Some of his songs, not the purely sentimental ones, are fresh, "catchy", well-written and full of tune."
Edwardian Musical Comedy
Edwardian musical comedies were British musical theatre shows from the period between the early 1890s, when the Gilbert and Sullivan operas' dominance had ended, until the rise of the American musicals by Jerome Kern, Rodgers and Hart, George Gershwin and Cole Porter following World War I.Between...
in two acts with a book by Arthur Anderson
Arthur Anderson (dramatist)
Arthur Anderson was an English dramatist and lyricist, who is best known for his libretti for Edwardian musical comedies.-Biography:...
and George Levy, lyrics by Anderson and Hartley Carrick, and music by Orlando Morgan
Orlando Morgan
Robert Orlando Morgan was an English music teacher, composer and musicologist. He is best remembered as an influential teacher at the Guildhall School of Music in London, where he taught for 64 years, from 1887 to 1951, as Professor of Pianoforte and Composition...
. It opened at the Savoy Theatre
Savoy Theatre
The Savoy Theatre is a West End theatre located in the Strand in the City of Westminster, London, England. The theatre opened on 10 October 1881 and was built by Richard D'Oyly Carte on the site of the old Savoy Palace as a showcase for the popular series of comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan,...
in London on 10 March 1910, under the management of C. H. Workman, and ran there for 43 performances. 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
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...
.
There was a brief transfer to the Strand Theatre
Strand Theatre
- England :* Royal Strand Theatre, London* Strand Theatre , London in the United States...
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. Another tour was given in the spring of 1911. The score is apparently lost, and the comedy was not subsequently revived.
Background and production
Richard D'Oyly CarteRichard 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...
died in 1901, leaving the management of the D'Oyly Carte 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...
and the Savoy Theatre
Savoy Theatre
The Savoy Theatre is a West End theatre located in the Strand in the City of Westminster, London, England. The theatre opened on 10 October 1881 and was built by Richard D'Oyly Carte on the site of the old Savoy Palace as a showcase for the popular series of comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan,...
in the hands of his widow, Helen. 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. Workman produced a season of light opera, beginning with The Mountaineers
The Mountaineers (opera)
The Mountaineers is an English "romantic comic opera" in three acts with a libretto by Australian-born Guy Eden and Reginald Somerville , 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...
and Fallen Fairies
Fallen Fairies
Fallen Fairies; or, The Wicked World, is a two-act comic opera, with a libretto by W. S. Gilbert and music by Edward German. Premiering at London's Savoy Theatre on December 15, 1909, it failed miserably, closing after just 50 performances...
. Neither of these works had been very successful (despite the cachet of W. S. Gilbert
W. S. Gilbert
Sir William Schwenck Gilbert was an English dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for his fourteen comic operas produced in collaboration with the composer Sir Arthur Sullivan, of which the most famous include H.M.S...
as librettist for the latter), so Workman decided to follow the prevailing tastes of the London public by presenting an Edwardian musical comedy
Edwardian Musical Comedy
Edwardian musical comedies were British musical theatre shows from the period between the early 1890s, when the Gilbert and Sullivan operas' dominance had ended, until the rise of the American musicals by Jerome Kern, Rodgers and Hart, George Gershwin and Cole Porter following World War I.Between...
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.
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. Producer Austen Hurgon picked it up for an attempt at a low-price season of musical comedy at the Strand Theatre
Novello Theatre
The Novello Theatre is a West End theatre on Aldwych, in the City of Westminster.-History:The theatre was built as one of a pair with the Aldwych Theatre on either side of the Waldorf Hotel, both being designed by W. G. R. Sprague. The theatre opened as the Waldorf Theatre on 22 May 1905, and was...
, 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
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
leading-man Hayden Coffin as Prince Charmis. But the death of King Edward VII
Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
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. Although the libretto to Two Merry Monarchs survives in a license copy, the score has not been located.
