The Wizard of the Nile was a
burlesqueBurlesque is a genre of entertainment also known as Travesty. Prior to Burlesque becoming associated with striptease, it was a form of musical and theatrical parody in which an opera or piece of classical theatre is adapted in a broad, often risqué style very different from that for which it was...
operettaOperetta 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.-Operetta in French:...
in three acts, composed by
Victor HerbertVictor August Herbert was an Irish-born, German-raised American composer, cellist and conductor who is best known for his many successful operettas that premiered on Broadway. He was prominent among the tin pan alley composers and later a founder of the American Society of Composers, Authors, and...
to a libretto by
Harry B. SmithHarry 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...
.
Herbert's second operetta after
Prince AnaniasPrince Ananias was the first operetta composed by Victor Herbert, to a libretto by Francis Neilson. It was produced by a troupe called "The Bostonians" at The Broadway Theatre in 1894 and remained in their repertoire for three seasons and was given more than 300 performances in all.- References...
,
The Wizard of the Nile was his first real success. It was given 105 performances on Broadway at the Casino Theater, opening on November 4, 1895, starring the comedian
Frank DanielsFrank Albert Daniels was a comedian, an actor on stage and in early black and white films, and a singer....
(and his Comic Opera Company), and enjoyed productions in Britain and on the European continent -- a rare achievement for an American work of the period -- as well as a revival in New York.
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The Wizard of the Nile was a
burlesqueBurlesque is a genre of entertainment also known as Travesty. Prior to Burlesque becoming associated with striptease, it was a form of musical and theatrical parody in which an opera or piece of classical theatre is adapted in a broad, often risqué style very different from that for which it was...
operettaOperetta 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.-Operetta in French:...
in three acts, composed by
Victor HerbertVictor August Herbert was an Irish-born, German-raised American composer, cellist and conductor who is best known for his many successful operettas that premiered on Broadway. He was prominent among the tin pan alley composers and later a founder of the American Society of Composers, Authors, and...
to a libretto by
Harry B. SmithHarry 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...
.
Herbert's second operetta after
Prince AnaniasPrince Ananias was the first operetta composed by Victor Herbert, to a libretto by Francis Neilson. It was produced by a troupe called "The Bostonians" at The Broadway Theatre in 1894 and remained in their repertoire for three seasons and was given more than 300 performances in all.- References...
,
The Wizard of the Nile was his first real success. It was given 105 performances on Broadway at the Casino Theater, opening on November 4, 1895, starring the comedian
Frank DanielsFrank Albert Daniels was a comedian, an actor on stage and in early black and white films, and a singer....
(and his Comic Opera Company), and enjoyed productions in Britain and on the European continent -- a rare achievement for an American work of the period -- as well as a revival in New York. None of Herbert's later shows would achieve as much international success.
Daniels played Kibosh, the Persian Magician. His phrase, "Am I a wiz?" became a popular expression. Adele Ritchie and Edwin Isham
http://math.boisestate.edu/GaS/whowaswho/I-J/IshamEdwin.htm also starred. Famous songs include the waltz "Star Light, Star Bright", "My Angeline" and "In Dreamland". A recording of this piece is available
here.
Musical numbers
- Overture
- Father Nile
- Song Of the Optimist
- I Am The Ruler
- That's One Thing A Wizard Can Do
- Pure And White Is The Lotus
- I Have Been A-Maying
- What Is Love?
- When The Bugles Are Calling
- Strew The Way Into Bang, Bang, The Most Harmonious Song
- Incantation
- Finale Act One
- Opening Serenade
- If I Were King
- On Cleopatra's Wedding Day
- My Angeline
- Finale Act Two
- Stonecutter's Song
- In Dreamland
- Star Light, Star Bright