Dulcamara, or the Little Duck and the Great Quack
Encyclopedia
Dulcamara, or the Little Duck and the Great Quack, is one of the earliest plays written by W.S. Gilbert, his first solo stage success. The work is a musical burlesque of Donizetti
's L'Elisir d'Amore
, and the music was arranged by Mr. Van Hamme. It opened at the St James's Theatre
on 29 December 1866, the last item in a long evening, following a farce and Dion Boucicault
's new play Hunted Down. Dulcamara ran for a successful 120 nights.
The popularity of the piece encouraged further commissions for opera burlesques from Gilbert, who wrote four more between 1867 and 1869. Dulcamara and its successors all comply with the burlesque traditions of the day, with dialogue in rhyming couplets, convoluted puns throughout, and an array of attractive actresses in tights or short skirts, playing male roles, a practice Gilbert renounced as soon as he was sufficiently influential in the theatre.
s, including one called Hush-a-Bye, Baby, On the Tree Top, or, Harlequin Fortunia, King Frog of Frog Island, and the Magic Toys of Lowther Arcade (1866). Gilbert's first solo success, however, came a few days after Hush-a-Bye Baby premiered. Ruth Herbert
, the manager of London's St James's Theatre
asked Tom Robertson
to supply her with a new work for Christmas, 1866. Robertson was unable to produce the work in the two weeks allotted but suggested that Gilbert could do it.
The choice of the subject and the musical numbers was Gilbert's. He had been familiar with Donizetti operas from his boyhood; his father's translation of Lucia di Lammermoor
had been presented in London, and there had long been parodies staged of that opera and of Linda di Chamounix
and Lucrezia Borgia
. In burlesquing L'elisir d'amore, Gilbert retained the characters of the original, inventing only one new principal character, Beppo, assistant (and, as it turns out, long-lost mother) to Dulcamara. Nor did Gilbert stray far from the plot of the original, although Donizetti's elixir of love – cheap claret – is changed to "Madame Rachel's 'Beautiful for Ever'" face cream.
The work was written and rehearsed in ten days, and the roles were filled by the stars of the theatre, including Ellen McDonnell (Nemorino), Frank Matthews (Dulcamara), Carlotta Addison (Adina) and Gaston Murray (Tomaso), with a Mr. Van Hamme as musical director. The young Henry Irving
was the stage director. It was presented as an afterpiece to Boucicault's play Hunted Down and a one-act farce by John Maddison Morton
called Newington Butts! Dulcamara ran for approximately 120 performances. Gilbert later wrote:
The libretto is set in rhyming couplets, as are the other Gilbert burlesques. The character Tomaso explains this odd convention near the close of Scene 1:
This scene is based on one in Gilbert's short story, "The Adventures of Wheeler J. Calamity", which he had written for the Fun
Christmas Number in 1865, with the song following this speech, "If you intend to stay with us, before you've been a day with us", appearing in both.
Dulcamara was not widely reviewed, but Fun magazine – to which Gilbert was a regular contributor – gave it a long and favourable notice, declaring that "Mr W. S. Gilbert at once takes rank for both neatness of construction and brilliancy of dialogue beside Mr. Byron. The position is an enviable one, and many have striven for years to achieve what Mr. Gilbert has done with his first burlesque." The London Review also praised Gilbert's work, noted that one number received a double encore, and commented on Gilbert's musical discrimination (something he was wont to disclaim in his later years): "The music is selected with a keen ear for lively and taking melodies." The Daily News wrote: "It is rare to find the first work of an author new to dramatic literature well constructed, free from redundancy, short, sharp, and to the point, clearly telling what little story it has to tell, and giving fair opportunities for the display of varied comic acting. Mr. Gilbert's burlesque ... possesses all these merits, and is remarkable for the wit and brilliance of its dialogue."
