Nightingale: A New Musical is a musical (described by the composer as a children's opera) in one act, with book, music and lyrics by Charles Strouse. It is based on Hans Christian Andersen's 1843 fairy tale, "The Nightingale", and tells the story of a Chinese emperor who learns, nearly too late, that wealth cannot buy happiness.
The work premiered at the Buxton Festival and then in London at the Lyric Hammersmith beginning on December 18, 1982, with a cast including Sarah Brightman as the title character, Nightingale. In the U.S. a fully staged production of the show was given by the First All Children's Theatre in New York in May 1982 with sets by Oliver Smith, costumes by Christine Andrews, and lighting by Victor En Yu Tan[1] The group then gave a preview of the work in New York in March 1983 before the North American premiere at "The Barns" at Wolf Trap, Virginia, in April 1983.[2] Since then, the show has been performed numerous times throughout the world.
A cast album was released in 1985 with the London cast.
Musical numbers
Prologue – Orchestra
Perfect Harmony – Company
Why Am I So Happy? – The Maid
Take Us To the Forest – Company
Who Are These People – Nightingale
Never Speak Directly to an Emperor – Palace Guards
Nightingale – Company
The Emperor is a Man – The Maid
I Was Lost – Emperor / Nightingale
Charming – Two Peacocks
A Singer Must Be Free – Nightingale
The Mechanical Bird – The Company / Mechanical Bird
Please Don't Make Me Hear That Song Again – Company / Mechanical Bird
Rivers Cannot Flow Upwards – The Maid, Nightingale
Death Duet – Death, Emperor, Maid and Nightingale
We Are China – Company
Synopsis
Act 1
In China, an Emperor is told of "the Nightingale", a bird that is so beautiful it makes even the fisherman stop just to hear her song ("How Beautiful!"). The Emperor tells his Courtiers to find the Nightingale within the day, the Courtiers ask the non-royal Courtiers to find the Nightingale ("Have You Seen The Nightingale?"). The Chef finds a Little Girl (that is unnamed) that knows the Nightingale. The Courtiers tell the Emperor, and the Emperor makes it the Little Girl's mission to find the Nightingale and bring it to him. The Little Girl takes the Courtiers to the forest ("Follow Me"). The Courtiers mock the Nightingale upon seeing it, but when they hear her song, they bring her to the Emperor ("Nightingale?"). The Citizens of China hear the Nightingale and they make it a nation treasure ("Festival Medley").
Act 2
The Narrators tell the audience how things have been throughout the last few years ("Entr'acte" / Beautiful Underscore"). The Emperor gets a present from Japan that is a Mechanical Bird. The Courtiers prefer The Mechanical Bird over the real one, and the Little Girl lets it escape. The Emperor banishes the bird, and the Mechanical Bird replaces the real one ("The Mechanical Bird"). The Emperor becomes ill because the Mechanical Bird breaks down, and is only able to sing every year. When the Emperor is close to dying, the Little Girl gifts the Emperor something ("Elegy"). The Emperor opens the gift, finding the real Nightingale. The Nightingale's song helps the Emperor live ("Finale"). The Citizens celebrate the Nightingale ("How Beautiful (Reprise)").
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