A Princess of Kensington
Encyclopedia
A Princess of Kensington is an English comic opera
in two acts by Edward German
to a libretto
by Basil Hood
, produced by William Greet
. The first performance was at the Savoy Theatre
, London
, on 22 January 1903 and ran for 115 performances.
The opera was the last new work produced by the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company
at the Savoy Theatre, and is therefore considered by some to be the last Savoy opera
. The original cast included a number of the famous Savoyards, including Louie Pounds
, Robert Evett
, Walter Passmore
, Henry Lytton
, and Rosina Brandram
. After the original run at the Savoy, the show toured. After that tour, the cast mostly joined the new musical, The Earl and the Girl
(also produced by Greet).
The piece was given a Broadway production from August to October 1903.
and Merrie England
, Basil Hood
and Edward German
collaborated once more. Despite a good reception from critics and Savoy opera devotees, the opera only achieved a run of 115 performances, owing partly to its dense plot and unwieldy libretto, and partly to the continued decline of comic operas in favour of George Edwardes
-style musical comedies
as the London theatregoing public's choice entertainment.
Despite its relative failure compared to the other Savoy operas, A Princess of Kensington became popular enough to be one of the first operas to have original cast recordings of selections made during the original run. The recordings themselves were popular enough that a 1907 silent film of one of the songs, "Four Jolly Sailor Boys" [sic], was produced to be played synchronized to the recording.
The fairy backstory of the plot is derived from a poem by Thomas Tickell
entitled Kensington Garden, featuring the history of the characters Albion, Azuriel, Kenna, and Oberon.
The fairy prince, Azuriel, has been suffering from jealousy for a thousand years over the love shared by the lovely fairy Kenna (for whom Kensington is named) and the mortal Prince Albion. Although Albion is dead, the mischievous Puck has encouraged Azuriel's jealousy through the centuries. Puck, lying, claims that he taught Kenna a spell to awaken Albion after a thousand years. Azuriel's jealousy is inflamed at the thought that his rival might soon reawaken, and he demands that Albion be promptly married off to a mortal maiden.
To calm the angry fairy prince, Puck and Kenna have to produce a false Albion and a false wedding. For their false Albion they choose a sailor, William Jelf, from the H.M.S. Albion. Jelf's cap conveniently bears the name "Albion". To provide a bride, Puck sees an opportunity in the appearance of two young lovers, Lieutenant Brook Green and Joy Jellicoe. Puck disguises himself as Sir James Jellicoe, Joy's father. He revokes Sir James's acceptance of Lt. Green as a husband for his daughter and encourages Jelf to woo the astonished Joy.
An alehouse owner, Mr. Reddish, arrives with his daughter Nell, to whom Jelf is actually engaged. Reddish is anxious to get Nell off his hands as she is a prohibitionist reformer and has turned his pub into a coffee house, to the disgust of Mr. Reddish's cronies, one of whom happens to be Jelf's uncle. Reddish hopes to marry Nell to Jelf, if necessary by force. Reddish and Nell are unhappy with the state of affairs that they encounter.
After additional complications, Azuriel is finally convinced that Albion is really dead, and the fairies can return to fairyland, where peace is restored. Joy can marry her lieutenant, and Nell decides to marry Jelf's uncle, her father's friend, who she believes deeply needs the benefits of her reforms. William Jelf goes back to sea, a highly relieved bachelor.
Act II
Comic opera
Comic opera denotes a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending.Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a new operatic genre, opera buffa, emerged as an alternative to opera seria...
in two acts by Edward German
Edward German
Sir Edward German was an English musician and composer of Welsh descent, best remembered for his extensive output of incidental music for the stage and as a successor to Arthur Sullivan in the field of English comic opera.As a youth, German played the violin and led the town orchestra, also...
to a libretto
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
by Basil Hood
Basil Hood
Basil Willett Charles Hood was a British librettist and lyricist, perhaps best known for writing the libretti of half a dozen Savoy Operas and for his English adaptations of operettas, including The Merry Widow. He embarked on a career in the British army, writing theatrical pieces in his spare...