Dulcamaras success showed that Gilbert could write entertainingly in the burlesque form and quickly led to commissions to write four additional opera burlesques (the most successful of which was Robert the Devil
in 1868) and a half dozen pantomime
s and farces. These early burlesques, full of "ingenious but excruciating" puns (traditional in burlesques of the period), show signs of the satire that would later be a defining part of Gilbert's work. His parodic pokes at grand opera
continued to be seen in the Savoy opera
s. Gilbert's early burlesques were considered unusually tasteful, compared with the others on the London stage, and he would depart even further from the burlesque style after 1869, with plays containing original plots and fewer puns. These included his "fairy comedies", such as The Palace of Truth
(1870) and Pygmalion and Galatea (1871), and his German Reed Entertainments, which led to the famous Gilbert and Sullivan
operas. Gilbert further developed the Dulcamara tale in The Sorcerer
(1877) and The Mountebanks (1892), which draws heavily on the idea of a magic substance that transforms people.
The songs were likely available only in sheet music form, and because the songs pastiched popular or well-known songs, no vocal score reflecting the show was ever published. Dulcamara was revived twice in the nineteenth century but was absent from the stage for the entire twentieth century. It was adapted in 2005, with additional lyrics by John Spartan and new music by Scott Farrell, and their version is the only available performing edition. The chorus "If you intend to stay with us" was performed in 2005, and the "Fantasia on Themes from Dulcamara" (an orchestral piece) was performed in 2006, both at Rock Valley College
in Rockford, Illinois
. Musical selections from this version of the score were performed on 17 and 18 October 2008 in concert performances by the Rockford Operetta Party.
Scene Two is set in the interior of Nemorino's home. Belcore is presently Nemorino's lodger, while the soldiers are in town, and Nemorino has done all sorts of misdeeds to irritate his unwelcome houseguest. Belcore has become engaged to Adina in the past week, and Nemorino schemes to be rid of the soldier.
Scene Three opens as Doctor Dulcamara rides into town. Assisted by Beppo, he endeavours to sell his many wares to the public. Nemorino and the men ask the doctor for his help in winning back their sweethearts, since all the girls in town are attracted to the soldiers. Dulcamara sells his far-famed Elixir, titled "Madame Rachel's Beautiful For Ever", and gives the men instructions on its application. When everyone has gone, Beppo reveals that he has a secret and is not the drivelling idiot he pretends to be. Later, Nemorino is caught singing by Adina and Belcore, who continue to chastise him. Nemorino swears that he will reclaim her.
Scene Four begins with Beppo trying to reveal his secret, but Nemorino interrupts him. Nemorino needs more money to buy the potion again, so he asks Beppo for a loan. Beppo lets the mask fall and tells Nemorino he has a secret to tell, but is interrupted yet again when others arrive. Adina and Belcore are on their way to the wedding banquet, and Tomaso hopes to be fed before they sign the papers, though the free meal won't count toward his fee. In a last attempt, Nemorino asks Belcore for a loan and ends up enlisting for the Queen's shilling.
Scene Five begins with the girls bemoaning that their men have all enlisted in the soldiery. The girls would go to them but they are afraid of rejection. The men spend their enlistment money on Dulcamara's potion, which they apply to their faces. Adina enters and wonders if she made the wrong choice in accepting Belcore's engagement. When she sees Nemorino, she attempts to console him, and he (at last) wins her heart. Belcore catches them together, but now it's Nemorino's turn to send the other man away. The potion has worked quite well for everyone, as Dulcamara reveals his potion to everyone. It is eventually discovered that Adina is Dulcamara's daughter and Nemorino's cousin, Belcore is Tomaso's son, Gianetta is Tomaso's granddaughter, and she is Belcore's lost daughter. Beppo finally reveals his secret – he is Dulcamara's long lost mother! They all agree to live together, and the comedy ends happily.
Gaetano Donizetti
Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti was an Italian composer from Bergamo, Lombardy. His best-known works are the operas L'elisir d'amore , Lucia di Lammermoor , and Don Pasquale , all in Italian, and the French operas La favorite and La fille du régiment...
