The Girl in the Train
Encyclopedia
Die geschiedene Frau is an operetta
in three acts by Leo Fall
(1873-1925) with a libretto
by Victor Léon, after Victorien Sardou
's Divorçons!. Conducted by the composer, It opened to considerable success at the Carltheater in Vienna
on December 23, 1908 with Hubert Marischka
as Karel.
It was translated into Italian and premiered at the Teatro Lirico Internationale in Milan as La divorziata on 16 August 1909, then translated into English and performed at the Vaudeville Theatre
in London as The Girl in the Train from 4 June 1910. Performances followed in Rome on 19 January 1911, in Paris as La divorcée at the Théâtre Apollo on 18 February, and in Madrid
as La mujer divorciada at the Teatro Eslava on 23 December the same year, conducted by the composer.
at the Vaudeville Theatre
in London
, with lyrics by Adrian Ross
, and ran for 340 performances. The London production starred Robert Evett
, Phyllis Dare
, Huntley Wright
, Arthur Williams
and Rutland Barrington
. The American production opened at the Globe Theatre in New York
(where the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre
stands now) on October 3, 1910 with a new adaptation by Harry B. Smith
, which subsequently toured in Britain, America and Australia, among others.
In the English version, Gonda van der Loo, a young actress travelling on a train in Holland at night, is unable to secure a berth. Karel van Raalte, a young gentleman, generously offers his compartment to her. The two, however, become locked in the compartment. Their cries and knocks are unheard, and they are forced to spend the night together. Van Raalte's wife learns of the incident and jealously brings divorce proceedings. After many complications and much time spent in divorce court, however, Van Raalte and his wife are reunited, and the Judge finds romance with the actress.
Act II - Drawing Room, Karel Van Raalte's House.
, and starred Marika Rökk
and Johannes Heesters
.
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:...
in three acts by Leo Fall
Leo Fall
Leo Fall was an Austrian composer of operettas.-Life:Born in Olmütz , Leo Fall was taught by his father Moritz Fall , a bandmaster and composer, who settled in Berlin. The younger Fall studied at the Vienna Conservatory before rejoining his father in Berlin...
(1873-1925) with 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 Victor Léon, after Victorien Sardou
Victorien Sardou
Victorien Sardou was a French dramatist. He is best remembered today for his development, along with Eugène Scribe, of the well-made play...
's Divorçons!. Conducted by the composer, It opened to considerable success at the Carltheater in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
on December 23, 1908 with Hubert Marischka
Hubert Marischka
Hubert Marischka , brother of Ernst Marischka, was an Austrian operetta tenor, actor, film director and screenwriter.- Career :...
as Karel.
It was translated into Italian and premiered at the Teatro Lirico Internationale in Milan as La divorziata on 16 August 1909, then translated into English and performed at the Vaudeville Theatre
Vaudeville Theatre
The Vaudeville Theatre is a West End theatre on The Strand in the City of Westminster. As the name suggests, the theatre held mostly vaudeville shows and musical revues in its early days. It opened in 1870 and was rebuilt twice, although each new building retained elements of the previous...
in London as The Girl in the Train from 4 June 1910. Performances followed in Rome on 19 January 1911, in Paris as La divorcée at the Théâtre Apollo on 18 February, and in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
as La mujer divorciada at the Teatro Eslava on 23 December the same year, conducted by the composer.
Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast, 23 December 1908 (Conductor: Leo Fall) |
|---|---|---|
| Jana | soprano Soprano A 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... |
Mizzi Zwerenz |
| Gonda van der Loo | soprano | Annie Dirkens |
| Martje | soprano | Mizzi Jesel |
| Lucas van Deesteldonck | tenor Tenor The 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... |
Richard Waldemar |
| Karel van Lysseveghe | tenor | Hubert Marischka Hubert Marischka Hubert Marischka , brother of Ernst Marischka, was an Austrian operetta tenor, actor, film director and screenwriter.- Career :... |
| Scroop | tenor | Josef König |
| Willem | baritone Baritone Baritone 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... |
Max Rohr |
| Pieter te Bakkenskijl | baritone | Carl Blasel |
English adaptations
The 1910 English adaptation, The Girl in the Train, was produced in two acts by George EdwardesGeorge 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....
at the Vaudeville Theatre
Vaudeville Theatre
The Vaudeville Theatre is a West End theatre on The Strand in the City of Westminster. As the name suggests, the theatre held mostly vaudeville shows and musical revues in its early days. It opened in 1870 and was rebuilt twice, although each new building retained elements of the previous...
in 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...
, with lyrics by Adrian Ross
Adrian Ross
For the NFL player see Adrian Ross Arthur Reed Ropes , better known under the pseudonym Adrian Ross, was a prolific writer of lyrics, contributing songs to more than sixty British musical comedies in the late 19th and early 20th centuries...
, and ran for 340 performances. The London production starred 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...
