THE NEW LONDON OPERA GROUP
presents
La Vie Parisienne
A celebration of French operetta
Catrine Kirkman (Soprano)
Kirsti Whitlocke (Mezzo-Soprano)
Kirsty Bennett (Mezzo-Soprano)
Philip Hayes (Tenor)
Chris Cann (Baritone)
Graham Rogers (Bass-Baritone)
Piano: Paul Guinery
Devised by Chris Cann & Paul Guinery
Music Coach: Clive Pollard
Stage Manager: Bob Vaughan
Lighting Designer: Steve Greenwood
Publicity: Tony Bannister
With special thanks to:
All at Louth Playgoers’ Riverhead Theatre.
The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
St Gabriel’s Church, Pimlico
Nigel Bates for the loan of his castanets
About The New London Opera Group
Welcome to this evening’s concert of French operetta covering the century from the 1850s to the 1950s. This is our fourth spring concert in Louth.
The New London Opera Group (newLOG) is an amateur company dedicated to producing high-quality musical theatre in London and on tour around the country. It was founded in October 2003 by members of the disbanded University of London Opera Group who sought to preserve the heritage and ethos of the society, whilst expanding both the membership base and repertoire.
Although based in London, the group also has a very happy home at Louth Playgoers’ Riverhead Theatre. In June 2003, the University of London Opera Group brought its final production (Gilbert and Sullivan’s Iolanthe) on a very successful tour to Louth, playing to capacity audiences. A positive relationship was formed with the theatre, and when newLOG was founded, the bi-annual visit to Louth naturally became the cornerstone of the Group’s year. Since then, The Mikado, The Pirates of Penzance, Cox & Box and Ruddigore have been given in Louth, together with concerts of G&S and Viennese operetta. In addition, there have been highly successful December concert performances of Rutland Boughton’s Nativity opera, Bethlehem (2005) and Michael Balfe’s The Bohemian Girl (2006) in London.
We hope you enjoy this evening’s performance. For more information about newLOG, or to join our FREE mailing list, do e-mail us at info@newlog.org.uk
Part I - Jacques Offenbach (1819-1880)
Orpheus in the Underworld
“To Arms, you Gods and demi-Gods” – Revolutionary Chorus
“Ah, when a woman’s heart is yearning” – Eurydice’s entrance aria
“Come, it’s a matter of honour” – Act I Finale Duet
“When I was King of the Beotians”
“If you are hunting a very bad mouse” – Kissing Song
“I’m feeling all lovely and shivery” – Fly Duet
La Belle Hélène
“Oh Gods of Love”
“On Mount Ida” - The Judgement of Paris
“Is it fate sends you here?” - Dream Duet
La Périchole
“I’ve dined so well” – The ‘Tipsy Waltz’
“Were I a rogue”
“We husbands bowed our heads in silence” – Bolero
The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein
“On my horse at the head of my soldiers”
“Here he is, Here he is”
“Oh, how I love the military”
Robinson Crusoe
“I have a name”
“You take a gallon of water”
“Take me away to the one I adore”
“There’s no place like England”
**** INTERVAL – 20 MINUTES ****
Part II – The Twentieth Century
André Messager (1853-1929)
Véronique
“Swing high, swing low” – Swing Duet
“Trot here and there” – Donkey Duet
Maurice Yvain (1891-1965)
Ta Bouche (Your lips)
“There are things you never forget”
Pas sur la Bouche (Not on the lips!)
“Just a kiss”
Henri Christiné (1867-1941)
Naughty Cinderella
“Do I Love You?”
Marguerite Monnot (1903-1961)
Irma la Douce
“There’s only one Paris”
“Our language of love”
Jacques Offenbach (arranged: Patric Schmid)
Christopher Columbus
“A hundred years ago”
“Daddy had a palace down in old Sienna”
André Messager
Monsieur Beaucaire
“Philomel”
Encore
“Galop Infernale” (Can-Can) from Orpheus in the Underworld
Synopsis of Musical Numbers
Part I - Jacques Offenbach
Orpheus in the Underworld
(First performed at the Bouffes Parisiens, 1858)
Orpheus (a violin teacher) Philip Hayes
Eurydice (his wife) Catrine Kirkman
Public Opinion Kirsty Bennett
Cupid (God of lovers) Kirsti Whitlocke
John Styx (Butler of the Underworld) Chris Cann
Jupiter (God of Gods) Graham Rogers
Bored by their unchanging diet of nectar and ambrosia, the Gods of Mount Olympus rebel against the authority of Jupiter. (“To Arms, you Gods and demi-Gods!”) Meanwhile, Orpheus and Eurydice are unhappily married and Eurydice brings flowers to her lover (“Ah, when a woman’s heart is yearning”). Orpheus takes his revenge by planting a snake in the meadow that kills Eurydice. However, the formidable Public Opinion forces Orpheus to go to Olympus and ask for her back (“Come, it’s a matter of honour”). The Gods go to the Underworld to investigate the disappearance of Eurydice, where they encounter the forlorn figure of John Styx, who tells them of his earthly life (“When I was King of the Beotians”). Cupid sets a trap to discover Eurydice’s whereabouts (“If you are hunting a very bad mouse”). Jupiter falls in love with Eurydice himself and turns transforms into a fly in order to fit through the keyhole and woo her (“I’m feeling all lovely and shivery”).
