Mirette (opera)

Mirette is an opéra comique in three acts composed by André Messager, first produced at the Savoy Theatre, London, on 3 July 1894.

Mirette exists in two distinct versions. The first version of the libretto was written in French by Michel Carré but this was never performed. English lyrics were written by Frederic E. Weatherly, and English dialogue based on the Carré libretto was written by Harry Greenbank. This first English version of the opera ran for only 41 performances, closing on 11 August 1894. This was the shortest run of any opera produced at the Savoy Theatre under the management of Richard D'Oyly Carte. The second version, advertised as a "new version with new lyrics by Adrian Ross," ran strongly for 61 performances, from 6 October 1894 to 6 December 1894 but was withdrawn because a new opera by Arthur Sullivan, The Chieftain, was ready to open.

Both versions essentially tell the same story, with the second version emphasizing comedy over the romance of the first version. The music has been mostly forgotten. However, one song ("Long ago in Alcala") became very popular in the United States in the early years of the twentieth century, though it was not credited as being from Mirette. The piece featured Savoy regulars Courtice Pounds (Picorin), Rosina Brandram (Marquise), Scott Russell (Bertuccio), Emmie Owen (Zerbinette), Florence Perry (Bianca), R. Scott Fishe (Gerard de Montigny), and Walter Passmore (Bobinet). Richard Temple joined in the revised version, as did the experienced singer Florence St. John, who made her Savoy debut in the work.

Background

Genesis and production

Gilbert and Sullivan's Utopia Limited was playing more weakly than its producer, Richard D'Oyly Carte, had expected, and he anticipated that he would need a new work for the Savoy Theatre for the summer of 1894. Messager was enjoying a growing international reputation, and Carte had already produced Messager's opera La Basoche at his Royal English Opera House in 1891-92. Carte commissioned Messager to write Mirette, his first opera for British audiences. Later Messager works would prove to be more successful in England, including The Little Michus (1897), Véronique (which became a hit in London in 1904, six years after its 1898 Paris premiere), and Monsieur Beaucaire (1919, based on the novel by Booth Tarkington).

The libretto for Mirette was written in French by Carré. Some of the music was composed before Weatherly translated and rewrote the lyrics and Greenback translated the dialogue. To assist Messager in what was for him (at the time) an unfamiliar idiom, he enlisted the help of songwriter Hope Temple, née Dotie (Alice Maude) Davis (1859-1938), who later became his wife. She may even have written some of the songs; but though Messager acknowledged her help, she is not credited on any source and it is unknown what, if anything, she contributed to the score.

The original version of Mirette opened at the Savoy Theatre, London, on 3 July 1894 and closed on 11 August 1894. It draws heavily on Balfe's opera The Bohemian Girl (1843) and uses various shopworn theatrical devices and conventions, including the gypsy background (featured in The Bohemian Girl as well), a romance across class and station, the desertion of the bride at her betrothal ceremony, and the antics of the comedian. These would have been very familiar to London audiences at the time. Furthermore, this romantic type of opera was out of place at the Savoy Theatre, which was the home of Gilbert and Sullivan and their unique kind of less sentimental comic opera.

Carte asked popular lyricist Adrian Ross to rewrite the piece with as much emphasis on comedy as possible. Ross reduced the romantic parts (though he retained the Mirette-Gerard-Picorin-Bianca story) while boosting the comic part of Bobinet for Passmore, making the role of the Marquise lighter, and emphasizing past Savoy successes by strengthening the subplot regarding the past love between the Marquise and the Baron. He also rewrote existing lyrics and introduced more opportunities for dance numbers. Though Walter Passmore had created smaller roles in Jane Annie and Utopia Limited, the role of Bobinet was his first real starring part. In the fall of 1894, Passmore named his new daughter Mirette, perhaps in acknowledgement of his success in this breakout role. Cast changes, including adding another Savoy favourite, Richard Temple, as the Baron and engaging the soprano Florence St. John as Mirette, turned Mirette into something of a success. It opened on 6 October 1894 and was still going strong when it was withdrawn to make way for a new Sullivan opera, The Chieftain.

