John Philip Sousa was an American composer and conductor of the late Romantic era. Although primarily known for American military marches, [1] he also wrote operettas, which are relatively lesser-known and less performed. [2] They show influences from Gilbert and Sullivan, including short recitatives and chorus finales. According to author Paul E. Bierley, Sousa's operettas displayed a "high standard of morality". [3] Libretti for most of the operettas were written by various prominent as well as less experienced librettists, except for The Wolf and The Bride Elect, which were written by Sousa himself. Several famous stage personalities, including DeWolf Hopper, starred in the operettas. [4]
Sousa composed Katherine, his first operetta, in 1879, and copyrighted but never published it. [5] His next operetta, produced after becoming the leader of the United States Marine Band, was The Smugglers, which premiered in 1882. [6] After some financial setbacks, in the mid-1890s, he reached the epitome of his career. [7] His operetta El Capitan was later described by author Gerald Bordman as "boding well to be the most enduring American comic opera of the nineteenth century". [7] El Capitan portrayed the Spanish administration in Peru and became hugely popular during the Spanish–American War. [8] His other major operettas included The Charlatan, Chris and the Wonderful Lamp , The Free Lance, and The American Maid. [6] Bierley later speculated that, had Sousa not been the leader of the United States Marine Band, "he probably would have chosen a career in theater music". [3]
Title | Year | Acts | Librettist | Notes | Premiere | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Katherine | 1879 | Three acts | Wilson Vance | Although Sousa never published or completed this operetta, he copyrighted it. The only known performance of this operetta is from a late 1920s Sousa Band concert. | — | |
Florine | 1881 | Unfinished | Mary Andrews Denison | Mary Andrews Denison agreed to be the librettist for this operetta and composed several songs. However, as Denison's husband died while the first act of the operetta was still being written, Florine was never completed. | — | |
The Smugglers | 1882 | Two acts | Wilson Vance | The Smugglers was Sousa's first operetta to be produced. The libretto is based on Arthur Sullivan and F. C. Burnand's The Contrabandista . Though it received an overall positive review, it was a financial failure. | Lincoln Hall, Washington, D.C. | |
Désirée | 1883 | Two acts | Edward M. Taber | Sousa composed this operetta in 1882 and 1883. He based it on an English comedy, Our Wife, by John Maddison Morton. | National Theatre, Washington, D.C. | |
The Queen of Hearts | 1885 | One act, three scenes | Edward M. Taber | The Queen of Hearts had the shortest run of all Sousa operettas, with only three performances in Washington, D.C. The operetta was compared with Gilbert and Sullivan's Trial by Jury . Several of Sousa's later compositions derived their score from the songs of this operetta. | Lafayette Square Opera House, Washington, D.C. | |
The Wolf | 1888 | Three acts | John Philip Sousa | Sousa derived the operetta from his 1882 operetta The Smugglers. Author Paul E. Bierley calls it a "transitional" operetta. | — | |
The Devil's Deputy | 1893 | Three acts | J. Cheever Goodwin | Comedian Francis Wilson requested Sousa to compose this operetta. However, after completion of two acts, they were unable to negotiate terms. Sousa demanded $1,500 (equivalent to $48,900in 2022), but was offered $1,000 (equivalent to $32,600in 2022). The Devil's Deputy was never completed. | — | |
El Capitan | 1895 | Three acts | Charles Klein | El Capitan was Sousa's most successful operetta. It was a portrayal of the Spanish administration in Peru. After its premiere, it was performed various times over four years in the United States and Canada. A few of his earlier compositions like "The Legend of the Frogs" and "The Fable of the Frogs" were added to the operetta. | Tremont Theatre, Boston | |
The Bride Elect | 1897 | Three acts | John Philip Sousa | The operetta is mostly derived from Sousa's previous operettas like The Smugglers and The Wolf. Author Paul E. Bierley attributes to The Bride Elect the "misfortune of falling in the wake of the highly successful El Capitan". Sousa's later march of the same title was more successful than the operetta. | Hyperion Theater, New Haven | |
The Charlatan | 1898 | Three acts | Charles Klein | Sousa composed this operetta for DeWolf Hopper and his opera company. In London, The Charlatan was known as The Mystical Miss. It is one of Sousa's most famous operettas. | Academy of Music, Montreal | |
Chris and the Wonderful Lamp | 1899 | Three acts | Glen MacDonough | Although Sousa considered this operetta one of his best works, it was not a commercial success. Sousa converted the Aladdin legend into this operetta. Sousa later extracted marches like "The Man Behind the Gun" and "Jack Tar" from it. | Hyperion Theater, New Haven | |
The Free Lance | 1905 | Two acts | Harry B. Smith | Sousa composed this operetta in collaboration with Harry B. Smith. Although it was overall received positively, it lasted only for seven months. In late 1939, "The Goose Girl's Song", a song from this operetta, was rearranged and published as "Petit Minuet". | Court Square Theater, Springfield | |
The American Maid | 1909 | Three acts | Leonard Liebling | Initially composed as The Glass Blowers, it was later renamed The American Maid in 1913. Various critics commented on the length of the production. It was premiered in New York City during the Sousa Band's world tour. | Shubert Theatre, New York City | |
The Irish Dragoon | 1915 | Three acts | Joseph W. Herbert | The manuscript of this operetta was discovered in 1965 in the basement of Sousa's estate. The libretto was based on Charles Lever's book Charles O'Malley. | — | |
The Victory | 1915 | Unfinished [lower-alpha 1] | Ella Wheeler Wilcox | The Victory was initially a play by Ella Wheeler Wilcox and Ruth Allen Davis. It was scheduled to be produced in August 1915, but was never premiered. | — |
John Philip Sousa was an American composer and conductor of the late Romantic era known primarily for American military marches. He is known as "The March King" or the "American March King", to distinguish him from his British counterpart Kenneth J. Alford. Among Sousa's best-known marches are "The Stars and Stripes Forever", "Semper Fidelis", "The Liberty Bell", "The Thunderer", and "The Washington Post".