, produced by William Greet
William Greet
William Greet was a British theatre manager from the end of the 19th century and into the 20th century. Originally a business manager for other theatre licensees in the 1880s, he branched out as an independent manager in the 1890s and was associated with various London theatres, principally the...
. The first performance was 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,...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, on 22 January 1903 and ran for 115 performances.
The opera was the last new work produced by 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...
at the Savoy Theatre, and is therefore considered by some to be the last 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...
. The original cast included a number of the famous Savoyards, including Louie Pounds
Louie Pounds
Louisa Emma Amelia "Louie" Pounds was an English singer and actress, known for her performances in musical comedies and in mezzo-soprano roles with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company....
, Robert Evett
Robert Evett
Robert Evett was an English singer, actor, theatre manager and producer.-Acting career:In 1892 Evett joined the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company on tour in The Vicar of Bray, playing the Reverend Henry Sandford, the tenor lead. In 1893, Evett added the role of Oswald in Haddon Hall...
, Walter Passmore
Walter Passmore
Walter Henry Passmore was an English singer and actor best known as the first successor to George Grossmith in the comic baritone roles in Gilbert and Sullivan operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company....
, Henry Lytton
Henry Lytton
Sir Henry Lytton was an English actor and singer who was the leading exponent of the comic patter-baritone roles in Gilbert and Sullivan operas in the early part of the twentieth century...
, and Rosina Brandram
Rosina Brandram
Rosina Brandram was an English opera singer and actress primarily known for creating many of the contralto roles in the Savoy operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company....
. After the original run at the Savoy, the show toured. After that tour, the cast mostly joined the new musical, The Earl and the Girl
The Earl and the Girl
The Earl and the Girl is a musical comedy in two acts by Seymour Hicks, with lyrics by Percy Greenbank and music by Ivan Caryll. It was produced by William Greet and opened at the Adelphi Theatre in London on 10 December 1903. It transferred to the Lyric Theatre on 12 September 1904, running for...
(also produced by Greet).
The piece was given a Broadway production from August to October 1903.
Background
Following the successes of their earlier comic operas, The Emerald IsleThe Emerald Isle
The Emerald Isle; or, The Caves of Carrig-Cleena, is a two-act comic opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and Edward German, and a libretto by Basil Hood. It premiered at the Savoy Theatre on 27 April 1901, closing on 9 November 1901 after a run of 205 performances...
and Merrie England
Merrie England (opera)
Merrie England is an English comic opera in two acts by Edward German to a libretto by Basil Hood. The patriotic story concerns love and rivalries at the court of Queen Elizabeth I, who is portrayed as jealous of the affection of Sir Walter Raleigh for Bessie Throckmorton. Its sunny depiction of...
, Basil Hood
Basil Hood
Basil Willett Charles Hood was a British librettist and lyricist, perhaps best known for writing the libretti of half a dozen Savoy Operas and for his English adaptations of operettas, including The Merry Widow. He embarked on a career in the British army, writing theatrical pieces in his spare...
and Edward German
Edward German
Sir Edward German was an English musician and composer of Welsh descent, best remembered for his extensive output of incidental music for the stage and as a successor to Arthur Sullivan in the field of English comic opera.As a youth, German played the violin and led the town orchestra, also...
collaborated once more. Despite a good reception from critics and Savoy opera devotees, the opera only achieved a run of 115 performances, owing partly to its dense plot and unwieldy libretto, and partly to the continued decline of comic operas in favour of George Edwardes
George Edwardes
George Joseph Edwardes was an English theatre manager of Irish ancestry who brought a new era in musical theatre to the British stage and beyond....
-style musical comedies
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
as the London theatregoing public's choice entertainment.
Despite its relative failure compared to the other Savoy operas, A Princess of Kensington became popular enough to be one of the first operas to have original cast recordings of selections made during the original run. The recordings themselves were popular enough that a 1907 silent film of one of the songs, "Four Jolly Sailor Boys" [sic], was produced to be played synchronized to the recording.