's L'Elisir d'Amore
L'elisir d'amore
L'elisir d'amore is an opera by the Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. It is a melodramma giocoso in two acts...
, and the music was arranged by Mr. Van Hamme. It opened at the St James's Theatre
St James's Theatre
The St James's Theatre was a 1,200-seat theatre located in King Street, at Duke Street, St James's, London. The elaborate theatre was designed with a neo-classical exterior and a Louis XIV style interior by Samuel Beazley and built by the partnership of Peto & Grissell for the tenor and theatre...
on 29 December 1866, the last item in a long evening, following a farce and Dion Boucicault
Dion Boucicault
Dionysius Lardner Boursiquot , commonly known as Dion Boucicault, was an Irish actor and playwright famed for his melodramas. By the later part of the 19th century, Boucicault had become known on both sides of the Atlantic as one of the most successful actor-playwright-managers then in the...
's new play Hunted Down. Dulcamara ran for a successful 120 nights.
The popularity of the piece encouraged further commissions for opera burlesques from Gilbert, who wrote four more between 1867 and 1869. Dulcamara and its successors all comply with the burlesque traditions of the day, with dialogue in rhyming couplets, convoluted puns throughout, and an array of attractive actresses in tights or short skirts, playing male roles, a practice Gilbert renounced as soon as he was sufficiently influential in the theatre.
Background and production
In 1865–66, Gilbert collaborated with Charles Millward on several pantomimePantomime
Pantomime — not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime—is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is mostly performed during the...
s, including one called Hush-a-Bye, Baby, On the Tree Top, or, Harlequin Fortunia, King Frog of Frog Island, and the Magic Toys of Lowther Arcade (1866). Gilbert's first solo success, however, came a few days after Hush-a-Bye Baby premiered. Ruth Herbert
Ruth Herbert
Louisa Ruth Herbert was a well-known Victorian-era English stage actress and model for the artist Dante Gabriel Rossetti.-Actress:She was the daughter of a West Country brass founder. She was also known as Mrs...
, the manager of London's St James's Theatre
St James's Theatre
The St James's Theatre was a 1,200-seat theatre located in King Street, at Duke Street, St James's, London. The elaborate theatre was designed with a neo-classical exterior and a Louis XIV style interior by Samuel Beazley and built by the partnership of Peto & Grissell for the tenor and theatre...
asked Tom Robertson
Thomas William Robertson
Thomas William Robertson , usually known professionally as T. W. Robertson, was an Anglo-Irish dramatist and innovative stage director best known for a series of realistic or naturalistic plays produced in London in the 1860s that broke new ground and inspired playwrights such as W.S...
to supply her with a new work for Christmas, 1866. Robertson was unable to produce the work in the two weeks allotted but suggested that Gilbert could do it.
The choice of the subject and the musical numbers was Gilbert's. He had been familiar with Donizetti operas from his boyhood; his father's translation of Lucia di Lammermoor
Lucia di Lammermoor
Lucia di Lammermoor is a dramma tragico in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian language libretto loosely based upon Sir Walter Scott's historical novel The Bride of Lammermoor....
had been presented in London, and there had long been parodies staged of that opera and of Linda di Chamounix
Linda di Chamounix
Linda di Chamounix is an operatic melodramma semiserio in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. The Italian libretto was written by Gaetano Rossi. It premiered in Vienna, at the Kärntnertortheater, on May 19, 1842.-Performance history:...
and Lucrezia Borgia
Lucrezia Borgia
Lucrezia Borgia [luˈkrɛtsia ˈbɔrʤa] was the illegitimate daughter of Rodrigo Borgia, the powerful Renaissance Valencian who later became Pope Alexander VI, and Vannozza dei Cattanei. Her brothers included Cesare Borgia, Giovanni Borgia, and Gioffre Borgia...
