Babette is a Broadway operetta with a libretto by Harry B. Smith and music by Victor Herbert, which premiered in 1903.[1]

Productions

The original production opened at the Broadway Theatre on November 16, 1903, and closed on January 9, 1904, after 59 performances.[2]

In 1976 Bel Canto Opera staged an off-Broadway revival of the show, which opened on May 21 and ran for four performances.[2][3][4]

Synopsis

Babette, the letter-writer of a small Flemish village, travels with a group of Flemish patriots to Versailles to seek help from the French king in their desire for freedom from the Spanish.[4]

Songs

Act l

  • Opening Chorus (Ensemble)
  • My Honor and My Sword (Mondragon and Chorus)
  • On the Other Side of The Wall (Mondragon and Vinetta)
  • Entrance of Babette (Ensemble)
  • Letter I Write all day (Letter-writing Song) (Babette)
  • He Who’d Thrive (Clockmaker’s Song) (Van Tympel and Chorus)
  • I’ll Bribe the Stars (Picture Painting Song) (Babette and Marcel)
  • Finale I (Ensemble)

Act ll

  • Opening Chorus Act II (Ensemble)
  • Tony the Peddler (Mondragon and Chorus)
  • Hear the Coachman Crack His Whip (Ensemble)
  • We're Very Highly Polished at the Court (Baltazar and Vinetta)
  • To the Sound of the Pipe and the Roll of the Drum (Babette, Vinetta, Eva and Chorus)
  • On The Stage (Van Tymple)
  • Be Kind to poor Pierrot (Babette)
  • There once was an owl (Marcel, Vinetta, Eva, Mondragon, Katrina, Theresa)
  • My Lady ‘Tis For Thee (Marcel)
  • The Life of a Bold Free Lance (Captain Guzman and Chorus)
  • Finale II (Ensemble)

Act lll

  • Opening Chorus Act III (Ensemble)
  • It’s A way we have in Spain (Van Tromp, Eva, Mondragon, Marcel and Chorus)
  • My Lady of the Manor (Vinette, Eva, Marcel and Mondragon)
  • Where the Fairest Flow’rs (Butterfly Waltz) (Babette)
  • Finale III (Ensemble)[5]

Cast

1903 Broadway[6] 1976 Revival[4]
Babette Fritzi Scheff Elizabeth King
Mondragon Eugene Cowles Mark Munkittrick
Eva Josephine Bartlett Janet Wagner
Katrina Florence Belleville
Vinette Ida Hawley Peggy Hewett
Marcel Richie Ling Daniel Mele
Van Tympel Louis Harrison David L. Scatter
Baltazar Edward J. Connelly Blaine Brown
Laurent Gertrude Adams
Count de Courville Arthur Blanchard
Jan Frank Boyle
Henri Rita Dean
The King of France Erroll Dunbar
Margot Rosa Earle
Captain Waither Alfred S. Ely
Mlle. de Fontanges Mildred Forest
Greta Edna Luby
Teresa Emily Montague
Joan Adele Nott
Gaston Helen Planchet
Jacque Aline Redmond
Mlle. de Rohan May Seeley
Schnapps William Sissons
Guzman Madison Smith
Coachman J. T. Chaillee
A Court Lady Mary Smith
Footman Charles Emerson
Duc de St. Michel Henry Wilkinson
Marquis de Villette George Williamson
Mlle. de la Motte Bertha Willoughby

Reception

The 1903 production received positive reviews for Scheff in the lead role and Herbert's music, but generally negative reviews for the show's book.[7]

References

  1. ↑ "Babette - 1903 Broadway - Creative Team". www.broadwayworld.com. Retrieved 2023-02-05.
  2. 1 2 "Babette - 1903 Broadway - Backstage & Production Info". www.broadwayworld.com. Retrieved 2023-02-05.
  3. ↑ "Babette - 1976 Off-Broadway - Backstage & Production Info". www.broadwayworld.com. Retrieved 2023-02-05.
  4. 1 2 3 Ericson, Raymond (1976-05-23). "Opera: Rare Herbert by the Bel Canto". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-02-05.
  5. ↑ "MORE ON BABETTE". Comic Opera Guild. Retrieved 2023-02-05.
  6. ↑ "Babette Original Broadway Musical Cast 1903". Broadway World. Retrieved 2023-02-05.
  7. ↑ Bordman, Gerald Martin (2010). American musical theatre : a chronicle. Richard Norton (4th ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. p. 230. ISBN 978-0-19-972970-8. OCLC 656556582.
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