''The Magic Knight'' is a one-act
Victorian burlesque with music by
Victor Herbert and a libretto by
Edgar Smith. The piece parodies
Wagner's opera ''
Lohengrin''.
The original production opened at
Weber's Music Hall in
New York City on December 25, 1906, and ran for 102 performances until March 23, 1907. It was played as a show within a show with Herbert and Smith's two-act operetta, ''
Dream City
Diamond Research and Mercantile City, also known as DREAM City, is an upcoming business district in Surat, India. It will be built on of land near Khajod, along the lines of the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City and Dholera Smart city ne ...
''.
Modern performances of the piece, especially with orchestra, are rare. It was performed without orchestra, within ''Dream City'', during the 2006 Victor Herbert Festival in
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County, Michigan, Washtenaw County. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851. It is the principal city of the Ann Arbor ...
. It was performed in
Ohio Light Opera's 2014 Festival, and the company released a full recording of ''Dream City'' and ''The Magic Knight'' through
Albany Records. There is also a live production recording available through the Operetta Foundation.
Synopsis
Elsa is accused of murdering her brother, Godfrey, who has mysteriously disappeared, but Elsa is guilty of nothing more than an excessive fondness for singing
cadenzas. Frederick, who was to have married Elsa, marries the enchantress Ortrud, instead. Ortrud has turned Godfrey into a swan. Elsa calls upon a magic knight to save her by engaging in combat with Frederick. A first call to fairyland to summon the knight is unsuccessful, but after a second call, the knight arrives on the back of the enchanted swan. The knight soon defeats the cowardly Frederick and turns the swan back into Godfrey. He asks Elsa to marry him, but when she asks his name, the enchantment is broken. He must return to fairyland, leaving Elsa alone and grief-stricken, but still singing cadenzas.
Musical numbers
*Prelude
*Our King Is Here – Ensemble
*The Court Is Called to Order – The King
*Elsa Is Accused – Frederick and Tunite
*I'm Such a Modest Maiden – Elsa
*The Human Canary – Elsa
*The Magic Knight Is Summoned – The Herald
*Oh, Look Who's Here – Elsa and Chorus
*Ta Ta, My Dainty Little Darling – Lohengrin
*The Cake-Walk Duel – Lohengrin and Frederick
*The Confession – Ortrud
Roles and original cast
*The King (A base monarch) – Frank Belcher
*Elsa (A typical grand operatic maiden in the usual distressing predicament) –
Lillian Blauvelt
*Ortrud (Her
contralto aunt, given to dabbling in the art of magic) – Cora Tracey
*Lohengrin (A professional rescuer of distressed maidens) – Maurice Farkoa
*The Herald (A mediaeval news announcer) – W. L. Romaine
*The Swan, Godfrey (An item in a foul conspiracy) – Lores Grimm
*Frederick (Her hen-pecked uncle) –
Otis Harlan
Otis Harlan (December 29, 1865 – January 21, 1940) was an American actor and comedian. He voiced Happy, one of the Seven Dwarfs in the Disney animated film ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs''.
Early years
Harlan was born in Zanesville, Ohio ...
Three knights:
*Lastnite – Billie Norton
*Tunite –
Lois Ewell
*Tumaronite – Lillian deLee
Recording
A recording of ''The Magic Knight'' was released with ''
Dream City
Diamond Research and Mercantile City, also known as DREAM City, is an upcoming business district in Surat, India. It will be built on of land near Khajod, along the lines of the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City and Dholera Smart city ne ...
'' in 2006 by the Comic Opera Guild.
Information about Victor Herbert recordings, including ''The Magic Knight''
/ref> A recording of ''Dream City'' and ''The Magic Knight'' was released in 2014 by Ohio Light Opera.
References
External links
*Johnson, Colin
{{DEFAULTSORT:Magic Knight, The
Operas
English-language operettas
1907 operas
Operas by Victor Herbert
Musicals by Edgar Smith