, Phyllis Dare
Phyllis Dare
Phyllis Dare born Phyllis Constance Haddie Dones was an English singer and actress who was famous for her performances in Edwardian musical comedy and other musical theatre in the first half of the 20th century....
, Huntley Wright
Huntley Wright
Huntley Wright was an English stage and film actor, comedian, dancer and singer, best known for creating roles in many important Edwardian musical comedies....
, Arthur Williams
Arthur Williams (actor)
Arthur Williams was an English actor, singer and playwright best remembered for his roles in comic operas, musical burlesques and Edwardian musical comedies...
and Rutland Barrington
Rutland Barrington
Rutland 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...
. The American production opened at the Globe Theatre in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
(where the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre
Lunt-Fontanne Theatre
The Lunt-Fontanne Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre located at 205 West 46th Street in midtown-Manhattan.Designed by the architectural firm of Carrere and Hastings, it was built by producer Charles Dillingham and opened as the Globe Theatre, in honor of London's Shakespearean playhouse, on...
stands now) on October 3, 1910 with a new adaptation by Harry B. Smith
Harry B. Smith
Harry Bache Smith was a writer, lyricist and composer. The most prolific of all American stage writers, he is said to have written over 300 librettos and more than 6000 lyrics. Some of his best-known works were librettos for the composer Victor Herbert...
, which subsequently toured in Britain, America and Australia, among others.
In the English version, Gonda van der Loo, a young actress travelling on a train in Holland at night, is unable to secure a berth. Karel van Raalte, a young gentleman, generously offers his compartment to her. The two, however, become locked in the compartment. Their cries and knocks are unheard, and they are forced to spend the night together. Van Raalte's wife learns of the incident and jealously brings divorce proceedings. After many complications and much time spent in divorce court, however, Van Raalte and his wife are reunited, and the Judge finds romance with the actress.
Musical numbers (Adrian Ross version)
Act I - Court of Justice, Amsterdam.- No. 1 - Prelude - Jana - "Only one word I add, that I have loved him well..."
- No. 2 - Ensemble - Karel, President and Chorus - "Confound it all, confound it all..."
- No. 2a - Reprise - Chorus - "Confound it all, confound it all..."
- No. 2b - Reprise - Chorus - "Oh Jiminy, Oh Jiminy, Oh Jim, Oh Jiminy! ..."
- No. 3 - Quintette - Jana, Martje, Karel, Willem and President - "You see we got married the very same day..."
- No. 3a - Melodrame - Entrance of Gonda
- No. 4 - Song - Gonda - "We poor little girls with a part to play must often be travelling night and day..."
- No. 4a - Exit Chorus - "Oh Jiminy, Oh Jiminy, Oh Jim, Oh Jiminy! ..."
- Nos. 5 & 6 - Scena and Finale - Karel, Jana, Gonda, President, etc. - "Now, Jana, say, why should you be so jealous? ..."
Act II - Drawing Room, Karel Van Raalte's House.
- No. 7 - Introductory Dance
- No. 8 - Duet - Gonda and Karel - "I'm no lover, as you'll discover by hearing me propose..."
- No. 9 - Song - Karel - "Pictured face, that smile in your place, with joy of a day that's gone..."
- No. 10 - Song - Jana - "I wonder whether you can tell me a secret that I long to know! ..."
- No. 11 - Trio - Karel, Jana and Van Tromp - "Children, I feel there's a sort of a change! Say, is there anything wrong? ..."
- No. 11a - Additional Duet - President and Van Tromp - "Oh, Memory! Oh! the merry days when we were boys..."
- No. 12 - Quintette - Gonda, De Leije, Van Dender, President and Van Tromp - "So to put an end to doubt..."
- No. 13 - Duet - Gonda and President - "So you catch her! ... Catch her? ... Catch her! ... If you can..."
- No. 14 - Waltz Duet - Jama & Karel - "You give your word?... I give my word! I'll keep your promise, tho' it seems absurd..."
- No. 15 - Finale - Jana, Gonda, Van Tromp & President - "Gonda, charming little Gonda! You're as good as you are clever..."
Film version
A film version was made in 1953 under the original title Die geschiedene Frau, but released in Britain, France and the United States as The Divorcée. it was directed by Georg JacobyGeorg Jacoby
Georg Jacoby was a German film director and screenwriter. He was married to Marika Rökk from 1940 until his death; the actress Gabriele Jacoby is their daughter.-Selected filmography:...
, and starred Marika Rökk
Marika Rökk
Marika Rökk was an Austrian-German singer, dancer and actress of Hungarian descent, who became famous in German films, notably in the Nazi era.- Life and work :...
and Johannes Heesters
Johannes Heesters
Johan Marius Nicolaas "Johannes" Heesters is a Dutch actor, singer and entertainer with a -year career, almost exclusively in the German-speaking world. In Germany and Austria, Heesters is mainly known for his acting career...
.