"Hands Across the Sea" is an American military march composed by John Philip Sousa in 1899.
El Capitan is the name of a rock formation in Yosemite National Park, California.
Minnesota March is a march for wind band written by John Philip Sousa in 1927 for the University of Minnesota at the request of the Minnesota football team. Sousa used Indian themes in this march, and later added field drum and bugle parts. The piece was one of four marches written by Sousa expressly for a university. It is now used as one of the university's school songs, with lyrics written in 1927 by university band director Michael Jalma. The piece is regularly performed by the University of Minnesota Marching Band and pep bands and often sung by students at various athletic events and ceremonies.
El Capitan is an operetta in three acts by John Philip Sousa and has a libretto by Charles Klein. The piece was Sousa's first successful operetta and his most successful stage work. The march "El Capitan" became a standard work both for brass bands and a crossover into other genres.
Charles Klein was an English-born playwright and actor who emigrated to America in 1883. After moving to New York City in 1883, Klein began acting. He began writing by 1890, soon working for producer Charles Frohman. Among his works was the libretto of John Philip Sousa's operetta, El Capitan (1896). He wrote melodrama and dramatic plays in the first 15 years of the 20th century.
Stars and Stripes Forever is a 1952 American Technicolor film biography of the late-19th-/early-20th-century composer and band leader John Philip Sousa. This 20th Century Fox feature was produced by Lamar Trotti, directed by Henry Koster, and stars Clifton Webb, Debra Paget, Robert Wagner, and Ruth Hussey. The film's title is taken from Sousa's "The Stars and Stripes Forever", which has become the best known of his military marches. The film was released twenty years after Sousa's death.
Glen MacDonough was an American writer, lyricist and librettist. He was the son of theater manager Thomas B. MacDonough and actress/author Laura Don. Glen MacDonough married Margaret Jefferson in 1896 in Buzzard's Bay, Massachusetts.
Ian Hobson is an English pianist, conductor and teacher, and is a professor at University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign and at Florida State University. His pianistic repertoire spans the baroque to the contemporary, but he specialises in the Romantic repertoire. Starting September 1st 2023 he will be serving as a guest conductor of Sinfonia Varsovia.
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.
Paul Edmund Bierley was an American music historian. Among his awards were a Society for American Music Lifetime Achievement Award and receiving an Honorary Doctor of Music from Ohio State University.
"In Memoriam: President Garfield's Funeral March" is a funeral dirge composed by John Philip Sousa in 1881, while serving as director of "the President's Own" United States Marine Band, for the state funeral of President of the United States James Garfield. It was debuted during the committal of Garfield's remains and, 51 years later, was performed at Sousa's own funeral by the Marine Band. It is one of only two compositions Sousa dedicated to an American president, the other one being "President Garfield's Inauguration", both of which were made to Garfield.
The John Philip Sousa Baton is a conducting baton originally presented to John Philip Sousa upon his resignation as the director of the United States Marine Band. After his death, it was donated to the Marine Band, and since it has been traditionally passed to the new director from the outgoing director of the band during the change of command ceremonies.
"Nobles of the Mystic Shrine" is a march composed by John Philip Sousa upon the request of his nephew, A. R. Varela. Sousa dedicated the march to the Almas Temple and the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. It was first conducted in June 1923, with a band of around 6,200 members—the largest Sousa had ever conducted. It is one of the few Sousa marches with the first strain written in the minor mode. Contemporary versions of the march recorded by the Ottoman military band also use the Jingling Johnny in the final strain.
Boy Scouts of America is a march composed by John Philip Sousa in 1916 upon the request of Charles D. Hart. Sousa dedicated it to the Boy Scouts of America. It was premiered in October 1916 at the Metropolitan Opera House. The cover sheet features a photograph of a statuette R. Tait McKenzie's The Ideal Scout. It is considered one of the best marches Sousa ever composed, with The Reading Times writing that the march proved that the "noted composer still retains the name of 'March King'".
"The Dauntless Battalion" is an American military march by John Philip Sousa, published in 1922 and dedicated to the faculty and cadets of the Pennsylvania Military College in Chester, Pennsylvania, known today as Widener University. Sousa received an honorary doctorate from the college in February 1920 alongside future president Warren G. Harding.