The fairy backstory of the plot is derived from a poem by Thomas Tickell
Thomas Tickell
Thomas Tickell was a minor English poet and man of letters.-Life:The son of a clergyman, he was born at Bridekirk near Cockermouth, Cumberland. He was educated at St Bees School 1695-1701, and in 1701 entered the Queen's College, Oxford, taking his M.A. degree in 1709...
entitled Kensington Garden, featuring the history of the characters Albion, Azuriel, Kenna, and Oberon.
Roles and original cast
- Sir James Jellicoe, a Rich Banker – Arthur Boielle
- Brook Green, his Junior Clerk (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...
) – Robert EvettRobert EvettRobert Evett was an English singer, actor, theatre manager and producer.-Acting career:In 1892 Evett joined the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company on tour in The Vicar of Bray, playing the Reverend Henry Sandford, the tenor lead. In 1893, Evett added the role of Oswald in Haddon Hall... - Puck, the Imp of Mischief (comic 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...
) – Walter PassmoreWalter PassmoreWalter Henry Passmore was an English singer and actor best known as the first successor to George Grossmith in the comic baritone roles in Gilbert and Sullivan operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company.... - William Jelf, a Sailor from H.M.S. "Albion" (baritone) – Henry LyttonHenry LyttonSir Henry Lytton was an English actor and singer who was the leading exponent of the comic patter-baritone roles in Gilbert and Sullivan operas in the early part of the twentieth century...
- Bill Blake, Will Weatherly, and Jem Johnson, Sailors from H.M.S. "Albion" (baritones) – Powis Pinder, R. Lewis and C. Childerstone
- Yapp, a Policeman (bass) – M. R. Morand
- Mr. Reddish, Proprietor of "The Jolly Tar," Winklemouth (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...
) – R. Crompton - Old Ben and James Doubleday, Fishermen – George Mudie, Jr. and E. Bryan
- Recruiting Sergeant, Royal Marines (baritone) – Percival Stevens
- Oberon, King of Fairies (high baritone) – Alec Fraser
- Azuriel, a Mountain Spirit (bass) – Ernest Torrence
- Zepherus, a fairy –
- Joy, Sir James Jellicoe’s Daughter (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...
) – Louie PoundsLouie PoundsLouisa Emma Amelia "Louie" Pounds was an English singer and actress, known for her performances in musical comedies and in mezzo-soprano roles with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company.... - Nell Reddish, Mr. Reddish’s Niece (contraltoContraltoContralto is the deepest female classical singing voice, with the lowest tessitura, falling between tenor and mezzo-soprano. It typically ranges between the F below middle C to the second G above middle C , although at the extremes some voices can reach the E below middle C or the second B above...
) – Rosina BrandramRosina BrandramRosina Brandram was an English opera singer and actress primarily known for creating many of the contralto roles in the Savoy operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company.... - Titania, Queen of Fairies (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...
) – Olive Rae - Butterfly (mezzo-soprano) – W. Hart Dyke
- Dragonfly – Lily Bircham
- Peaseblossom (soprano) – Constance Drever
- Cobweb (soprano) –
- Moth (mezzo-soprano) –
- Mustardseed (contralto) –
- Lady Jellicoe, Wife of Sir James (contralto) – Cora Lingard
- Kenna, Oberon’s Daughter (coloraturaColoraturaColoratura has several meanings. The word is originally from Italian, literally meaning "coloring", and derives from the Latin word colorare . When used in English, the term specifically refers to elaborate melody, particularly in vocal music and especially in operatic singing of the 18th and...
soprano) – Agnes Fraser
- Chorus of Fairies, Fishermen and Fishergirls, Red Marines, etc.
Synopsis
- Act I – Kensington Gardens – Morning
- Act II – Winklemouth-on-Sea – Afternoon
The fairy prince, Azuriel, has been suffering from jealousy for a thousand years over the love shared by the lovely fairy Kenna (for whom Kensington is named) and the mortal Prince Albion. Although Albion is dead, the mischievous Puck has encouraged Azuriel's jealousy through the centuries. Puck, lying, claims that he taught Kenna a spell to awaken Albion after a thousand years. Azuriel's jealousy is inflamed at the thought that his rival might soon reawaken, and he demands that Albion be promptly married off to a mortal maiden.