La Belle Hélène
(first performed at the Théâtre des Variétés, 1864)
Helen (wife of King Menelaus of Sparta) Kirsty Bennett
Paris (prince of Troy) Philip Hayes
Offenbach turns the legend of the abduction of Helen and the beginning of the Trojan War on its head by portraying Helen as bored by her marriage to the dull King Menelaus of Sparta (“Oh Gods of Love”). Prince Paris of Troy arrives, telling of the occasion when he judged a beauty contest of three Goddesses. He chose Venus and was rewarded with the promise of the most beautiful woman in the world (“On Mount Ida”). When Paris and Helen meet, they fall desperately in love, but Helen salves her adulterous conscience by pretending that their affair is just a dream. (“Is it fate sends you here?”)
La Périchole
(first performed at the Théâtre des Variétés, 1868)
Périchole (a street singer) Kirsti Whitlocke
Piquillo (another singer, in love with her) Philip Hayes
Don Pedro (Spanish Governor of Lima) Graham Rogers
Panatellas (his Lord-in-waiting) Chris Cann
The penniliess singer La Périchole has to undertake a blindfold marriage in order to become a lady-in-waiting to the Spanish Viceroy of Peru. The unwitting bridegroom turns out to be none other thatn her actual lover and fellow singer, Piquillo. To strengthen her resolve, Périchole takes a drink and arrives at the ceremony drunk (“I’ve dined so well”). When he eventually realises his bride’s identity, Piquillo assumes that her new position is a cover for being the Viceroy’s mistress and he publicly insults Périchole, resulting in his arrest. In prison, Piquillo reflects on the inconstancy of his beloved (“Were I a rogue”). The Don Pedro and Panatellas come to the jail to mock the captive with a brilliant bolero: “We husbands bowed our heads in silence”. Needless to say, Piquillo and Périchole are reunited when she comes to the prison to rescue him and explain the whole story.
The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein
(first performed at the Théâtre des Variétés, 1867)
The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein Kirsti Whitlocke
General Boum (her Commander-in-Chief) Graham Rogers
Private Fritz (of the Royal Grenadiers) Philip Hayes
Wanda (his fiancé) Catrine Kirkman
General Boum prepares to lead his army into battle by singing his boisterous marching song “On my horse at the head of my soldiers”. In the ranks, Private Fritz says a heartfelt farewell to his fiancé, Wanda (“Here he is”). However, his life is about to change by the arrival of his monarch, the Grand Duchess, who has a passion for soldiers (“Oh, how I love the military”). The Grand Duchess promotes the handsome Fritz to the rank of General, only to demote him with equal swiftness on discovering his engagement!
