The Sultan of Mocha is a three act comic opera of 1874 with a libretto by Albert Jarrett and a score by Alfred Cellier. It was first produced at the Prince's Theatre, Manchester in 1874 and revived in London in 1876 and 1887 (with a new libretto by William Lestocq) and in New York in 1880, among others. [1] [2]
The musical theatre writer Kurt Gänzl describes The Sultan of Mocha as "one of the earliest British musicals of the modern era both to have a significant career at home and to win overseas productions". [3] It was first produced in 1874 at the Prince's Theatre, Manchester by the actor-manager Charles Alexander Calvert, who "accepted a text supplied by a local gentleman of some literary attainment", Albert Jarrett (1834–1916), which was then set to music by Alfred Cellier, the musical director at Alexander's theatre. [note 1] The production borrowed a camel from the local zoo for Middle-Eastern authenticity; it ran initially for 30 performances from 16 November to 9 December 1874, with Furneaux Cook in the title role [4] and Bessie Emmett as Dolly. [5] The Sultan of Mocha was taken off for the annual pantomime but returned in March 1875 (for two weeks) and April 1875 (for three weeks) with largely the same cast but with tenor John Chatterson as Peter, Catherine Lewis and Emily Muir as Dolly and Furneaux Cook reprising his role as the Sultan. [3]
Of the score, Gänzl wrote:
Cellier's music took little or no notice of the French opéra-bouffe style which had been dominant in Britain's musical theatres for the past years and which had featured in such French-composed British musicals as Aladdin II (Hervé), Cinderella the Younger (Jonas) and Whittington (Offenbach) and the spectacular The Black Crook and Babil and Bijou. Following instead the tones of Sullivan's Contrabandista and Clay's The Gentleman in Black and Cattarina, Cellier's music for The Sultan of Mocha helped establish the kind of English comic-opera score which would find its apogée in the Savoy operas and his own Dorothy . [3]
Its first revival was at the St James' Theatre in London from 17 April to 2 June 1876, a run of 47 performances, with Constance Loseby as Dolly, George W. Anson as Admiral Sneak, Alfred Brennir as Peter and Henri Corri as the Sultan and a chorus of 70. Cellier conducted his own piece as the musical director at the theatre. [3]
It received its American premiere in December 1878 at the Bush Street Theater in San Francisco, California, where it had a short run under the management of Alice Oates. [3] Blanche Roosevelt produced it at the Union Square Theatre in New York with her Blanche Roosevelt English Opera Company from 14 to 25 September 1880 for a run of 13 performances with Leonora Braham as Dolly and with Cellier conducting. [6] The work returned to Manchester in 1880, where it played at the Theatre Royal with Alice May as Dolly, Fred. J. Stimson as Flint, George Fox as the Sultan, Allen Thomas as Sneak and Frederic Wood as Peter. [7]
The piece received various revivals thereafter including at the Strand Theatre in 1887 with a new libretto by William Lestocq and included an additional song by Paolo Tosti, [3] with Violet Cameron, Charles Danby and Henry Bracy in the cast. Opening on 21 September 1887, this production ran for 114 performances. [1] [8] [9] Cellier dedicated the score to his friend, colleague and sometime employer, Arthur Sullivan. [10]
Following his success as Peter at the Strand Theatre Bracy took up the Australian rights to The Sultan of Mocha, producing the show with his Henry Bracy's Comic Opera Company at the Alexandra Theatre in Melbourne in November 1889 and at the Criterion Theatre in Sydney in March 1890. Bracy was Peter, Lilian Tree was Dolly, John Forde was Sneak, Knight Aston was the Sultan, Flora Granpner was Lucy and William Stevens was Flint. [3]
Scenes and settings in the original 1874 production:
Act I
Dolly receives a proposal of marriage from the wealthy ship chandler 'Admiral' Sneak, but Dolly loves another – Peter, a handsome young sailor. However, her slave-trader uncle, Captain Flint, does not regard either of these as suitable suitors for his niece and believing he can make an arrangement more advantageous to himself sails off to sea taking Dolly with him.
Act II
On the Island of Mocha, Peter and the vengeful Sneak have arrived on the beach, having followed in hot pursuit of Dolly and Captain Flint. While Captain Flint sells his slaves Shallah, the Sultan of Mocha, sees Dolly and buys her from her uncle. Dolly is rescued from this fate by Peter, but the couple are captured by Sneak who sells her to the Sultan. Dolly agrees to become the Sultana in return for Peter's freedom.
Act III
Eureka and Isadora, two members of the Sultan's harem, are vying to marry the Sultan. The Sultan is tricked into marrying Isadora when Dolly changes clothes and veil with her on the wedding day. Dolly and Peter are released and are finally united. [1] [10]
The original 1874 production in Manchester had the following cast:
For the 1887 revival the version of 1874 underwent a major rewriting, with Admiral Sneak, a villain in 1874 becoming Dolly's father, while other characters disappear and others appear. The new cast included: [11]
Greenwich People, Pensioners, Watchmen, Slaves, Sailors, Villagers, Corsairs, Guards, Odalisques, etc.