Workman's last production at the Savoy was a brief run of Gluck
Christoph Willibald Gluck
Christoph Willibald Ritter von Gluck was an opera composer of the early classical period. After many years at the Habsburg court at Vienna, Gluck brought about the practical reform of opera's dramaturgical practices that many intellectuals had been campaigning for over the years...
's Orpheus
Orfeo ed Euridice
Orfeo ed Euridice is an opera composed by Christoph Willibald Gluck based on the myth of Orpheus, set to a libretto by Ranieri de' Calzabigi. It belongs to the genre of the azione teatrale, meaning an opera on a mythological subject with choruses and dancing...
, which starred concert artist Marie Brema
Marie Brema
Marie Brema was an English dramatic mezzo-soprano singer in concert, operatic and oratorio work in the last decade of the 19th and the first decade of the 20th centuries...
, and closed after 23 performances. Workman relinquished control of the Savoy. Helen Carte and then her son, Rupert D'Oyly Carte
Rupert D'Oyly Carte
Rupert D'Oyly Carte was an English hotelier, theatre owner and impresario, best known as proprietor of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company and Savoy Hotel from 1913 to 1948....
, leased the theatre to other managers, and no more new 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 were produced.
Synopsis
Act I - A laburnumLaburnum
Laburnum is a genus of two species of small trees in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae, Laburnum anagyroides and L. alpinum . They are native to the mountains of southern Europe from France to the Balkan Peninsula...
-hung Courtyard outside the Royal Palace of Esperanto
Esperanto
is the most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language. Its name derives from Doktoro Esperanto , the pseudonym under which L. L. Zamenhof published the first book detailing Esperanto, the Unua Libro, in 1887...
A tocsin-bell summons the populace, who rush out to hear the king's herald, Helvanoise, announce a new law: Kissing is now forbidden for one year under penalty of banishment. Those who wish to continue to kiss must purchase a kissing license from Rolandyl, the Post-Master General. Princess Iris has known about the law for the past three days because she is engaged to the Post-Master General. Princess Cynthia, King Paul's adopted daughter, is in love with Prince Charmis, the Governor of Police. They agree to keep their engagement a secret and do not get a kissing license.
The public is incensed about the new law, and led by Caroline, they protest the edict on the steps of the palace. King Paul justifies his decision to enact the law, and when the crowd does not accept his argument, he weeps them into submission. King Paul tells his life story to Rolandyl. Nine hundred years ago, King Paul was an alchemist who discovered the Elixir of Life, and when he drank it, he became immortal. His bonehead assistant stole some of the Elixir and drank it as well. Twenty years ago, King Paul betrothed the adopted daughter of the late King to the King of Utopia
Utopia
Utopia is an ideal community or society possessing a perfect socio-politico-legal system. The word was imported from Greek by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book Utopia, describing a fictional island in the Atlantic Ocean. The term has been used to describe both intentional communities that attempt...
, who comes to Esperanto today to claim his affianced bride. King Paul has brought up Princess Cynthia on slow poisons so that she may take a heavy dose of poison without feeling the effects. King Paul plans to get her to kiss the King of Utopia, and he will barter crown and country for an antidote, then King Paul will rule throughout the world.
Meanwhile, Helvanoise is furious to learn that Iris has been flirting with Rolandyl. King Paul tells Cynthia about her betrothal, and when she begins to cry, he gives her an "extra special sweet" to make her feel better. King Utops of Utopia arrives, accompanied by Mandamus
Mandamus
A writ of mandamus or mandamus , or sometimes mandate, is the name of one of the prerogative writs in the common law, and is "issued by a superior court to compel a lower court or a government officer to perform mandatory or purely ministerial duties correctly".Mandamus is a judicial remedy which...
and the King's Bodyguard. Princess Cynthia is presented to him, and when he tries to kiss her hand, Charmis interrupts him and informs him that he must get a license before kissing anybody.
Act II - The Reception Room inside the Royal Palace of Esperanto. Evening.
