El Capitan is an operetta in three acts by John Philip Sousa and has a libretto by Charles Klein (with lyrics by Charles Klein and Tom Frost). The piece was Sousa's first successful operetta and his most successful stage work. The march "El Capitan" became a standard work both for symphonic/wind bands and a crossover into other genres.
El Capitan was first produced at the Tremont Theatre in Boston, beginning on April 13, 1896. After this tryout, it transferred to the old Broadway Theatre on 41st Street in New York on April 20, 1896, where it ran for 112 performances, starring DeWolf Hopper, Edna Wallace Hopper, John Parr, and Alfred Klein. [1] It then toured almost continuously for four years in the United States and Canada and was quickly revived on Broadway. It was produced at the Lyric Theatre in London beginning on July 10, 1899, where it ran for 140 performances. [2] Thereafter, the operetta was produced numerous times internationally and remained popular for some time. Occasional modern performances continue. For example, Lake George Opera gave a production in 2009, and Ohio Light Opera presented and recorded the work during the summer of 2010. [3]
El Capitan also refers to the march of the same name, composed of themes from the operetta. This march is like other operetta marches (1897's Bride Elect, 1900's Man Behind the Gun, and 1906's Free Lance) with its use of both 6/8 (parts A and B) and 2/4 (parts C and D) sections. Also like the Bride Elect and Man Behind the Gun this march has an introduction between part C and D. It follows style IAABBCCIDD. The march also influenced "El Capitan" by Memphis Slim and the mambo "El Capitan" by Tony Pabon.
Don Errico Medigua is the viceroy of Spanish-occupied 16th-century Peru and fears assassination by rebels. After he secretly has the rebel leader El Capitan killed, he disguises himself as El Capitan. Estrelda, the daughter of the former viceroy, Cazarro, impressed by tales of El Capitan's daring, falls in love with the disguised Medigua, who is already married. Meanwhile, the rebels capture the Lord Chamberlain, Pozzo, mistaking him for the viceroy. Hearing that her husband has been captured, Medigua's wife Marganza and daughter Isabel (who is being wooed by the handsome Verrada) go in search of Medigua.
Medigua, still disguised as El Capitan, leads the hapless rebels against the Spaniards, taking them in circles until they are too tired to fight. The Spaniards win, the mistaken identities are revealed, the love stories are untangled after Medigua explains to his wife the flirtation with Estrelda, and the story ends happily.
Prelude
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Tom Jones is a comic opera in three acts by Edward German founded upon Henry Fielding's 1749 novel, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, with a libretto by Robert Courtneidge and Alexander M. Thompson and lyrics by Charles H. Taylor.
The Serenade is an operetta with music and lyrics by Victor Herbert, and book by Harry B. Smith. Produced by a troupe called "The Bostonians", it premiered on Broadway on March 16, 1897 at the Knickerbocker Theatre and ran initially for 79 performances. It remained very popular into the new century, running almost continuously for the next seven years.
Madame Favart is an opéra comique, or operetta, in three acts by Jacques Offenbach. The French libretto was written by Alfred Duru and Henri Chivot.
Les brigands is an opéra bouffe, or operetta, by Jacques Offenbach to a French libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy. Meilhac and Halévy's libretto lampoons both serious drama and opéra comique. The plot is cheerfully amoral in its presentation of theft as a basic principle of society rather than as an aberration. As Falsacappa, the brigand chieftain, notes: "Everybody steals according to their position in society." The piece premiered in Paris in 1869 and has received periodic revivals in France and elsewhere, both in French and in translation.
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Giroflé-Girofla is an opéra bouffe in three acts with music by Charles Lecocq. The French libretto was by Albert Vanloo and Eugène Leterrier. The story, set in 13th century Spain, concerns twin brides, one of whom is abducted by pirates. The other twin poses as both brides until the first is rescued. The composer chose an extravagantly far-fetched theme to contrast with his more realistic and romantic success La fille de Madame Angot premiered the previous year.
Katinka is an operetta in three acts composed by Rudolf Friml to a libretto by Otto Harbach. It was first performed at the Park Theatre in Morristown, New Jersey, on December 2, 1915, with May Naudain in the title role and subsequently received its Broadway premiere on December 23, 1915 at the 44th Street Theatre.
Alfred Asher Klein was an English-born stage actor, singer and comedian who appeared in operettas and musical theatre in America in the late 19th century.
The Broadway Theatre near 41st Street was a Manhattan theatre in operation from 1888 to 1929. It was located at 1445 Broadway.
The Charlatan is an 1898 American operetta also known as The Mystical Miss, with music and lyrics by John Philip Sousa. Today only excerpts from the work—"The Charlatan March", "The Charlatan Waltzes" and "The Charlatan Overture"—are commonly known. The operetta is set in the early nineteenth century in Russia with scenes in the village of Bohkara; at Gogol's house; and in the Grand Duke's Palace in Russia.
Le cœur et la main is a three-act opéra comique with music by Charles Lecocq and words by Charles Nuitter and Alexandre Beaume. It was first performed on 19 October 1882 at the Théâtre de Nouveautés, Paris.