Reception

The early reviews for Mirette were mixed at best. Evening News and Post wrote that "There has been nothing at the Savoy for a long time prettier or more elaborate in a spectacular way than Mirette, and it would be ungenerous to grumble at the quality of the humour when it affords such a feast of beauty for eye and ear."[1] The Globe disagreed: "English audiences have been accustomed to expect something more in the librettos of comic operas than a mere dishing-up of old situations and conventional characters.... The story is singularly destitute of interest or originality."[1] Daily Graphic was disappointed by both the libretto and the music, while The Stage thought that "Messager's music is invariably characterised by smooth melody and graceful expressiveness, but in Mirette one feels that a little variation from these commendable qualities would now and again be welcome."[1] Vanity Fair called the plot "feeble" and "trivial", The Times unfavourably compared the piece with earlier Savoy operas, and Daily Telegraph complained: "It does not appear that the composer is gifted with the keen sense of humour which works written for the Savoy have often exemplified. In the merriest situations, his strains refuse to laugh, and flow on elegantly, with perfect blandness and good breeding."[1]

After the rewrite, Mirette fared better with the critics. Daily Telegraph now wrote, "Mirette quickly made a host of new friends. Applause ruled long and loud; in fact, the outburst of enthusiasm which followed the final descent of the curtain brought with it a reminder of the palmy days when the Gilbert-Sullivan alliance was at its strongest."[1] The Globe proclaimed that "The new version is in every respect so immeasurably superior to its predecessor that there is now very little in the work with which to find fault."[1] Morning Advertiser recommended that the public pay a "speedy visit to the Savoy", and The Era noted, "The presence of Miss Florence St John has caused the other performers to act and sing with greater animation".[1]

The piece was remembered fondly by some Savoyards. In 1906, as a professor of singing and stage manager at the Royal College of Music, Richard Temple was asked to direct a work from his earlier career for the first performance of the Cambridge University Operatic Club, at the Scala Theatre. He was asked to select a piece "from which students would learn the craft of worthwhile light opera." Instead of choosing The Mikado or The Yeomen of the Guard, for instance, he chose Mirette. [2]

Roles and casts

The original cast names are followed by the revival cast names if different:[3]

Notes:

Synopsis

The scene is Flanders in 1785. Mirette is a foundling living among the Gypsies. At the beginning of the opera, the gypsy chief Francal asks Mirette to choose among the gypsy bachelors for a husband, but she is unable to choose, despite the fact that Picorin, one of the gypsy crew, is in love with her. She believes instead that she is destined for a better life and dreams that her unknown parents are of the nobility. The Gypsies have camped on the property owned by the Marquise de Montigny. Mirette falls asleep by the campfire and wakes to find Gerard, nephew of the Marquise, standing over her. Gerard is entranced by her beauty, and she finds herself similarly attracted. However, he leads the arrest of the Gypsies for trespassing. Mirette and Picorin are taken to the chateau of the Marquise to become servants in her household.

In act two, Mirette is discovered one month later in the service of the world-weary Marquise, who is planning the engagement party for Gerard and Bianca, the convent-raised daughter of the Baron Van Den Berg. Gerard's attraction to Mirette has grown to infatuation. When the guests gather for the signing of the marriage contract, the Marquise commands Mirette to sing and dance a bohemian dance as the evening's principal entertainment and as a way to point out the vast differences in station between Mirette and Gerard, thus killing any infatuation they may have for each other. During the dance, during which Francal and the other Gypsies join in the chorus, Gerard cannot take his eyes off Mirette, a fact noticed by Bianca and all the guests. However, the Marquise manoeuvres Bianca into Gerard's close company, humiliating Mirette, who escapes from the chateau with the other Gypsies. Just as he is about to sign the marriage contract, Gerard hears the Gypsies singing in the distance. He throws down his pen and rushes madly from the scene. (In the revised version of the opera, Gerard runs off with Mirette and the Gypsies to live the colourful life of a bohemian.)

Act three finds Mirette and Picorin at a village fair three weeks later. Picorin is still unable to express himself; the two indulge in a nicely conceived duet where they cover their emotions for each other behind eating a meal uncomfortably. Gerard, the Marquise, Bianca, and the Baron are all also at the fair. (In the revised version of the opera, Gerard is at the fair in Mirette's company, doing a bad job as a gypsy performer.) Mirette realizes that Bianca loves Gerard and arranges for the two of them to reconcile. She also realizes the extent of her love for Picorin, and the two of them also arrange to wed. (In the revised version of the opera, not only do Mirette and Picorin and Gerard and Bianca end up together; the Marquise and the Baron, lovers of old, are also on their way to the altar.)

The humour of the opera is concentrated in the character of Bobinet, one of the gypsy crew. In the revised version of the opera, Bobinet is paired with Zerbinette, another gypsy.

List of musical numbers in the first version

Act I
Act II
Act III

List of musical numbers in the second version

Act I
Act II
Act III

See also

Savoy Opera

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Early reviews of Mirette at The Gilbert and Sullivan Archive (2008)
  2. ↑ Tillett
  3. ↑ Mirette cast lists at The Gilbert and Sullivan Archive (2001)

References

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