Charmis has called in the constables to act as flunkeys in case of any disturbance this evening. He swears he will protect Cynthia from King Utops at any cost. Six ladies-in-waiting are late for the ball, so Mandamus will not admit them. They press Helvanoise to choose a girl from the six of them, but he declines to make a selection. The ballroom guests appear with Iris, who tells the ladies where they might get a kissing license, even though the men show no interest in purchasing one. Iris decides that when Cynthia and Charmis announce their engagement, she will announce her engagement to the Post-Master General. King Utops works his charm on Cynthia, and when he moves to kiss her, Charmis interrupts them again. Utops produces his license - a license to sell wines and consume liquor on the premises! Utops complains to Paul that Rolandyl sold him the wrong license, and that he doesn't like Charmis hanging around Cynthia. King Paul orders Rolandyl to set up his office in the reception room and sell licenses to the public.
Utops finally kisses Cynthia, but when Utops fails to respond to the poison, he admits that he was Paul's assistant when he discovered the Elixir of Life. The world isn't big enough for two immortal kings, so they decide to fight a duel, in which they drink from two glasses. One is filled with water, the other is filled with a liquid which makes the drinker mortal. So that there is no cheating, Charmis and Mandamus are summoned to supervise the duel. King Paul tells Charmis about the Elixir and explains that he still has a phial in his cabinet. Charmis is to get the phial and bring to him at once. Unbeknownst to them, Charmis mixed the drinks while the kings were blindfolded, and when they drink, they are both in the cart. Charmis returns with Cynthia and everyone, saying that they drank the Elixir and will live forever as King and Queen of Esperanto. Mandamus is appointed King of Utopia, Utops becomes his Lord Chief Justice, and Paul becomes Charmis' Governor of Police. Helvanoise is named the new Post-Master General, and when Rolandyl tries to speak to Iris, she reminds him that she will marry the Post-Master General, who is now Helvanoise. The kissing law is repealed, and the happy couples leave Rolandyl, Utops and Paul disconsolate.
Roles and Original Cast
- Rolandyl, Post-Master General and Assesor of Taxes (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...
) – C. H. Workman - King Paul of Esperanto – Robert Whyte, Jr.
- King Utops of Utopia (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...
) – Lennox Pawle - Prince Charmis, Governor of Police (tenorTenorThe tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
) – Roland Cunningham (then C. Hayden CoffinC. Hayden CoffinCharles Hayden Coffin was an English actor and singer known for his performances in many famous Edwardian musical comedies, particularly those produced by George Edwardes....
) - Helvanoise, King Paul's herald (baritone) – Leslie Stiles
- Mandamus, Lord Chief Justice of Utopia – Neville George
- Head Flunkey – Francis Pater
- Prince Frederick – Alfred Vigay [added for the Strand production]
- Princess Cynthia, King Paul's adopted daughter (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...
) – Daisy Le Hay - Princess Iris, principal lady-in-waiting (mezzo soprano) – Alma Barber
- Caroline, a public agitator – Mayne Young, (Lilly Mills)
- Dorothy, a lady-in-waiting – Aileen Peel
- Hermia, another – Marie West
- Gretchen, another – Laurie Opperman, (Josset Elis)
- Jean, another – Joan Adair
- Carmenita, another – Betty Heaps
- Celeste, another – Adeline Waterlow
- Chorus of Populace, King's Bodyguard, Out-of-Work Judges, Flunkeys and Ballroom Guests.
