The Merry Zingara
Encyclopedia
The Merry Zingara; Or, The Tipsy Gipsy & The Pipsy Wipsy was the third of W. S. Gilbert
's five burlesques of opera. Described by the author as "A Whimsical Parody on The Bohemian Girl
", by Michael Balfe, it was produced at the Royalty Theatre
, London, on 21 March 1868.
As in his four other operatic parodies written early in his career, Gilbert selected operatic and popular tunes from a variety of sources, and fitted new words to them. Although he used only one tune from Balfe's original, The Merry Zingara is the burlesque in which Gilbert's libretto stays closest to the original work. The cast of characters is nearly the same, as is the plot. In his lyrics, too, Gilbert paid great attention to the speech-patterns of his originals.
Although, as contemporary critics repeatedly remarked, the libretti of Gilbert's burlesques were more literate and intelligent than those of most of the genre, he nonetheless followed the conventional formula of rhyming couplets and tortuous puns, together with plenty of young actresses in tights or short dresses, which were the mainstays of Victorian burlesque.
, a musical spoof of Donizetti
's L'elisir d'amore
(1866). Next was La Vivandière; or, True to the Corps
!, a parody of Donizetti's La fille du régiment
(1867). After The Merry Zingara came Robert the Devil
(1868), parodying Meyerbeer
's romantic opera Robert le diable
, and The Pretty Druidess; or, the Mother, the Maid, and the Mistletoe Bough
(1869), a burlesque of Bellini
's Norma
.
The Merry Zingara premiered as the centrepiece in a triple bill. It was preceded by a "domestic melodrama", entitled Daddy Gray, and followed by a farce called A Quiet Family. The libretto is set in rhyming couplets of ten syllables each, as are all the Gilbert burlesques. The Merry Zingara, the only one of Gilbert's burlesques to parody a work in English, stays closest to the original work, The Bohemian Girl
. The plot and cast of characters are essentially identical, except for the ending, where, in lieu of the accidental death of the Gypsy Queen, Gilbert turns her into Count Arnheim's long-lost wife.
In his lyrics, too, Gilbert paid great attention to the speech-patterns of his originals, for example parodying "Voici le sabre de mon père" as "Tea in the arbour I'll prepare", and "Sound now the trumpet fearlessly" as "Brown now the crumpet fearlessly." In The Bohemian Girl, when Thaddeus reveals to Count Arnheim that he is a Polish nobleman rather than a gypsy, he shows a parchment to prove the fact. The original libretto includes this couplet: "My birth is noble, unstained my crest/ As is thine own, let this attest". In Gilbert's version, Thaddeus produces a schedule of tax assessments, singing: "My men in livery, my horses, my crest/ Which is my own, were thus assess't" (Scene V).
The success of Dulcamara and La Vivandière had shown that Gilbert could write entertainingly in this form, peppered with the dreadful puns traditional in burlesques of the period. The libretti also, at times, show signs of the satire that would later be a defining part of his work. They led to Gilbert's more mature "fairy comedies", such as The Palace of Truth
(1870) and Pygmalion and Galatea (1871), and Gilbert's six German Reed Entertainments which, in turn, led to the famous Gilbert and Sullivan
operas. Although Gilbert gave up direct parodies of opera within a couple of years of The Merry Zingara, his parodic pokes at grand opera
continued to be seen in the Savoy opera
s.
The waiting crowds cheer Count Arnheim, who makes a patriotic speech expressing his loyalty to Austria. He and the crowd go off hunting; he takes with him his beloved infant daughter, Arline. Max and Thaddeus arrive in haste. They are Polish patriots pursued by the Austrian authorities. Devilshoof agrees to help them, and having disguised them, somewhat clumsily, he sends the pursuing Austrian soldiers in the wrong direction.
Thaddeus saves the young Arline from a savage wild boar. Her father is overjoyed, and he makes much of Thaddeus until the latter refuses to drink the health of the Austrian emperor, declaring himself a Polish patriot. Just as Thaddeus and Max are in danger from the angry crowd, Devilshoof stages a diversion by carrying off Arline. Thaddeus and Max dash after him in pursuit.
Scene II. A street in Presburgh. Twelve years later. Night.
Max and Devilshoof meet the Gypsy Queen. Florestein, Arnheim's nephew, is drinking in the inn behind them. They plan to take advantage of his tipsiness to get some money or valuables off him. He staggers away, and they follow him.
