''King's Rhapsody'' is a

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

with book and music by

Ivor Novello Ivor Novello (born David Ivor Davies; 15 January 1893 – 6 March 1951) was a Welsh actor, dramatist, singer and composer who became one of the most popular British entertainers of the first half of the 20th century. He was born into a musical ...

and lyrics by

Christopher Hassall Christopher Vernon Hassall (24 March 1912 – 25 April 1963) was an English actor, dramatist, librettist, lyricist and poet, who found his greatest fame in a memorable musical partnership with the actor and composer Ivor Novello after worki ...

. The musical was first produced at the

Palace Theatre, London The Palace Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster in London. Its red-brick facade dominates the west side of Cambridge Circus, London, Cambridge Circus behind a small plaza near the intersection of Shaftesbury Avenue and Chari ...

, on 15 September 1949 and ran for 841 performances, surviving its author, who died in 1951. It starred Novello in the title role of the heir to the throne under pressure from his long-lived mother, Queen Elana, to abdicate in favour of his infant son, with

Phyllis Dare Phyllis Dare (born Phyllis Constance Haddie Dones; 15 August 1890 – 27 April 1975) was an English actress and singer famous for her performances in Edwardian musical comedy and other musical theatre in the first half of the 20th century. Bor ...

as his mistress Marta Karillos,

Zena Dare Zena Dare (born Florence Hariette Zena Dones; 4 February 1887 – 11 March 1975) was an English actress and singer, who was famous for her performances in Edwardian musical comedy and other musical theatre and comedic plays in the first half o ...

as Queen Elana, Vanessa Lee as Princess Cristiane, Robert Andrews as Vanescu, and

Olive Gilbert Olive Sarah Gilbert (22 November 1898 – 19 February 1981) was a British singer and actress, who, in a career spanning seven decades, performed first in opera and then in many of Ivor Novello's musicals in London's West End theatre, West End. Af ...

as Countess Vera. A 1955 film adaptation was made, starring

Errol Flynn Errol Leslie Thomson Flynn (20 June 1909 – 14 October 1959) was an Australian and American actor who achieved worldwide fame during the Golden Age of Hollywood. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles, frequent partnerships with Oliv ...

Musical numbers

*The Dancing Lesson *Birthday Greetings *Someday My Heart Will Awake *National Anthem *Fly Home, Little Heart *Mountain Dove *If This Were Love *The Mayor of Perpignan *The Gates of Paradise *Take Your Girl *The Violin Began to Play *Muranian Rhapsody (Ballet) *Coronation Hymn *The Years Together, theme from the score, used as a number in the film version.

Original Production

The production opened at the

Palace Theatre Palace Theatre, or Palace Theater, is the name of many theatres in different countries, including: Australia *Palace Theatre, Melbourne, Victoria *Palace Theatre, Sydney, New South Wales Canada *Palace Theatre, housed in the Robillard Block, Mo ...

, London, on 15 September 1949 and ran for 841 performances. It was directed by Murray MacDonald, with the following cast: *Princess Cristiane – Vanessa Lee *Countess Vera Lemainken, ''her companion'' –

*King Peter of Norseland, ''Cristiane's father'' – Victor Bogetti *Princesses Kirsten and Hulda, ''Cristiane's little cousins'' – Pamela Harrington and Wendy Warren *Marta Karillos –

*Queen Elana of Murania –

*Prime Minister Vanescu – Robert Andrews *Nikki –

*Jules, ''Nikki's valet'' – Michael Anthony *Count Egon Stanieff, ''of the Royal Guard'' – Denis Martin *Countess Olga Varsov, ''a lady in waiting'' – Anne Pinder *Madame Koska, ''a modest'' – Jaqueline Le Geyt *Mr. Trontzen, ''a dance master'' – John Palmer *Major Domo – Eric Sutherland *Manservant – Harry Fergusson *Tormas – Gordon Duttson *Boy King – John Young *Chorus of Norseland village peasants, mannequins, serenaders, palace guards and servants, courtiers, members of the Muranian Royal Ballet Company, and people of Murania. The dancers were played by the Pauline Grant Ballet.

Critical reception

In ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

'',

Ivor Brown Ivor John Carnegie Brown CBE (25 April 1891 – 22 April 1974) was a British journalist and man of letters. After graduating from Oxford with top honours, he joined the civil service, but left after two days to pursue a freelance career as a ...

was of the opinion that Novello, "can with his tranquility stand up to all the bounding '' Oklahomans'' and '' Brigadooners'' in the world"; and in ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

'',

Harold Hobson Sir Harold Hobson CBE, (4 August 1904 – 12 March 1992) was an English drama critic and author. Early life and education Hobson was born in Thorpe Hesley, near Rotherham, then in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. He attended Sheffield ...

considered it "a better musical than ''

South Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

''."

Adaptations

The musical was novelised in 1950 by Hester W. Chapman. The 1955 British film version was directed by

Herbert Wilcox Herbert Sydney Wilcox Order of the British Empire, CBE (19 April 1890 – 15 May 1977) was a British film producer and film director, director. He was one of the most successful British filmmakers from the 1920s to the 1950s. He is best know ...

, and starred

as Nikki and

Anna Neagle Dame Florence Marjorie Wilcox (''née'' Robertson; 20 October 1904 – 3 June 1986), known professionally as Anna Neagle, was an English stage and film actress, singer, and dancer. She was a successful box-office draw in British cinema for 2 ...

as his mistress. A condensed 45-minute version, taken from the film's soundtrack, was broadcast as a

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927. The service provides national radio stations cove ...

play in September 1955. The piece was produced for BBC Radio in 1950, 1951, 1968 and 1993 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Novello's birth. A television version was broadcast in 1957 by the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

, who (according to the ''

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in September 1923 by John Reith, then general manage ...

'') "ingeniously cut the three and a quarter hours of the original action to an hour and a half." Vanessa Lee reprised her role of Princess Cristiane from the original stage production, and Griffith Jones played Nikki, with

Margot Grahame Margot Grahame (born Margaret Clark; 20 February 1911 – 1 January 1982) was an English actress most noted for starring in '' The Informer'' (1935) and ''The Three Musketeers'' (1935). She started acting in 1930 and made her last screen app ...

as his mistress.

References

External links