Musical numbers
Act I- No. 1 – "Ding dong! Ding dong!" (Chorus)
- No. 1a – "As labial embracing is absurd" (Helvanoise and Chorus)
- No. 2 – "A Matter of Negotiation" (Iris and Ladies-in-Waiting)
- No. 3 – "If Only" (Cynthia and Charmis)
- No. 4 – "Kiss and Never Tell" (Cynthia and Charmis)
- No. 5 – "All hail King Paul" (Chorus)
- No. 6 – "I'm very sorry" (King Paul, Caroline, Chorus)
- No. 7 – "Have you heard of Ananias?" (King Paul, Rolandyl)
- No. 8 – "Love of my life" (Charmis)
- No. 9 – "There are not enough kings to go round" (Ladies-in-Waiting)
- No. 10 – "A Lesson in Manners" (Rolandyl, Helvanoise, Iris)
- No. 11 – "So drear the day! So long the way!" (Cynthia, Iris, Charmis, Helvanoise)
- No. 12 – "There is obviously something most important in the air" (Chorus):
- "From across the main" (Helvanoise and Chorus)
- "High and Mighty Judges" (Out-of-Work Judges)
- "Utopia" (King Utops)
- No. 13 – Act 1 Finale: "In the name of the Law!" (Ensemble)
Act II
- No. 14 – "We are creme de la creme lady-killers" (Mandamus and Flunkeys)
- No. 15 – "You've got to guard the King's highway" (Charmis and Flunkeys)
- No. 16 – "You'll never call in vain" (Cynthia and Charmis)
- No. 17 – "Six little hearts" (Helvanoise and Ladies-in-Waiting)
- No. 18 – "Music and Mirth" (Chorus)
- No. 19 – "Since the world began" (Iris and Chorus)
- No. 20 – "High Jinks" (Rolandyl and Iris)
- No. 21 – "The only thing a girl can do" (Charmis, Utops and Cynthia)
- No. 22 – "Come and buy" (Rolandyl and Chorus)
- No. 23 – "You must have a license for that" (Rolandyl and Chorus)
- No. 24 – "My King can do no wrong" (Cynthia)
- No. 25 – Act 2 Finale (does not appear in the libretto)
Additional songs
- "I'm one of the boys" (Utops)
- "Misunderstood" (Rolandyl and Chorus)
- "A Girl I could love forever" (Helvanoise and Ladies-in-Waiting)
- "We're as jolly as jolly well can be" (participants not identified)
Critical reaction
Press reports were mostly negative in tone. The Morning Post wrote, "The new musical piece produced at the Savoy Theatre differs in character from the productions for which the house was famous in the past." The press praised the acting and singing of all concerned, as well as the presentation, but they took strong exception to the story and the music. The TimesThe Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
stated that the musical "lacks several elements which are requisite to make a good comic opera". The paper pronounced the music "not very distinguished" and concluded its review, "When one was not regretting Gilbert
W. S. Gilbert
Sir William Schwenck Gilbert was an English dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for his fourteen comic operas produced in collaboration with the composer Sir Arthur Sullivan, of which the most famous include H.M.S...
, one was regretting Sullivan
Arthur Sullivan
Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan MVO was an English composer of Irish and Italian ancestry. He is best known for his series of 14 operatic collaborations with the dramatist W. S. Gilbert, including such enduring works as H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado...
; and when one ceased for a moment to regret Sullivan, one regretted Gilbert." The Era declared "The story becomes less easy to follow as the play proceeds; indeed, it serves as a thread on which to string musical numbers, dances and dialogue." The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
was similarly unimpressed, saying "the composer falls below the level of accomplishment one might have reasonably expected. There are numbers in the piece, however, which seem to point to his possession of a gift for facile melody. ... The scoring throughout is decidedly thin even for musical comedy." The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
even hinted at plagiarism: "The music was tuneful in parts, sometimes strangely familiar." The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
commented that the contribution of the costume designer, Percy Anderson
Percy Anderson
Percy Anderson was an English stage designer and painter, best known for his work for the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree's company at His Majesty’s Theatre and Edwardian musical comedies.-Life and career:...
, outshone those of the composer and librettists. The Evening Standard and St. James's, however, praised the music, saying "It is not extraordinary, but neither is it commonplace except occasionally. He does not write particularly well for the voice, but he has, generally, originality and is always melodious. Some of his songs, not the purely sentimental ones, are fresh, "catchy", well-written and full of tune."