Thaddeus and Arline enter. They have adopted the gypsy lifestyle. He is worried that their humble life is too dull for her. She assures him that it is not. Devilshoof attempts to persuade her to marry him, but she finds him repellent and spurns him. Thaddeus reveals to her not only the story of her childhood, but also his love for her. Arline warns him that the Gypsy Queen loves him and will be dangerous if thwarted. The Queen is secretly enraged that Thaddeus prefers Arline, but pretends not to mind, and blesses their union while planning revenge. She gives Arline a medallion that she has just stolen from the drunken Florestein.
Scene III. Market-place at Presburgh, with fair going on.
Count Arnheim and his suite arrive. He is still ostentatiously lamenting the abduction of his beloved Arline, but invites everyone to a tea party. Florestein sees on Arline his stolen medallion. Arline says truthfully that the Gypsy Queen gave it to her, but the Queen denies it. Thaddeus intervenes, but he too is compromised by a watch, also stolen from Florestein and given to him by Devilshoof. Arline and Thaddeus are taken into custody.
Scene IV. Interior of Hall of Justice.
The Count is the presiding judge. His practice is to convict the ugly and acquit the pretty. The first case before him is Arline's. He has already made up his mind to dismiss the case, despite his nephew's protestations, when he recognises her as his lost daughter, and reclaims her. The next to appear before him are Thaddeus, Max and Devilshoof, whom he threatens with hanging. Devilshoof plans his escape.
Scene V. Grand Saloon in Count Arnheim’s house during a fancy dress ball.
Arline laments her forthcoming betrothal to Florestein. Thaddeus enters in disguise. He, the Queen and Devilshoof beg Arline to return with them to the gypsy life. Discovered by Count Arnheim, Thaddeus proves his noble birth and is acceptable as a son-in-law. The Gypsy Queen turns out to be the Count's long-lost wife, and all ends happily.
wrote, "Mr. W. S. Gilbert, however, shows in his last work, as in La Vivandière, which is still attractive at the new Queen’s Theatre, that he is fastidious on the score of music, and consequently anxious to make the theatre, even when employed for the purposes of burlesque, as little as possible the reflex of the music-hall. ... But altogether the endeavour of the author to stop short of an extreme popularity, and to give to burlesque something like a tone of distinction, is evident throughout. His writing is at once made remarkable by the polish of the verse and the ingenuity of the puns."
The critics noted that the mandatory quotient of pretty actresses in short skirts, or playing men's roles
in tights was duly delivered: although the hero was always a woman in these types of pieces, in this case, of the nine members of the cast, four were actresses playing roles en travesti. Gilbert renounced this practice as soon as he was in a professional position to do so. The critic of The Sporting Times
wrote, "My friend, a stern and powerful man, held me down in my stall when Miss Bella Goodall appeared … Miss Annie Bourke, too, was something which could not be looked upon without the deepest emotion." The piece ran for 120 nights, but Gilbert later said, "It suffered from comparison with Mr. F. C. Burnand's Black-Eyed Susan, which it immediately followed [at the Royalty], and which had achieved the most remarkable success recorded in the annals of burlesque."
W. S. Gilbert
Sir William Schwenck Gilbert was an English dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for his fourteen comic operas produced in collaboration with the composer Sir Arthur Sullivan, of which the most famous include H.M.S...
's five burlesques of opera. Described by the author as "A Whimsical Parody on The Bohemian Girl
The Bohemian Girl
The Bohemian Girl is an opera composed by Michael William Balfe with a libretto by Alfred Bunn. The plot is loosely based on a Cervantes tale, La Gitanilla.The opera was first produced in London at the Drury Lane Theatre on November 27, 1843...
", by Michael Balfe, it was produced at the Royalty Theatre
Royalty Theatre
The Royalty Theatre was a small London theatre situated at 73 Dean Street, Soho and opened on 25 May 1840 as Miss Kelly's Theatre and Dramatic School and finally closed to the public in 1938. The architect was Samuel Beazley, a resident in Soho Square, who also designed St James's Theatre, among...
, London, on 21 March 1868.
As in his four other operatic parodies written early in his career, Gilbert selected operatic and popular tunes from a variety of sources, and fitted new words to them. Although he used only one tune from Balfe's original, The Merry Zingara is the burlesque in which Gilbert's libretto stays closest to the original work. The cast of characters is nearly the same, as is the plot. In his lyrics, too, Gilbert paid great attention to the speech-patterns of his originals.
