Nell Gwynne (operetta)
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.
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 and in New York City at the Casino Theatre beginning on 8 November 1884.
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
- Nell Gwynne – Florence St. John
- Lady Clare – Agnes Stone
- Jessamine – Giulia Warwick
- Marjorie – Victoria Reynolds
- Buckingham – M. Dwyer
- Rochester – A. Cadwalader
- The Beadle – Lionel Brough
- Weasel – Arthur Roberts
- Talbot – Cecil Crofton
- Falcon – Henry Walsham
- Hodge and Podge – Messrs. D. St. John and Hunt
- Peregrine – Agnes Lyndon
- King Charles II, villagers, farmers, courtiers, waiters, etc.
Musical numbers
- 1. Chorus — "No Heel-Taps"
- 2. "The British Waiter"
- 3. "Only an Orange Girl "
- 4. "O Heart! My Lover's Near!"
- 5. "Once upon a Time"
- 6. "O'er their Young Hearts "
- 7. Chorus — "Clubs and Cudgels"
- 8. "Tis I!"
- 9. "Sweetheart, if Thou be Nigh!"
- 10. Finale, Act I: "O Surprise!"
Entr'acte
- 11. Pawn Chorus — "About the Middle of the Week"
- 12. Rustic Rondo
- 13. "Tic, Tac"
- 14. "Maid of the Witching Eye"
- 15. "Now the Spell"
- 16. "First Love"
- 17. "The Dappled Fawn "
- 18. "Illusions!"
- 19. "Turn About"
- 20. Finale, Act II: ''What's Passing Here"
Entr'acte
- 21. Hunting Chorus — "The Eager Hounds"
- 22. "The Broken Cavalier"
- 23. "The Trysting Tree"
- 24. "The Ball at Whitehall"
- 25. "Happy the Lot"
- 26. "The Rendez-vous"
- 27. "Timid Bird"
- 28. Finale, Act III