. In burlesquing L'elisir d'amore, Gilbert retained the characters of the original, inventing only one new principal character, Beppo, assistant (and, as it turns out, long-lost mother) to Dulcamara. Nor did Gilbert stray far from the plot of the original, although Donizetti's elixir of love – cheap claret – is changed to "Madame Rachel's 'Beautiful for Ever'" face cream.
The work was written and rehearsed in ten days, and the roles were filled by the stars of the theatre, including Ellen McDonnell (Nemorino), Frank Matthews (Dulcamara), Carlotta Addison (Adina) and Gaston Murray (Tomaso), with a Mr. Van Hamme as musical director. The young Henry Irving
Henry Irving
Sir Henry Irving , born John Henry Brodribb, was an English stage actor in the Victorian era, known as an actor-manager because he took complete responsibility for season after season at the Lyceum Theatre, establishing himself and his company as...
was the stage director. It was presented as an afterpiece to Boucicault's play Hunted Down and a one-act farce by John Maddison Morton
John Maddison Morton
John Maddison Morton was an English playwright who specialized in one-act farces. His most famous farce was Box and Cox . He also wrote comic dramas, pantomimes and other theatrical pieces.-Biography:...
called Newington Butts! Dulcamara ran for approximately 120 performances. Gilbert later wrote:
The piece ... met with more success than it deserved, owing, mainly, to the late Mr. Frank Matthews' excellent impersonation of the title role. In the hurry of production there had been no time to discuss terms, but after it had been successfully launched, Mr. Emden (Miss Herbert's acting manager) asked me how much I wanted for the piece. I modestly hoped that, as the piece was a success, thirty pounds would not be considered an excessive price for the London right. Mr. Emden looked rather surprised, and, as I thought, disappointed. However, he wrote a cheque, asked for a receipt, and when he had got it, said, "Now, take a bit of advice from an old stager who knows what he is talking about: never sell so good a piece as this for thirty pounds again." And I never have.
The libretto is set in rhyming couplets, as are the other Gilbert burlesques. The character Tomaso explains this odd convention near the close of Scene 1:
- You're in a village during harvest time,
- Where all the humblest peasants talk in rhyme,
- And sing about their pleasures and cares
- In parodies on all the well-known airs.
- They earn their bread by going in a crowd,
- To sing their humble sentiments aloud,
- In choruses of striking unanimity – The only rhyme I know to that, is dimity. They never wear umbrellas – so they get
- Their dresses of watered silk – or else well wet.
- Their dresses of drawing rooms is emblematic
- Although their mode of life is upper-attic!
This scene is based on one in Gilbert's short story, "The Adventures of Wheeler J. Calamity", which he had written for the Fun
Fun (magazine)
Fun was a Victorian weekly magazine, first published on 21 September 1861. The magazine was founded by the actor and playwright H. J. Byron in competition with Punch magazine.-Description:...
Christmas Number in 1865, with the song following this speech, "If you intend to stay with us, before you've been a day with us", appearing in both.
Reception and impact
Dulcamaras success showed that Gilbert could write entertainingly in the burlesque form and quickly led to commissions to write four additional opera burlesques (the most successful of which was Robert the Devil
Robert the Devil (Gilbert)
Robert the Devil, or The Nun, the Dun, and the Son of a Gun is an operatic parody by W. S. Gilbert of Giacomo Meyerbeer's romantic opera Robert le diable, which was named after, but bears little resemblance to, the medieval French legend of the same name. Gilbert set new lyrics to tunes by...
in 1868) and a half dozen pantomime
Pantomime
Pantomime — not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime—is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is mostly performed during the...
s and farces. These early burlesques, full of "ingenious but excruciating" puns (traditional in burlesques of the period), show signs of the satire that would later be a defining part of Gilbert's work. His parodic pokes at grand opera
Grand Opera
Grand opera is a genre of 19th-century opera generally in four or five acts, characterised by large-scale casts and orchestras, and lavish and spectacular design and stage effects, normally with plots based on or around dramatic historic events...
