Nell Gwynne (operetta)

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1884 press drawing of Nell Gwynne Nell-Gwynne-1884.jpg
1884 press drawing of Nell Gwynne

Nell Gwynne is a three-act comic opera composed by Robert Planquette, with a libretto by H. B. Farnie. The libretto is based on the play Rochester by William Thomas Moncrieff. The piece was a rare instance of an opera by a French composer being produced first in London. Farnie had written an earlier libretto on the same subject, with the same name, for composer Alfred Cellier, which was produced at the Prince's Theatre in Manchester in 1876. [1]

Contents

The opera was first performed at the Avenue Theatre in London on 7 February 1884. It then transferred to the Comedy Theatre on 28 April 1884. The production starred Florence St. John, Arthur Roberts, Giulia Warwick and Lionel Brough. In America, it was first produced in June 1884 in St. Louis [2] and in New York City at the Casino Theatre beginning on 8 November 1884. [3]

It was later produced in Paris as La Princesse Colombine, with a libretto by E. André Ordonneau, at the Théâtre des Nouveautés, beginning on 7 December 1886, but it was not a success in France.

Roles and original cast

Poster from the Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, 1888 Nell Gwynne - Weir Collection.jpg
Poster from the Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, 1888

Musical numbers

(b) Scene — "He Brings our Score"
(c) "To you Ladies" (Buckingham and Chorus)

Entr'acte

Entr'acte

(b) "Green Sleeves" (Nell)

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References

  1. Cellier's Nell Gwynne
  2. Information about the St. Louis 1884 production
  3. "Amusements; Nell Gwynne at the Casino", The New York Times, November 9, 1884, accessed October 21, 2014 (subscription required)