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The Magic Knight is a one-act musical burlesque
Burlesque (genre)

Burlesque is a genre of entertainment also known as Travesty. Prior to Burlesque becoming associated with striptease, it was a form of Parody music in which an opera or piece of classical theatre is adapted in a broad, often risqu? style very different from that for which it was originally known....
 with music by Victor Herbert
Victor Herbert

Victor August Herbert was an Ireland-born, German-raised United States composer, cellist and conducting who is best known for his many successful operettas that premiered on Broadway theatre....
 and a libretto by Edgar Smith. The piece parodies the Richard Wagner
Richard Wagner

Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, Conducting, theatre director and essayist, primarily known for his operas . Unlike most other great opera composers, Wagner wrote both the scenario and libretto for his works....
 opera Lohengrin
Lohengrin (opera)

Lohengrin is a romantic opera in three acts composed and written by Richard Wagner.The story of the eponymous character is taken from medieval German romance, notably the Parzival of Wolfram von Eschenbach and its sequel, Lohengrin, written by a different author, itself inspired by the epic of Garin le Loherain....
.

The original production opened at Weber's Music Hall in New York City
New York City

The City of New York is the List of United States cities by population in the United States, while the New York metropolitan area ranks among the List of urban areas by population....
 on December 25, 1906, and ran for 102 performances until March 23, 1907. It was played as a show within a show with Herbert and Smith's two-act operetta, Dream City.

Modern performances of the piece, especially with orchestra, are rare.






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The Magic Knight is a one-act musical burlesque
Burlesque (genre)

Burlesque is a genre of entertainment also known as Travesty. Prior to Burlesque becoming associated with striptease, it was a form of Parody music in which an opera or piece of classical theatre is adapted in a broad, often risqu? style very different from that for which it was originally known....
 with music by Victor Herbert
Victor Herbert

Victor August Herbert was an Ireland-born, German-raised United States composer, cellist and conducting who is best known for his many successful operettas that premiered on Broadway theatre....
 and a libretto by Edgar Smith. The piece parodies the Richard Wagner
Richard Wagner

Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, Conducting, theatre director and essayist, primarily known for his operas . Unlike most other great opera composers, Wagner wrote both the scenario and libretto for his works....
 opera Lohengrin
Lohengrin (opera)

Lohengrin is a romantic opera in three acts composed and written by Richard Wagner.The story of the eponymous character is taken from medieval German romance, notably the Parzival of Wolfram von Eschenbach and its sequel, Lohengrin, written by a different author, itself inspired by the epic of Garin le Loherain....
.

The original production opened at Weber's Music Hall in New York City
New York City

The City of New York is the List of United States cities by population in the United States, while the New York metropolitan area ranks among the List of urban areas by population....
 on December 25, 1906, and ran for 102 performances until March 23, 1907. It was played as a show within a show with Herbert and Smith's two-act operetta, Dream City.

Modern performances of the piece, especially with orchestra, are rare. It was performed without orchestra, within Dream City, during the 2006 Victor Herbert Festival in Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan

Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County, Michigan. It is the state's seventh largest city with a population of 114,024 as of the 2000 United States Census, of which 36,892 are university or college students....
.

Synopsis

Elsa is accused of murdering her brother, Godfrey, who has mysteriously disappeared, but Elsa is guilty of nothing more than an excessive fondness for singing cadenzas. Frederick, who was to have married Elsa, marries the enchantress Ortrud, instead. Ortrud has turned Godfrey into a swan. Elsa calls upon a magic knight to save her by engaging in combat with Frederick. A first call to fairyland to summon the knight is unsuccessful, but after a second call, the knight arrives on the back of the enchanted swan. The knight soon defeats the cowardly Frederick and turns the swan back into Godfrey. He asks Elsa to marry him, but when she asks his name, the enchantment is broken. He must return to fairyland, leaving Elsa alone and grief stricken, but still singing cadenzas.

Musical numbers

  • Prelude
  • Our King Is Here – Ensemble
  • The Court Is Called to Order – The King
  • Elsa Is Accused – Frederick and Tunite
  • I'm Such a Modest Maiden – Elsa
  • The Human Canary – Elsa
  • The Magic Knight Is Summoned – The Herald
  • Oh, Look Who's Here – Elsa and Chorus
  • Ta Ta, My Dainty Little Darling – Lohengrin
  • The Cake-Walk Duel – Lohengrin and Frederick
  • The Confession – Ortrud


Roles and original cast

  • The King (A base monarch) – Frank Belcher
  • Elsa (A typical grand operatic maiden in the usual distressing predicament) – Lillian Blauvelt
    Lillian Blauvelt

    Lillian Blauvelt was a popular opera singer in New York City, USA in the first decade of the 20th century. Her voice was a lyric soprano witha very pure timber and a dramatic distinction....
  • Ortrud (Her contralto
    Contralto

    In music, a contralto is a type of European classical music female voice type with a vocal range somewhere between a tenor and a mezzo-soprano. The term is used to refer to the deepest female singing voice....
     aunt, given to dabbling in the art of magic) – Cora Tracey
  • Lohengrin (A professional rescuer of distressed maidens) – Maurice Farkoa
  • The Herald (A mediaeval news announcer) – W. L. Romaine
  • The Swan, Godfrey (An item in a foul conspiracy) – Lores Grimm
  • Frederick (Her hen-pecked uncle) – Otis Harlan
    Otis Harlan

    Otis Harlan was an American comedic actor.Harlan was born in Zanesville, Ohio in 1865. He married Nellie Harvey and had a daughter named Maria....
Three knights:
  • Lastnite – Billie Norton
  • Tunite – Lois Ewell
  • Tumaronite – Lillian deLee


Recording

A recording of The Magic Knight was released with Dream City in 2006 by the Comic Opera Guild.

External links

  • Johnson, Colin. about The Magic Knight