continued to be seen in the Savoy opera
Savoy opera
The Savoy Operas denote a style of comic opera that developed in Victorian England in the late 19th century, with W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan as the original and most successful practitioners. The name is derived from the Savoy Theatre, which impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte built to house...
s. Gilbert's early burlesques were considered unusually tasteful, compared with the others on the London stage, and he would depart even further from the burlesque style after 1869, with plays containing original plots and fewer puns. These included his "fairy comedies", such as The Palace of Truth
The Palace of Truth
The Palace of Truth is a three-act blank verse "Fairy Comedy" by W. S. Gilbert first produced at the Haymarket Theatre in London on 19 November 1870, partly adapted from Madame de Genlis's fairy story, Le Palais de Vérite. The play ran for approximately 140 performances and then toured the British...
(1870) and Pygmalion and Galatea (1871), and his German Reed Entertainments, which led to the famous Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the librettist W. S. Gilbert and the composer Arthur Sullivan . The two men collaborated on fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which H.M.S...
operas. Gilbert further developed the Dulcamara tale in The Sorcerer
The Sorcerer
The Sorcerer is a two-act comic opera, with a libretto by W. S. Gilbert and music by Arthur Sullivan. It was the British duo's third operatic collaboration. The plot of The Sorcerer is based on a Christmas story, An Elixir of Love, that Gilbert wrote for The Graphic magazine in 1876...
(1877) and The Mountebanks (1892), which draws heavily on the idea of a magic substance that transforms people.
The songs were likely available only in sheet music form, and because the songs pastiched popular or well-known songs, no vocal score reflecting the show was ever published. Dulcamara was revived twice in the nineteenth century but was absent from the stage for the entire twentieth century. It was adapted in 2005, with additional lyrics by John Spartan and new music by Scott Farrell, and their version is the only available performing edition. The chorus "If you intend to stay with us" was performed in 2005, and the "Fantasia on Themes from Dulcamara" (an orchestral piece) was performed in 2006, both at Rock Valley College
Rock Valley College
Rock Valley College , located in Rockford, Illinois, is one of 48 two-year, open-admission colleges of the Illinois Community College System , organized under the Illinois Public Community College Act. RVC’s district comprises Winnebago County and Boone County and parts of Stephenson County, Ogle...
in Rockford, Illinois
Rockford, Illinois
Rockford is a mid-sized city located on both banks of the Rock River in far northern Illinois. Often referred to as "The Forest City", Rockford is the county seat of Winnebago County, Illinois, USA. As reported in the 2010 U.S. census, the city was home to 152,871 people, the third most populated...
. Musical selections from this version of the score were performed on 17 and 18 October 2008 in concert performances by the Rockford Operetta Party.
Roles and original cast
- Nemorino, a Neopolitan peasant, of whom you will hear more peasantly – Miss E. McDonnell
- Belcore, a sergeant of the Infantry, who is "cut out" for a good soldier by nature – and by Nemorino – F. Charles
- Dr. Dulcamara, a travelling Quack Lecturer, who drives his own trap, and therefore is less of Mary WalkerMary Edwards WalkerMary Edwards Walker was an American feminist, abolitionist, prohibitionist, alleged spy, prisoner of war and surgeon. She is the only woman ever to receive the Medal of Honor....
than a Chariotte-Ann Rider – Frank Matthews - Beppo, his "Jack-pudding" – a mystery, whose real nature is concealed by a mysterious "Pike-crust" – J. D. Stoyle
- Tomaso, a Notary, keeping company with Gianetta: "Tomaso, and Tomaso, and Tomaso, creeps with his pretty pay-sanne" – Shakespeare – Gaston Murray
- Adina, the little Duck, who, it is hoped, will nevertheless be found to be very long in the bill – Carlotta Addison
- Gianetta, the pretty paysanne, to whom Tomaso "pays an" overwhelming amount of attention – Eleanor Bufton
- Catarina, an exquisite villager – Miss Marion
- Maria, another – Miss Gunness
- Soldiers, Male and Female Peasants, Fisher Girls, etc.
