''Erminie'' is a

comic opera Comic opera, sometimes known as light opera, is a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending and often including spoken dialogue. Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a ne ...

in two acts composed by

Edward Jakobowski Edward Jakobowski (17 April 1856 – 29 April 1929) was an English composer, especially of musical theatre, best known for writing the hit comic opera '' Erminie''. Life and career Jakobowski was born in Islington, London, the only son of Israe ...

with a

libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...

by Claxson Bellamy and Harry Paulton, based loosely on

Charles Selby Charles Selby (c. 1802 – 1863) was a 19th-century English actor and playwright, and translator of many French plays (often without attribution, not uncommon at the time). Among his works was ''The Marble Heart'' (1854), a translation of Théo ...

's 1834 English translation of the French

melodrama A melodrama is a Drama, dramatic work in which plot, typically sensationalized for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodrama is "an exaggerated version of drama". Melodramas typically concentrate on ...

, '' Robert Macaire''. The story concerns an arranged engagement between Ermine and Ernest, but both are in love with someone else. The piece first played in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, England, and then in London in 1885. A long-running production opened on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

in 1886, and the opera enjoyed unusual international success that endured into the twentieth century.

Performance history

''Erminie'' opened at the Grand Theatre,

, England, on 26 October 1885. It transferred to the

Comedy Theatre The Harold Pinter Theatre, known as the Comedy Theatre until 2011,

in London, then under the management of Violet Melnotte, opening on 9 November 1885 and playing for a total original run of 154 performances.Stone, David
''Violet Melnotte (1855–1935)''
, Who Was Who in the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, Boise State University, accessed 25 April 2014 It starred Florence St. John who, being pregnant, ceded the role to a young

Marie Tempest Dame Mary Susan Etherington (15 July 1864 – 15 October 1942), known professionally as Marie Tempest, was an English singer and actress. Tempest became a famous soprano in late Victorian era, Victorian light opera and Edwardian musical comedie ...

in December; Melnotte took the role of Cerise. On 18 February 1886, the piece moved to the

Gaiety Theatre, London The Gaiety Theatre was a West End theatre in London, located on Aldwych at the eastern end of the Strand, London, Strand. The theatre was first established as the Strand Musick Hall in 1864 on the former site of the Lyceum Theatre, London, Lyc ...

, and by the end of 1885 another cast had begun touring the piece in the British provinces.Adams, William Davenport
"Erminie"
''A dictionary of the drama'', vol. 1, p. 465, Chatto & Windus, 1904 It soon toured throughout the world, reaching Australia by 1889. The

, New York production was extraordinarily successful, opening at the Casino Theatre on 10 May 1886 and running for 571 performances. It starred Pauline Hall as the title character and Francis Wilson as Cadeaux.

DeWolf Hopper William DeWolf Hopper (March 30, 1858September 23, 1935) was an American actor, singer, comedian, and theatrical producer. A star of vaudeville and musical theater, he became best known for performing the popular baseball poem "Casey at the Bat" ...

and Sylvia Gerrish later joined the cast. ''Erminie'' enjoyed many UK, US and foreign productions and was revived on Broadway in 1893, 1899, 1903 and in 1921 with Wilson and Hopper again assuming their 1886 roles. Amateur productions were also mounted between 1895 and 1921. ''Erminie'' was performed as a staged concert production in July 2008 by the Lyric Theatre of San Jose in

Mountain View, California Mountain View is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States, part of the San Francisco Bay Area. Named for its views of the Santa Cruz Mountains, the population was 82,376 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Mountain V ...

.Kenig, Marc and Neil Midkiff
"Discovery Is Making a To-Do About ''Erminie''"
LyricTheatre.org

Roles and original casts (London/New York)

*Marquis de Pontvert – Fred Mervin/Carl Irving *Eugène Marcel (the Marquis' secretary) –

Henry Bracy Henry Bracy (8 January 1846 – 31 January 1917) was a Welsh opera tenor, stage director and opera producer who is best remembered as the creator of the role of Prince Hilarion in the Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera ''Princess Ida''. Bracy of ...

/Harry Pepper *Vicomte Ernest de Brissac – Horace Bolini/C. L. Weeks *Captain Delaunay (a young officer) –

Kate Everleigh Kate Everleigh (1864 – 8 February 1926) was a serio-comic actress and singer of the late Victorian era who was a music hall and burlesque performer as well as appearing in pantomime and musical theatre. In America in 1877, with Lydia Thomp ...

/ Rose Beaudet (later Sylvia Gerrish) *Sergeant – A. D. Pierrepoint/E. Furry *Dufois (the Landlord of the Lion d'Or) – George Marler/Murray Woods *Simon (a Waiter) – J. W. Bradbury/A.W. Maflin *Henri – Stanley Betjeman *Pierre – Lottie Leigh *Chevalier de Brabazon (the Marquis' guest) – Percy Compton/ Max Freeman *Ravennes (a thief) –

Frank Wyatt Frank Wyatt (7 November 1852 – 5 October 1926) was an English actor, singer, theatre manager and playwright. After beginning his career as an illustrator and painter, in 1877 Wyatt began a stage career in comedy, Victorian burlesque, pantomi ...

/W. S. Daboll (later

) *Cadeaux (a thief) – Harry Paulton/ Francis Wilson *Cerise Marcel (Erminie's companion) – Violet Melnotte/ Marion Manola *Javotte (Erminie's maid) – K. Munroe, later

Marie Jansen Marie Jansen (born Harriet Mary Johnson;"Made $500,000, Marie Jansen Went Through It All", ''The Sun (Lowell), Lowell Sun'', Lowell, Massachusetts, June 2, 1904, p. 11 November 18, 1857 – March 20, 1914At her death, ''The New York Times'' repor ...