Robinson Crusoe
(first performed at the Théâtre des Variétés, 1868)
Robinson Crusoe (a castaway) Philip Hayes
Edwige (his fiancé, also a castaway) Catrine Kirkman
Suzanne (her maid) Kirsti Whitlocke
Toby (Suzanne’s husband) Graham Rogers
Friday (Robinson’s native companion) Kirsty Bennett
Jim Cocks (another castaway and cannibal chef) Chris Cann
Robinson’s companion on the desert island, Man Friday tells how he got his name (“I have a name”). Robinson’s fiancé, Edwige and her servants, Toby and Suzanne go searching for Robinson and are shipwrecked on the same island. Toby and Suzanne are captures by the local cannibal tribe and are introduced to their chef, Jim Cocks, another castaway, who gives them his unique recipe for hotpot! (“You take a gallon of water”). Meanwhile, Edwige has also been captured and is about to be burnt at the stake, but she distracts her captors with the waltz “Take me away to the one I adore”, allowing Friday to rescue her. The castaways all look forward on getting back to the delights of their homeland. (“There’s no place like England”)
**** INTERVAL – 20 MINUTES ****
Part II – The Twentieth Century
André Messager
Véronique
(First performed at the Bouffes-Parisiens, 1898)
Hélène de Solanges Catrine Kirkman / Kirsti Whitlocke*
Florestan de Valaincourt Graham Rogers / Chris Cann*
An arranged marriage for the aristocratic Hélène de Solanges might be to her liking but isn’t greeted with enthusiasm by Vicomte Florestan de Valaincourt, a “man about town” who’s still sowing plenty of wild oats. So she sets out to woo him in disguise – as the flower girl Véronique. Needless to say, he succumbs to her charms and who wouldn’t, given the two delicious duets Messager provides in the second act: the “swing duet” (“You are laughing, ah! tell me why!”) in which Florestan pushes “Véronique” to and fro on a swing; and the “donkey duet” (“Trot here and there”)* in which he leads her into the countryside on her chosen form of transport.
Maurice Yvain
Ta Bouche (Your Lips)
(First performed at the Théâtre Daunon, 1922)
Bastien du Pas de Vis Graham Rogers
Whilst the impecunious Monsieur Pas de Vis and a phoney Countess are combing various second-best seaside resorts, each in search of a rich spouse, his son, Bastien, and her daughter, Eva, have met, fallen in love and are out each night making sure they’re “compatible.” (“There are some things that you never forget”) After a series of farcial mix-ups, Bastien and Eva finally arrive at the wedding night they’ve been rehearsing for three acts - and their respective parents also decide to tie the knot.
Pas sur la Bouche (Not on the lips!)
(First performed at the Théâtre Nouveautés, 1925)
Hammond Chris Cann
Les Girls Catrine Rogers
Kirsty Bennett
Kirsti Whitlocke
In the original French version, Hammond is an American who has a psychological block: he won’t allow himself to be kissed on the lips, ever since the day when, at the age of twelve, his governess did just that and aroused “ungovernable” passions in him. But temptation is always being put in his way… (“Just a Kiss”) For our English translation, we turn Hammond into a reluctant Frenchman instead!
Henri Christiné
Naughty Cinderella
(First performed at the Bouffes Parisiens, 1933)
Suzette Kirsty Bennett
A reworking of the Cinderella story in which the “naughty” Suzette just can’t seem to get her “prince” to make up his mind. (“Do I Love You? – when there’s nothing but “Yes” in my Eyes!”)
Marguerite Monnot
Irma la Douce
(First performed at the Théâtre Gramont, 1958)
Nestor le Fripé Philip Hayes
Bob le Hotu Graham Rogers
Robert les Diams Chris Cann
Irma la Douce Kirsti Whitlocke
The back streets of Pigalle are the setting for this Parisian equivalent of “guys and dolls” – or mecs and poules as these petty criminals and their good-time girls style themselves. Three of the lads celebrate the unique charms of their home town (“There is only one Paris for that”) whilst the “tart with the heart”, Irma la Douce, actually decides to give up her celebrated profession and settle for domesticity with one man, instead. (“Our Language of Love”)
Jacques Offenbach (arranged: Patric Schmid)
Christopher Columbus
(First performed at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, 1976)
Don Luis (President of the Round Earth Society) Graham Rogers
Christopher Columbus (A polygamist) Philip Hayes
Rosa Columbus (abandoned wife of Christopher) Kirsty Bennett
This take on the Christopher Columbus story was created from rarely heard Offenbach operas for the bicentenary of the United States of America in 1976. Don Luis tells Christopher Columbus of his plan to prove that the earth is round (“A hundred years ago”). Columbus offers to lead the expedition to the “New World” to escape prosecution for polygamy. His escape is particularly urgent when his wives turn up, led by the redoubtable Rosa, who narrates how she was seduced by Christopher. (“Daddy had a palace down in old Sienna”)
André Messager
Monsieur Beaucaire
(First performed at the Prince’s Theatre, London, 1919)
Lady Mary Carlisle Catrine Kirkman
A tale of love and intrigue set in Bath in the 18th century eventually matches up the beautiful Lady Mary with Beaucaire, a French barber who turns out to be none other than the exiled and incognito heir to the French throne! In the second act, Lady Mary sings a delightful “pastoral” waltz, evoking the amorous adventures of the gods of old. (“Philomel”)