Naughty Marietta (operetta)

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For information about the 1935 film version of the musical, see Naughty Marietta (film)
Naughty Marietta
Sheet music cover
Music Victor Herbert
Lyrics Rida Johnson Young
Book Rida Johnson Young
Productions 1910 Broadway
1935 Film

Naughty Marietta is an operetta in two acts, with libretto by Rida Johnson Young and music by Victor Herbert. Set in New Orleans in 1780, it tells how Captain Richard Warrington is commissioned to unmask and capture a notorious French pirate calling himself "Bras Pique" – and how he is helped and hindered by a high-spirited runaway, Contessa Marietta. The score includes many well-known songs, including "Ah! Sweet Mystery of life".

Naughty Marietta opened on Broadway on November 7, 1910 and played 136 performances at the New York Theatre. It enjoyed revivals in 1929 at Jolson's 59th Street Theatre and in 1931 at Erlanger's Theatre. A film version of Naughty Marietta was released by MGM in 1935 starring Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy. The operetta became Victor Herbert's greatest success.

Contents

[edit] Synopsis

In eighteenth century New Orleans, the townspeople go about their daily business in the Place d'Armes ("Clear Away!") Étienne Grandet, the son of the colony's acting governer, has just returned from a trip to France, and the young ladies warn him that the pirate Bras Priquè has been attacking ships bound for New Orleans; the town fountain is supposedly haunted by the ghost of a woman he killed. Étienne, unknown to all but his father and his quadroon slave mistress Adah, is really Bras Priquè. He gives his father a share of the profits from his crimes, and his father keeps his identity secret.

A band of American woodsmen, farmers, and Indians, led by Captain Dick Warrington and his lieutenant, Sir Harry Blake, "Tramp, Tramp, Tramp" into town. They are on a mission to capture Bras Priquè and seek the governer's signature on a warrant for his arrest. They also hope to find wives among the "casquette" girls, who should arrive in New Orleans any day. They have been granted dowries by the King of France and sent to the New Orleans to marry the colonists.

Lieutenant Governor Grandet, Étienne's father, refuses to sign the warrent. He knows Étienne has imprisoned the real governer on a Carribean island. Étienne seeks to establish Louisiana as a dictatorship under his own command, separate from both France and the burgeoning United States of America.

The Lieutenant Governor oversees the girls' arrival, and the men excitedly introduce themselves ("Taisez-Vous"). A plain-looking girl, Lizette, is ignored by all the men except Simon O'Hara, Captain Dick's Yiddish servent.

After the men and girls leave the square, the fragmented song of the "ghost" comes from the fountain ("Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life"). It is not a ghost singing, but an Italian girl who introduces herself as "Naughty Marietta". She was one of the casquette girls, but she ran away from the ship at Mozambique and came to New Orleans on her own. Captain Dick, who met her in Mozambique, sees her by the fountain. He agrees to help her hide, but explains that "It Never, Never Can Be Love" between them. He and the Italian puppeteer, Rudolfo, agree that she can disguise herself as Rudolfo's son and work at his marionette theatre. Marietta tells Dick that it has been fortold that she will love the man who can complete the melody she sang at the fountain, which came to her in a dream. She asks him to try to complete it. He refuses, but finds himself whistling it soon after.

Though Lizette ignores Simon, he tries to impress her ("If I Were Anyone Else But Me"). Adah realizes that Étienne does not seem to love her anymore, and tries to see her future in cards ("'Neath A Southern Moon").

Countess Marietta, the young daughter of a noble Italian family residing in France, is unhappy at home and runs away, disguising herself as one of a number of . Upon her arrival, Marietta is befriended by a respected American frontiersman, Captain Richard Warrington and falls in love with him. Warrington, though charmed, says that he has no time for romance: he is busy trying to track down and capture the notorious French pirate "Bras Pique." Bras Pique is the leader of a movement The charming Marietta also attracts the attention of the son of the Acting Governor, Etienne Grandet, a polished young villain, but Grandet owns a quadroon mistress who loves him, Adah. Grandet recognizes Marietta as the missing Countess and threatens to reveal her secret unless she consents to give him her hand.