ACT 1
ACT II
ACT III
H.M.S. Pinafore; or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It opened at the Opera Comique in London, on 25 May 1878 and ran for 571 performances, which was the second-longest run of any musical theatre piece up to that time. H.M.S. Pinafore was Gilbert and Sullivan's fourth operatic collaboration and their first international sensation.
The Geisha, a story of a tea house is an Edwardian musical comedy in two acts. The score was composed by Sidney Jones to a libretto by Owen Hall, with lyrics by Harry Greenbank. Additional songs were written by Lionel Monckton and James Philp.
Alfred Cellier was an English composer, orchestrator and conductor.
The Contrabandista, or The Law of the Ladrones, is a two-act comic opera by Arthur Sullivan and F. C. Burnand. It premiered at St. George's Hall, in London, on 18 December 1867 under the management of Thomas German Reed, for a run of 72 performances. There were brief revivals in Manchester in 1874 and America in 1880. In 1894, it was revised into a new opera, The Chieftain, with a completely different second act.
The Mountebanks is a comic opera in two acts with music by Alfred Cellier and Ivan Caryll and a libretto by W. S. Gilbert. The story concerns a magic potion that causes the person to whom it is administered to become what he or she has pretended to be. It is similar to several "magic lozenge" plots that Gilbert had proposed to the composer Arthur Sullivan, but that Sullivan had rejected, earlier in their careers. To set his libretto to music, Gilbert turned to Cellier, who had previously been a musical director for Gilbert and Sullivan and had since become a successful composer. During the composition of the piece Cellier died, and the score was finished by the original production's musical director, Ivan Caryll, who became a successful composer of Edwardian Musical Comedy.
The Rose of Persia; or, The Story-Teller and the Slave, is a two-act comic opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by Basil Hood. It premiered at the Savoy Theatre on 29 November 1899, closing on 28 June 1900 after a profitable run of 211 performances. The opera then toured, had a brief run in America and played elsewhere throughout the English-speaking world.
Richard Barker Cobb Temple was an English opera singer, actor and stage director, best known for his performances in the bass-baritone roles in the famous series of Gilbert and Sullivan comic operas.
Dorothy is a comic opera in three acts with music by Alfred Cellier and a libretto by B. C. Stephenson. The story involves a rake who falls in love with his disguised fiancée.
François Arsène Cellier, often called Frank, was an English conductor and composer. He is known for his tenure as musical director and conductor of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company during the original runs and early revivals of the Savoy operas.
John Handford Ryley was an English singer and actor, best known for his performances in the comic baritone roles of the Savoy Operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, particularly in America. His second wife was D'Oyly Carte performer, actress and playwright Madeleine Lucette Ryley.
Clara T. Bracy was an English stage and silent film actress.
Furneaux Cook, born John Furneaux Cook, was an English opera singer and actor best known for baritone roles in the comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan and Alfred Cellier on the London stage. Cook appeared on stage for over 30 years in London, the British provinces and America.
Trial by Jury is a comic opera in one act, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It was first produced on 25 March 1875, at London's Royalty Theatre, where it initially ran for 131 performances and was considered a hit, receiving critical praise and outrunning its popular companion piece, Jacques Offenbach's La Périchole. The story concerns a "breach of promise of marriage" lawsuit in which the judge and legal system are the objects of lighthearted satire. Gilbert based the libretto of Trial by Jury on an operetta parody that he had written in 1868.
Frederick John D'Auban was an English dancer, choreographer and actor of the Victorian and Edwardian eras. Famous during his lifetime as the ballet-master at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, he is best remembered as the choreographer of many of the Gilbert and Sullivan operas.
Henry Bracy was a Welsh opera tenor, stage director and opera producer who is best remembered as the creator of the role of Prince Hilarion in the Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera Princess Ida. Bracy often played the leading tenor role in the works in which he appeared, becoming one of the most popular comic tenors of the Victorian era. His wife, Clara, was an actress.
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.
The Prince's Theatre in Oxford Street, Manchester, England, was built at a cost of £20,000 in 1864. Under the artistic and managerial leadership of Charles Calvert, "Manchester's most celebrated actor-manager", it soon became a great popular success. The theatre's first production, Shakespeare's The Tempest, took place on 15 October 1864; Calvert himself played Prospero and his wife took the role of Miranda. The Times newspaper of 18 October reported that the 1,590-seat theatre "was exceedingly well filled", and declared the evening "a brilliant success". The theatre subsequently became synonymous with Calvert's elaborate and historically accurate Shakespearian productions.
Frederick Federici was an Italian-born British opera singer known for his work in the bass-baritone roles of the Savoy Operas written by Gilbert and Sullivan. He is also remembered as a reputed theatre ghost in Australia.
Monte Cristo Jr. was a Victorian burlesque with a libretto written by Richard Henry, a pseudonym for the writers Richard Butler and Henry Chance Newton. The score was composed by Meyer Lutz, Ivan Caryll, Hamilton Clarke, Tito Mattei, G. W. Hunt and Henry J. Leslie. The ballet and incidental dances were arranged by John D'Auban, and the theatre's musical director, Meyer Lutz, conducted. The play's doggerel verse was loosely based on The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas.
Alice Oates was an actress, theatre manager and pioneer of American musical theatre.