/Marie Jansen *Marie – Edith Vane/Victoria Schilling *Clementine – Delia Merton *Princesse de Gramponeur – M. A. Victor/Jennie Weathersby *Erminie de Pontvert – Florence St. John (later

)/ Pauline Hall *Mesdemoiselles St. Brice, D'Auvigne, De Nailles and de Sangres – Nellie Gordon, Kitty Graham, Marie Huntley and Violet Leigh *Mesdames St. Brice, de Lage, de Brefchamp and de Chateauln – Lillie Teesdale, Ada Maxwell, Ethel Selwyn and Millie Gerard *Antoinette, Charlotte, Jeanette, Mignon, Rosalie, Niniche, Nanine and Fanchette – Madge Bruce, Emilie Campbell, Anita Marzan, Florence Dudley, Carrie Solomon, Helen Gwynne, Mary Webb and Sylvia Southgate

Synopsis

;Act I Erminie is the daughter of the Marquis de Pontvert. She has been promised, in an arranged marriage, to Ernest, Vicomte de Brissac. He is a young nobleman and the son of an old war comrade of Erminie's father. Erminie and Ernest have never met each other. Erminie, however, is secretly in love with her father's secretary, Eugène, and Ernest is secretly in love with Cerise Marcel, who is Eugene's sister and Erminie's friend. Eugène and Cerise are orphans who were taken into his household by Erminie's father. Eugene feels that his subservient position makes it impossible for him to ask the Marquis for Erminie's hand in marriage. On his way to the betrothal ceremony, Ernest runs into a pair of crafty "philanthropists" (thieves), Ravennes and Cadeau, who steal his money and wardrobe and tie him to a tree. They disguise Ravennes as Ernest and Cadeau as a Baron and blunder into the Lion d'Or for the betrothal, saying that they were waylaid by thieves. Seeing the wealthy wedding guests, they scheme to make off with a lot of money. Cadeaux gets drunk, however, and his bad manners nearly spoil the scheme. Ernest eventually escapes his bonds and arrives late and in disordered attire at the Lion d'Or. Seeing Ernest, Ravennes cries "Seize the villain," claiming that Ernest is the thief who attacked them earlier in the day. Ernest is arrested and tossed in jail. ;Act II At the Chateau Pontvert that evening, Ravennes, still disguised as Ernest, pretends sympathy for Erminie's love for Eugene. He promises to help her to elope. At the same time, she unwittingly helps him to rob the house and the wedding guests. Eventually, however, in a farcical comedy of errors and mistaken identities, the plan fails, and the robbers are arrested. Nevertheless, their scheming inadvertently rescues Erminie from the arranged marriage, as both pairs – Eugene and Erminie, and Ernest and Cerise – are happily united.

Musical numbers

; Act I – The Village Fête in Pontvert, France. * No. 1 – Chorus: "Around in a whirl we skip, dance and twirl" * No. 2 – Chorus: "Vive le Marquis! ... welcome to the fête" * No. 3 – Erminie & Chorus: "Ah, when love is young, all the world seems gay!" * No. 4 – Erminie & Eugène: "There is a sweet remembrance of the past" * No. 5 – Chorus: "All for glory the soldier's life" * No. 6 – Marquis & Chorus: "Dull is the life of the soldier in peace" * No. 6a – Exit (reprise): "All for glory the soldier's life" * Nos. 7 & 7a – Ravennes & Cadeaux: "We're a philanthropic couple" * No. 8 – Erminie: "At midnight on my pillow lying, by daily toil oppress'd" * No. 9 – Concerted piece: "The blissful pleasure I profess of such a meeting" * No. 10 – Finale Act I: "Away to the chateau, away from the throng, where bridegroom and bride will be plighted ere long" ; Act II – The Ballroom in the Marquis de Pontvert's Chateau. * No. 10a – Entr'acte * No. 11 – Chorus & Marie: "Here on lord and lady waiting" * No. 12 – Eugène: "Darkest the hour ere light of dawn beameth" * No. 13 – Chorus & Erminie: "Joy attend our Erminie" * No. 14 – Erminie: "A lover in his mirror gaz'd, with visage wan, and glare half-craz'd" * No. 15 – Cadeaux & Whistling Chorus: "I'm not a free agent" ("What the Dicky Bird Says")Lyrics by

Marc Connelly Marcus Cook Connelly (December 13, 1890 – December 21, 1980) was an American playwright, director, producer, performer, and lyricist. He was a key member of the Algonquin Round Table, and received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1930. Biogra ...

and James T. Powers * No. 16 – Vocal Gavotte: "Join in pleasure, dance a measure" * No. 17 – Erminie & Chorus: "Dear mother, in dreams I see her" * Nos. 18 & 19 – Chorus: "Come to supper, let's repair" * No. 20 – Concerted piece (unaccompanied): "'Tis growing late" * No. 21 – Finale Act II: "Should we gain your favours, ev'ry heart is gay"

Namesake

minor planet According to the International Astronomical Union (IAU), a minor planet is an astronomical object in direct orbit around the Sun that is exclusively classified as neither a planet nor a comet. Before 2006, the IAU officially used the term ''minor ...

, 705 Erminia, is named after the work.

Gallery

File:Erminie-1885.jpg, From the 1885 production at the

Comedy Theatre The Harold Pinter Theatre, known as the Comedy Theatre until 2011,

File:Erminie-1886.jpg, From a British production c.1886 File:Erminie-Theatre Royal 2.jpg, From the 1894 production in Edinburgh

References

External links

Synopsis and other information about ''Erminie''''Erminie'' at the IBDB databaseLibretto at Archive.org

Listing for ''Erminie'', 2008
{{DEFAULTSORT:Erminie English-language operas English comic operas 1885 operas Operas Operas by Edward Jakobowski