Although, as contemporary critics repeatedly remarked, the libretti of Gilbert's burlesques were more literate and intelligent than those of most of the genre, he nonetheless followed the conventional formula of rhyming couplets and tortuous puns, together with plenty of young actresses in tights or short dresses, which were the mainstays of Victorian burlesque.
Background
The Merry Zingara was the third of a series of five operatic burlesques written early in Gilbert's career, between 1866 and 1869. The first was Dulcamara, or the Little Duck and the Great QuackDulcamara, or the Little Duck and the Great Quack
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...
, a musical spoof of Donizetti
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...
(1866). Next was La Vivandière; or, True to the Corps
La Vivandière (Gilbert)
La Vivandière; or, True to the Corps! is a burlesque by W. S. Gilbert, described by the author as "An Operatic Extravaganza Founded on Donizetti's Opera, La figlia del regimento." In the French or other continental armies a vivandière was a woman who supplied food and drink to troops in the...
!, a parody of Donizetti's La fille du régiment
La fille du régiment
La fille du régiment is an opéra comique in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti. It was written while the composer was living in Paris, with a French libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and Jean-François Bayard.La figlia del reggimento, a slightly different Italian-language version , was...
(1867). After The Merry Zingara came 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...
(1868), parodying Meyerbeer
Giacomo Meyerbeer
Giacomo Meyerbeer was a noted German opera composer, and the first great exponent of "grand opera." At his peak in the 1830s and 1840s, he was the most famous and successful composer of opera in Europe, yet he is rarely performed today.-Early years:He was born to a Jewish family in Tasdorf , near...
's romantic opera Robert le diable
Robert le diable (opera)
Robert le diable is an opera by Giacomo Meyerbeer, often regarded as the first grand opera. The libretto was written by Eugène Scribe and Casimir Delavigne and has little connection to the medieval legend of Robert the Devil. Originally planned as a three-act opéra comique, "Meyerbeer persuaded...
, and The Pretty Druidess; or, the Mother, the Maid, and the Mistletoe Bough
The Pretty Druidess
The Pretty Druidess; Or, The Mother, The Maid, and The Mistletoe Bough is an operatic burlesque by W. S. Gilbert. It was produced at the opening of the new Charing Cross Theatre on 19 June 1869 and ran until September of that year....
(1869), a burlesque of Bellini
Vincenzo Bellini
Vincenzo 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...
's Norma
Norma (opera)
Norma is a tragedia lirica or opera in two acts by Vincenzo Bellini with libretto by Felice Romani after Norma, ossia L'infanticidio by Alexandre Soumet. First produced at La Scala on December 26, 1831, it is generally regarded as an example of the supreme height of the bel canto tradition...
.
The Bohemian Girl
The Bohemian Girl is an opera composed by Michael William Balfe with a libretto by Alfred Bunn. The plot is loosely based on a Cervantes tale, La Gitanilla.The opera was first produced in London at the Drury Lane Theatre on November 27, 1843...
. The plot and cast of characters are essentially identical, except for the ending, where, in lieu of the accidental death of the Gypsy Queen, Gilbert turns her into Count Arnheim's long-lost wife.
In his lyrics, too, Gilbert paid great attention to the speech-patterns of his originals, for example parodying "Voici le sabre de mon père" as "Tea in the arbour I'll prepare", and "Sound now the trumpet fearlessly" as "Brown now the crumpet fearlessly." In The Bohemian Girl, when Thaddeus reveals to Count Arnheim that he is a Polish nobleman rather than a gypsy, he shows a parchment to prove the fact. The original libretto includes this couplet: "My birth is noble, unstained my crest/ As is thine own, let this attest". In Gilbert's version, Thaddeus produces a schedule of tax assessments, singing: "My men in livery, my horses, my crest/ Which is my own, were thus assess't" (Scene V).
The success of Dulcamara and La Vivandière had shown that Gilbert could write entertainingly in this form, peppered with the dreadful puns traditional in burlesques of the period. The libretti also, at times, show signs of the satire that would later be a defining part of his work. They led to Gilbert's more mature "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 Gilbert's six German Reed Entertainments which, in turn, 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. Although Gilbert gave up direct parodies of opera within a couple of years of The Merry Zingara, 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.
Roles and original cast
- Count Arnheim – F. Dewar
- Florestein (his nephew) – Emily FowlerEmily FowlerEmily Fowler was an English actress, singer and theatre manager. Beginning in musical burlesques, she later played in contemporary drama and English classics.-Career:...
