The Fortune Teller is an operetta

Operetta

Operetta is a genre of light opera, light in terms both of music and subject matter. It is also closely related, in English-language works, to forms of musical theatre.-Origins:...

 in three acts written by Victor Herbert

Victor Herbert

Victor August Herbert was an Irish-born, German-raised American composer, cellist and conductor. Although Herbert enjoyed important careers as a cello soloist and conductor, he is best known for composing many successful operettas that premiered on Broadway from the 1890s to World War I...

, with a libretto

Libretto

A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...

 by Harry B. Smith

Harry B. Smith

Harry Bache Smith was a writer, lyricist and composer. The most prolific of all American stage writers, he is said to have written over 300 librettos and more than 6000 lyrics. Some of his best-known works were librettos for the composer Victor Herbert...

. After a brief tryout in Toronto, it premiered on Broadway

Broadway theatre

Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...

 on September 26, 1898 at Wallack's Theatre

Wallack's Theatre

Wallack’s Theatre , located on 254 West 42nd Street in New York, United States, was opened on December 5, 1904 by Oscar Hammerstein I. Wallack’s was Hammerstein’s 8th production theatre and was originally known as the "Lew Fields'", a name that Hammerstein gave it in recognition of his favourite...

 and ran for 40 performances. It was revived on November 4, 1929 at Jolson's 59th Street Theatre and ran for 16 performances.

Herbert wrote his sixth operetta for prima donna Alice Nielsen

Alice Nielsen

Alice Nielsen was a Broadway performer and operatic soprano who had her own opera company and starred in several Victor Herbert operettas.-Background:...

 and her newly formed Alice Nielsen Opera Company. Nielsen having earned widespread praise in The Serenade

The Serenade

The Serenade is an operetta with music and lyrics by Victor Herbert, and book by Harry B. Smith. Produced by a troupe called "The Bostonians", it premiered on Broadway on March 16, 1897 at the Knickerbocker Theatre and ran initially for 79 performances...

, requested and received not one but three roles in The Fortune Teller. The story is set in Hungary and involves Irma, an heiress from Budapest, who is studying for the ballet. Irma is in love with a young Hussar captain but is being forced to marry the silly Count Barezowski. When a gypsy fortune teller, Musette, arrives, she is mistaken for Irma, a case of mistaken identity that fosters many complications.

Songs include the famous "Gypsy Love Song," ('Slumber on, my little gypsy sweetheart') and "Romany Life."

Roles and original cast

• Musette, a fortune teller* - Alice Nielsen
• Captain Ladislas, a Hussar - Frank Rushworth
• Fresco, a dance master (trouser role) - Richard Golden
• Count Berezowski, a composer of no renown - Joseph W. Herbert
• Irma, a ballet student* - Alice Nielsen
• Mlle Pompon, a fading prima donna - Marguerite Sylva
  Marguerite Sylva
  Marguerite Sylva was a Belgian born mezzo-soprano who achieved fame not only on the opera stage but also in operetta and musical theatre. She was particularly known for her performances in the title role of Bizet's Carmen, which she sang over 300 times in the course of her career...
  
  
• Fedor, Irma's twin brother* - Alice Nielsen
• Sandor, a gypsy leader - Eugene Cowles
• Irene, Trina and Ruth, ballet students
• Corporal, a Hussar
• Chorus

The roles marked with an asterisk (*) are all played by the same woman.

Musical numbers

Act 1

• Always Do as People Say You Should Irma and Ladies Chorus
• Hungaria's Hussars Captain Ladislas and Hussars
• Ho! Ye Townsmen Sandor
• Romany Life Musette, Sandor, Vaninka, Boris, Rafael and Chorus
• Czardas

Act 2

• Signor Monsieur Moldoni Fresco and Chorus
• The Serenade of All Nations Musette, Count Berezowski, Fresco, Boris and Mixed Chorus
• Gypsy Love Song (Slumber On, My Little Gypsy Sweetheart) Sandor, Musette and Chorus
• Only in the Play Mlle. Pompom and Captain Ladislas

Act 3

• Gypsy Jan Sandor and Chorus
• The Power of the Human Eye Boris and Count Berezowski
• The Lily and the Nightingale Musette

External links

• The Fortune Teller at the Internet Broadway Database
  Internet Broadway Database
  The Internet Broadway Database is an online database of Broadway theatre productions and their personnel. It is operated by the Research Department of The Broadway League, a trade association for the North American commercial theatre community....
  
  
• NY Times review of a 1986 production
• Midi files, including two from The Fortune Teller
• Information about an upcoming 2008 production of The Fortune Teller