Synopsis
Scene One opens on the exterior of Adina's farm. All the village girls are gathered around Tomaso, who is relating some gossip and village scandal. Tomaso reveals that Adina has made spiteful remarks about the other girls, much to their indignation. Adina promptly appears and sends the girls away. She is quickly pursued by Nemorino, who vainly presses his suit for her, but she will have none of it. Drums and trumpets are heard as Belcore and his regiment enter the village. The corps has come on holiday leave, and Belcore quickly catches Adina's eye, much to Nemorino's annoyance.Scene Two is set in the interior of Nemorino's home. Belcore is presently Nemorino's lodger, while the soldiers are in town, and Nemorino has done all sorts of misdeeds to irritate his unwelcome houseguest. Belcore has become engaged to Adina in the past week, and Nemorino schemes to be rid of the soldier.
Scene Three opens as Doctor Dulcamara rides into town. Assisted by Beppo, he endeavours to sell his many wares to the public. Nemorino and the men ask the doctor for his help in winning back their sweethearts, since all the girls in town are attracted to the soldiers. Dulcamara sells his far-famed Elixir, titled "Madame Rachel's Beautiful For Ever", and gives the men instructions on its application. When everyone has gone, Beppo reveals that he has a secret and is not the drivelling idiot he pretends to be. Later, Nemorino is caught singing by Adina and Belcore, who continue to chastise him. Nemorino swears that he will reclaim her.
Scene Four begins with Beppo trying to reveal his secret, but Nemorino interrupts him. Nemorino needs more money to buy the potion again, so he asks Beppo for a loan. Beppo lets the mask fall and tells Nemorino he has a secret to tell, but is interrupted yet again when others arrive. Adina and Belcore are on their way to the wedding banquet, and Tomaso hopes to be fed before they sign the papers, though the free meal won't count toward his fee. In a last attempt, Nemorino asks Belcore for a loan and ends up enlisting for the Queen's shilling.
Scene Five begins with the girls bemoaning that their men have all enlisted in the soldiery. The girls would go to them but they are afraid of rejection. The men spend their enlistment money on Dulcamara's potion, which they apply to their faces. Adina enters and wonders if she made the wrong choice in accepting Belcore's engagement. When she sees Nemorino, she attempts to console him, and he (at last) wins her heart. Belcore catches them together, but now it's Nemorino's turn to send the other man away. The potion has worked quite well for everyone, as Dulcamara reveals his potion to everyone. It is eventually discovered that Adina is Dulcamara's daughter and Nemorino's cousin, Belcore is Tomaso's son, Gianetta is Tomaso's granddaughter, and she is Belcore's lost daughter. Beppo finally reveals his secret – he is Dulcamara's long lost mother! They all agree to live together, and the comedy ends happily.
Musical numbers
- Duet (Nemorino and Adina) – "Do, do, Pity me" (to the tune of "Hot Corn")
- Chorus of Villagers and Soldiers – "Belcore comes marching home again" (to the tune of "When Johnny Comes Marching HomeWhen Johnny Comes Marching Home"When Johnny Comes Marching Home" is a popular song of the American Civil War that expressed people's longing for the return of their friends and relatives who were fighting in the war.-Origins:...
") - Song (Belcore) – "For this welcome, unrivalled in story" (to the tune of "La tremenda ultrice spada" From I Capuleti e i MontecchiI Capuleti e i MontecchiI Capuleti e i Montecchi is an Italian opera in two acts by Vincenzo Bellini.The libretto by Felice Romani was a reworking of the story of Romeo and Juliet for an opera by Nicola Vaccai called Giulietta e Romeo. This was based on Italian sources rather than taken directly from Shakespeare...
by Vincenzo BelliniVincenzo BelliniVincenzo Salvatore Carmelo Francesco Bellini was an Italian opera composer. His greatest works are I Capuleti ed i Montecchi , La sonnambula , Norma , Beatrice di Tenda , and I puritani...