- Thaddeus – Annie Collinson
- Max (his valet) – Bella GoodallBella GoodallIsabella Goodall was an English soubrette of the Victorian theatre. She made her name on the stage in her native city, Liverpool, and later became a star of the London theatre, both in burlesque and comic plays.-Biography:...
- Devilshoof – Edward Danvers
- Rudolph – Jessie Bourke
- Arline (the Count's daughter) – Martha OliverMartha Cranmer OliverMartha Cranmer Oliver , also known as Pattie Oliver or M. Oliver, was an English actress and theatre manager....
- Gipsy Queen – Charlotte Saunders
- Buda (Arline's nurse) – Miss Conway
- Gipsies, soldiers, citizens, nobles, &c., &c
Musical numbers
- Chorus – "Brown now the crumpet fearlessly!" (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...
, I puritaniI puritaniI puritani is an opera in three acts by Vincenzo Bellini. It was his last opera. Its libretto is by Count Carlo Pepoli, based on Têtes rondes et Cavaliers by Jacques-François Ancelot and Joseph Xavier Saintine, which is in turn based on Walter Scott's novel Old Mortality. It was first produced at...
, "Sound now the trumpet fearlessly" ("Suoni la tromba")) - Thaddeus, Devilshoof, Max and chorus – "We're much obliged to you, I'm sure" (HervéHervé (composer)Hervé , real name Louis Auguste Florimond Ronger, was a French singer, composer, librettist, conductor and scene painter, whom Ernest Newman, following Reynaldo Hahn, credited with inventing the genre of operetta in Paris.-Life:Hervé was born in Houdain near Arras...
, L'œil crevé, "La langouste atmosphérique") - Count, Florestein, Max, Devilshoof and chorus – "Oh, what a great, what a horrible affliction" (Trad., "Toi qui connais les hussards de la garde")
- Thaddeus, Arline and Devilshoof – "Oh listen while I tell you" (G. W. Moore, "Ada with the golden hair")
- Devilshoof, Queen, Thaddeus and Arline – "Picky wicky, picky wicky, gay, gay, gay" (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....
, Robinson CrusoéRobinson CrusoéRobinson Crusoé is an opéra comique, or operetta, by Jacques Offenbach.The French libretto was written by Eugène Cormon and Hector-Jonathan Crémieux, which was loosely adapted from the novel Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe, though the work owes more to British pantomime than to the book...
, "Chanson du pot au feu") - Count Arnheim and chours – "Tea in the arbour I'll prepare" (Offenbach, La Grande-Duchesse de GérolsteinLa Grande-Duchesse de GérolsteinLa Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein is an opéra bouffe , in three acts and four tableaux by Jacques Offenbach to an original French libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy...
, "Voici le sabre de mon père") - Count, Arline and Florestein – "Perhaps you're aware I'm a Zingara fair" (Trad., "Come, lasses and lads")
- Arline, Thaddeus, Queen, Devilshoof and Florestein – Oh, please; oh, please to let me go (VerdiGiuseppe VerdiGiuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century...
, arr. Louis Antoine JullienLouis Antoine JullienLouis Antoine Jullien was a French conductor and composer of light music.Jullien was born in Sisteron, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, and was baptised Louis George Maurice Adolphe Roche Albert Abel Antonio Alexandre Noë Jean Lucien Daniel Eugène Joseph-le-brun Joseph-Barême Thomas Thomas Thomas-Thomas...
, ErnaniErnaniErnani is an operatic dramma lirico in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, based on the play Hernani by Victor Hugo. The first production took place at La Fenice Theatre, Venice on 9 March 1844...
Quadrilles, p. 4) - Count, Thaddeus, Arline and Devilshoof – "The very self same tipsy gipsy" (Trad., "Il était un petit navire")
- Thaddeus – "When to share land in Poland allowed" (Balfe, The Bohemian Girl, "Fair land of Poland")
- Finale – "Don't go away; one moment stay" (Hervé, L'œil crevé, "Allons gaies chasseurs")
Synopsis
Scene I. Exterior of Count Arnheim’s Castle.The waiting crowds cheer Count Arnheim, who makes a patriotic speech expressing his loyalty to Austria. He and the crowd go off hunting; he takes with him his beloved infant daughter, Arline. Max and Thaddeus arrive in haste. They are Polish patriots pursued by the Austrian authorities. Devilshoof agrees to help them, and having disguised them, somewhat clumsily, he sends the pursuing Austrian soldiers in the wrong direction.