To calm the angry fairy prince, Puck and Kenna have to produce a false Albion and a false wedding. For their false Albion they choose a sailor, William Jelf, from the H.M.S. Albion. Jelf's cap conveniently bears the name "Albion". To provide a bride, Puck sees an opportunity in the appearance of two young lovers, Lieutenant Brook Green and Joy Jellicoe. Puck disguises himself as Sir James Jellicoe, Joy's father. He revokes Sir James's acceptance of Lt. Green as a husband for his daughter and encourages Jelf to woo the astonished Joy.
An alehouse owner, Mr. Reddish, arrives with his daughter Nell, to whom Jelf is actually engaged. Reddish is anxious to get Nell off his hands as she is a prohibitionist reformer and has turned his pub into a coffee house, to the disgust of Mr. Reddish's cronies, one of whom happens to be Jelf's uncle. Reddish hopes to marry Nell to Jelf, if necessary by force. Reddish and Nell are unhappy with the state of affairs that they encounter.
After additional complications, Azuriel is finally convinced that Albion is really dead, and the fairies can return to fairyland, where peace is restored. Joy can marry her lieutenant, and Nell decides to marry Jelf's uncle, her father's friend, who she believes deeply needs the benefits of her reforms. William Jelf goes back to sea, a highly relieved bachelor.
Musical numbers
Act I- Solo – Peaseblossom. "Come, Fairies!" and Female Chorus "'Tis Midsummer Day"
- Chorus – "From where the Scotch mountains"
- Duet – Oberon and Titania. "Mortal King may ride a-horseback"
- Song and Chorus – Puck. "If we pass beyond the portals"
- Duet – Brook and Joy. "Seven o'clock in the morning"
- Sextet – Joy, Kenna, Lady Jellicoe, Brook, Puck, and Azuriel. "Who that knows how I love you, love"
- Quartette – Jelf, Weatherly, Johnson, and Blake. "We're four jolly sailormen"
- Song – Nell. "Oh, what is woman's duty?"
- Chorus – "We're butchers and bakers and candlestick makers"
- Tarantelle – Butterfly.
- Song – Kenna. "Twin butterflies"
- Song – Brook and Chorus. "Now, here's to the 'Prentices"
- Song – Jelf. "A sailor man's the sort of man"
- Trio – Joy, Brook, and Puck. "If love in a cottage be all that they tell"
- Act I Finale (including Song – Jelf. "A bachelor of navel cut")
Act II
- Chorus. "High and dry"
- Song – Kenna. "A Mountain stood like a grim outpost"
- Song – Puck. "By a Piccadilly cab-stand"
- Trio – Kenna, Puck, and Jelf, with Chorus. "If you will spare the time"
- Bridal Chorus and Duet (Azuriel and Kenna). "See a rainbow arch... Ye silver chimes of fall and fountain"
- Song – Brook. "A blue sky and a blue sea" (this song was replaced during the original run, with the song "Where haven lies")
- Trio – Nell, Puck, and Jelf. "A German Prince May wed me"
- Song – Joy. "He was a simple sailor man"
- Trio and Chorus – Sergeant, Puck and Yapp. "It's a pressing invitation that I bring"
- Song – Puck and Butterfly. "Oh, if I were a barn-door owl"
- Act II Finale. "Seven o'clock in the evening"
External links
- A Princess of Kensington at The Gilbert and Sullivan Archive
- "'Four Jolly Sailor Boys' from The Princess of Kensington" at the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
- A Princess of Kensington. Vocal score at The Gilbert and Sullivan Archive
- A Princess of Kensington at The Edward German Discography
- A Princess of Kensington at the Stage Beauty site
- Classical Musical MIDI, mostly songs from A Princess of Kensington
- Article from The Encyclopedia of Musical Theatre
- Description of the opera from The Encyclopedia of the Musical Theatre by Kurt Gänzl
- Photographs from a 1913 production