) - Quintette and Chorus (Nemorino, Gianetta, Adina, Tomaso, and Belcore) – "If you intend to stay with us, before you've been a day with us" (to the tune of "The Sugar Shop")
- Trio (Adina, Belcore, Nemorino) – "Marry me, carry me, off we go, my hand Belcore take!" (to the tune of "Harum-Scarum Galop")
- Song (Dulcamara and Chorus) – "Dulcamara's come to town!" (to the tune of "Hunkey Dorum")
- Song (Dulcamara and Chorus) – "Buy my goods, as I'm advising" (to the tune of "Io son ricco" from L'Elisir d'Amore)
- Duet (Nemorino, Dulcamara, and Chorus – "Our lovers all desert us for these military swells" (to the tune of "Champagne Charley is my nameChampagne Charlie (song)Champagne Charlie is a music hall song from the 19th century composed by Alfred Lee with lyrics by George Leybourne. It was popularised by performer George Leybourne. The song was first performed at the Sun Music Hall, Knightsbridge in 1867...
") - Song and Chorus (Nemorino) – "Oh, happiness is in our reach" (to the tune of March trio from Ching-Chow-Hi (Ba-ta-clanBa-ta-clanBa-ta-clan is a "chinoiserie musicale", or operetta, in one act by Jacques Offenbach to an original French libretto by Ludovic Halévy. It was first performed at Théâtre des Bouffes Parisiens, Paris, on 29 December 1855. The operetta uses set numbers and spoken dialogue and runs about one...
) by Jacques OffenbachJacques OffenbachJacques Offenbach was a Prussian-born French composer, cellist and impresario. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s–1870s and his uncompleted opera The Tales of Hoffmann. He was a powerful influence on later composers of the operetta genre, particularly Johann Strauss, Jr....
) - Trio (Nemorino, Belcore, and Adina) – "Right away I'll tod-tod-tod-tod-toddle" (to the tune of "Esulti per la barbara" from L'Elisir d'Amore)
- Concerted Quartette (Adina, Nemorino, Beppo, and Belcore – The four Airs to be sung together) – "She'll wed today I plainly see" (to the tunes of "Alpen Horn", "Gentil Hussard", "Polly Hopkins", and "Buy–a Broom")
- Duet (Nemorino and Beppo) – "My woeful tale will make you quail" (to the tune of "The Nerves")
- Quintette (Adina, Belcore, Tomaso, Gianetta, and Dr. Dulcamara) – "We are all to be married today" (to the tune of "I vowed that I never would leave her")
- Duet (Belcore and Nemorino) – "Well, thanks to you I've got the tin" (to the tune of "Jog along Boys")
- Trio (Tomaso, Gianetta, and Catarina) – "Now maidens all, these youngsters tall" (to the tune of "Lin and Tin")
- Quartette (Dulcamara, Nemorino, Beppo, and Tomaso) – "Such a change was never known" (to the tune of "Old Sarah Walker")
- Trio (Adina, Belcore, Nemorino) – "Don't it occur that you rather intrude?" (to the tune of "The Mousetrap Man")
- Duet (Beppo and Dulcamara) – "I've a secret for to whisper" (to the tune of "The Frog in Yellow")
- Finale – "Any man a girl may fix, sir" (to the tune of the Bell Chorus from Alessandro Stradella, an 1837 opera by Friedrich von FlotowFriedrich von FlotowFriedrich Adolf Ferdinand, Freiherr von Flotow was a German composer. He is chiefly remembered for his opera Martha, which was popular in the 19th century....
)