Thaddeus saves the young Arline from a savage wild boar. Her father is overjoyed, and he makes much of Thaddeus until the latter refuses to drink the health of the Austrian emperor, declaring himself a Polish patriot. Just as Thaddeus and Max are in danger from the angry crowd, Devilshoof stages a diversion by carrying off Arline. Thaddeus and Max dash after him in pursuit.
Scene II. A street in Presburgh. Twelve years later. Night.
Max and Devilshoof meet the Gypsy Queen. Florestein, Arnheim's nephew, is drinking in the inn behind them. They plan to take advantage of his tipsiness to get some money or valuables off him. He staggers away, and they follow him.
Thaddeus and Arline enter. They have adopted the gypsy lifestyle. He is worried that their humble life is too dull for her. She assures him that it is not. Devilshoof attempts to persuade her to marry him, but she finds him repellent and spurns him. Thaddeus reveals to her not only the story of her childhood, but also his love for her. Arline warns him that the Gypsy Queen loves him and will be dangerous if thwarted. The Queen is secretly enraged that Thaddeus prefers Arline, but pretends not to mind, and blesses their union while planning revenge. She gives Arline a medallion that she has just stolen from the drunken Florestein.
Scene III. Market-place at Presburgh, with fair going on.
Count Arnheim and his suite arrive. He is still ostentatiously lamenting the abduction of his beloved Arline, but invites everyone to a tea party. Florestein sees on Arline his stolen medallion. Arline says truthfully that the Gypsy Queen gave it to her, but the Queen denies it. Thaddeus intervenes, but he too is compromised by a watch, also stolen from Florestein and given to him by Devilshoof. Arline and Thaddeus are taken into custody.
Scene IV. Interior of Hall of Justice.
The Count is the presiding judge. His practice is to convict the ugly and acquit the pretty. The first case before him is Arline's. He has already made up his mind to dismiss the case, despite his nephew's protestations, when he recognises her as his lost daughter, and reclaims her. The next to appear before him are Thaddeus, Max and Devilshoof, whom he threatens with hanging. Devilshoof plans his escape.
Scene V. Grand Saloon in Count Arnheim’s house during a fancy dress ball.
Arline laments her forthcoming betrothal to Florestein. Thaddeus enters in disguise. He, the Queen and Devilshoof beg Arline to return with them to the gypsy life. Discovered by Count Arnheim, Thaddeus proves his noble birth and is acceptable as a son-in-law. The Gypsy Queen turns out to be the Count's long-lost wife, and all ends happily.
Reception
The reviews of The Merry Zingara were similar to those for the earlier two opera parodies. The Morning Post wrote of Gilbert's libretto: "Travesty is no doubt his peculiar province, but he has a method of travestying which bespeaks higher art and a more refined invention than the works of some other writers … a freshness of fun and a richness of comic fancy." The staging and performances were also praised: "Richly dressed and brilliantly illustrated, the piece has every advantage that skilful and spirited performance can bestow. It is well acted and well danced, and the music, consisting for the most part of selections from Offenbach's latest compositions, with a slight admixture of modern English airs, is graceful and vivacious." The TimesThe Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
wrote, "Mr. W. S. Gilbert, however, shows in his last work, as in La Vivandière, which is still attractive at the new Queen’s Theatre, that he is fastidious on the score of music, and consequently anxious to make the theatre, even when employed for the purposes of burlesque, as little as possible the reflex of the music-hall. ... But altogether the endeavour of the author to stop short of an extreme popularity, and to give to burlesque something like a tone of distinction, is evident throughout. His writing is at once made remarkable by the polish of the verse and the ingenuity of the puns."
The critics noted that the mandatory quotient of pretty actresses in short skirts, or playing men's roles
Breeches role
A breeches role is a role in which an actress appears in male clothing .In opera it also refers to any male character that is sung and acted by a female singer...
in tights was duly delivered: although the hero was always a woman in these types of pieces, in this case, of the nine members of the cast, four were actresses playing roles en travesti. Gilbert renounced this practice as soon as he was in a professional position to do so. The critic of The Sporting Times
The Sporting Times
The Sporting Times was a weekly British newspaper devoted chiefly to sport, and in particular to horse racing...
wrote, "My friend, a stern and powerful man, held me down in my stall when Miss Bella Goodall appeared … Miss Annie Bourke, too, was something which could not be looked upon without the deepest emotion." The piece ran for 120 nights, but Gilbert later said, "It suffered from comparison with Mr. F. C. Burnand's Black-Eyed Susan, which it immediately followed [at the Royalty], and which had achieved the most remarkable success recorded in the annals of burlesque."