Marietta, in order to escape detection, and with the connivance of Captain Warrington, disguises herself as first the son, and then the daughter of Rudolfo, proprietor of a marionette theatre. Here Grandet visits her and tries to persuades her to attend a masked ball. Warrington warns her that the "Quadroon Ball" is no place for a lady, but Marietta finds out that Warrington is attending the ball himself and angrily decides to go. She does not realize that Warrington has only agreed to attend the ball to assist Adah, who has appealed to him for protection. Marietta, misunderstanding Warrington's intentions towards Adah, is on the point of accepting Grandet's hand in marriage. Captain Warrington arrives on the scene with his men, reveals Grandet as the notorious "Bras Pique" and wins Marietta.

[edit] Recordings

RCA Victor issued a highlights recording of Naughty Marietta using studio singers and Al Goodman's orchestra. The six highlights were issued on Lp by RCA Victor in 1951 but have been unavailable in any format since 1960. Columbia Records made an album with Nelson Eddy and Nadine Connor in 1948, covering eight highlights. This version has not been issued on CD.

A Capitol Records album starring Gordon MacRae was issued as part of a series of recordings based on MacRae's popular Railroad Hour program, which featured potted operettas and musicals. The first release was a 10-inch Lp, which was later reissued on one side of a 12-inch Lp with The Red Mill on the reverse. This version has been unavailable since the late 1960s and has never been issued on CD.

A stereo recording was made by Reader's Digest for their 1963 album Treasury of Great Operettas. Each of the 24 operettas in the set is condensed to fill one Lp side. These selections were included on Digest's 1993 3-CD set, also called A Treasury of Great Operettas.

[edit] Musical numbers

Act I
  • Overture
  • 1. Clear Away! – Opening Chorus
  • 2. Tramp, Tramp, Tramp – Captain Dick and Followers
  • 3. Taisez-Vous – Casquette Girls and Men
  • 4. Naughty Marietta – Marietta
  • 5. It Never, Never Can Be Love – Marietta and Captain Dick
  • 6. If I Were Anybody Else But Me – Lizette and Simon
  • 7. 'Neath the Southern Moon – Adah
  • 8. Italian Street Song – Marietta and Chorus
  • 9. Finale
Act II
  • 10. Opening Chorus
  • 11. Dance of The Marionettes – Marietta And Rudolfo
  • 12. You Marry a Marionette – Etienne
  • 13. Dance – Marietta
  • 14. The Dream Melody
  • 15. New Orleans Jeunesse Doree – Chorus of Men
  • 16. Loves of New Orleans – Ensemble
  • 17. The Sweet By and By – Lizette
  • 18. Prelude
  • 19. Live For To-Day - Marietta, Adah, Captain Dick and Etienne
  • 20. I'm Falling In Love With Some One – Captain Dick
  • 21. It's Pretty Soft for Simon – Simon
  • 22. Finale

Both the musical and its title song are lampooned by the song "Naughty, Naughty Nancy" in the 1959 musical Little Mary Sunshine.

[edit] Roles and original cast

  • Captain Richard Warrington – Orville Harrold
  • Lieutenant Governor Grandet – William Frederic
  • Etienne Grandet, Son of Lieut. Governor – Edward Martindel
  • Sir Harry Blake, An Irish Adventurer – Raymond Bloomer
  • Simon O'hara, Capt. Dick's Servant – Harry Cooper
  • Rudolfo, Keeper of Marionette Theatre – James S. Murray
  • Florenze, Sec'y to Lieut. Governor – Howard Morgan
  • Lizette, A Casket Girl – Kate Elinore
  • Adah, A Quadroon – Maria Hellene
  • The Voodoo Queen – Viola Ellis
  • Nanette – Louise Aichel
  • Felice – Blanche Lipton
  • Fanchon – Vera De Rosa
  • Graziella – Sylvia Loti
  • Franchesca – Bessie Rlcardo
  • Night Watchman – Eugene Roder
  • 1st Pirate – W. Mack
  • 2nd Pirate – F. Bonner
  • Indian – H. Reynolds
  • East Indian – Bert Leslie
  • Marietta D'Altena – Emma Trentini

[edit] References

[edit] External links