Cox and Box
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| Operas by Arthur Sullivan (not including those with W. S. Gilbert) |
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Cox and Box (1866) |
Cox and Box; or, The Long-Lost Brothers, is a one-act comic opera with a libretto by F. C. Burnand and music by Arthur Sullivan, based on the 1847 farce Box and Cox by John Maddison Morton.
The piece premiered in 1866 and, once given a professional production, became popular. It was frequently revived, continuing over the next century to be played by the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company. It has been played by numerous professional and amateur companies throughout the world and continues to be often produced.
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[edit] History
The Moray Minstrels were an informal gathering of notable members of London society and mostly amateur musicians, who would meet at Moray Lodge, in Kensington, the home of Arthur J. Lewis, a milliner. There they would discuss the arts and sing part-songs and other popular music. Dramatist and sometime editor of Punch magazine F. C. Burnand had invited Arthur Sullivan to join the group (Walters, p. 13). On one occasion, they heard a performance of Jacques Offenbach's short two-man operetta Les deux aveugles ("The Two Blind Men"), and one of them suggested that Sullivan contribute a similar work.
Burnand adapted the libretto for this "triumviretta" from Morton's famous farce. The text follows Morton's original play closely, differing in only two notable respects. First, in the play it is Mrs. – rather than Sergeant – Bouncer, who is the protagonists' landlord. This change was occasioned by the venue of the first performance, which was an all-male gathering. Second, Burnand wrote original lyrics to be set to music by the 24-year-old Sullivan. The date and venue of the first performance was much disputed starting in 1890, in duelling letters to The World, with Burnand and Lewis each claiming to have hosted it. Andrew Lamb (1968, pp. 132–3) concluded that the run-through at Burnand's home on May 23, 1866 was a rehearsal, followed by the first performance at Lewis's home on May 26, 1866. A printed programme for the May 23 performance later surfaced, suggesting more than a mere rehearsal (Hulme 1994, pp. 5–6), but the composer himself supported the later date, writing to The World, "I feel bound to say that Burnand's version came upon me with the freshness of a novel. My own recollection of the business is perfectly distinct" (Harris, p. VIII, n. 8). George Grove noted in his diary of May 13, that he attended a performance of Cox and Box, which Lamb takes to have been an open rehearsal.
The original cast was George du Maurier as Box, Harold Power as Cox, and John Forster as Bouncer, with Sullivan himself improvising the accompaniment at the piano. Another performance at Moray Lodge took place on April 26, 1867, the date that Power later claimed for the first performance, and also widely cited in the G&S literature. The first public performance was a benefit on May 11, 1867 at the Adelphi Theatre. The opera was heard with a full orchestra for the first time on that occasion, with Sullivan completing the orchestration a matter of hours before the first rehearsal.
It was repeated, again for charity, on May 18, 1867 at the Royal Gallery of Illustration in Regent Street. The critic for Fun magazine, W. S. Gilbert, wrote:
- Mr. Burnand's version of Box and Cox – which he calls Cox and Box – is capitally written, and Mr. Sullivan's music is charming throughout. The faults of the piece, as it stands, are twain. Firstly: Mr. Burnand should have operatized the whole farce, condensing it, at the same time, into the smallest compass, consistent with an intelligible reading of the plot.... Secondly, Mr. Sullivan's music is, in many places, of too high a class for the grotesquely absurd plot to which it is wedded. It is very funny, here and there, and grand or graceful where it is not funny; but the grand and the graceful have, we think, too large a share of the honours to themselves. (Harris, pp. X–XI).
At yet another charity performance, at the Theatre Royal, Manchester, on July 29, 1867, the overture was heard for the first time. The autograph full score is inscribed, Ouverture à la Triumvirette musicale 'Cox et Boxe' et 'Bouncer' composée par Arthur S. Sullivan, Paris, 23 Juillet 1867. Hotel Meurice.[1] The duet, "Stay, Bouncer, stay!" was probably first heard in this revival (Harris, p. XI).
There were discussions of an 1867 professional production under the management of Thomas German Reed, but instead Reed commissioned Sullivan and Burnand to write a two-act comic opera, The Contrabandista, which was less well received. Cox and Box received its first professional production under Reed's management at the Royal Gallery of Illustration on March 29, 1869, with Gilbert and Frederic Clay's No Cards also on the bill. It ran until March 20, 1870, for a total of 264 performances, with a further 23 performances on tour. The production was a hit, although critics lamented the loss of Sullivan's orchestration (the Gallery of Illustration was too small for an orchestra):
- The operetta loses something by the substitution... of a piano and harmonium accompaniment for the orchestral parts which Mr. Sullivan knows so well how to write; but the music is nevertheless welcome in any shape. (The Athenæum, April 3, 1869, quoted in Harris, p. XII, n. 24).
[edit] Subsequent productions
Cox and Box quickly became a Victorian staple, with additional productions in Manchester in 1869 and 1871, at London's Gaiety Theatre in 1872, 1873, and 1874, and Manchester again in 1874 (paired with The Contrabandista). There were also numerous charity performances, including two at the Gaiety during the run of Thespis, and another in Switzerland in 1879 with Sullivan himself as Cox. The first documented American production opened on April 14, 1879 at the Standard Theatre, in New York, as a curtain raiser to a "pirated" production of H.M.S. Pinafore. (Harris, p. XIV).
The first D'Oyly Carte Opera Company performance of the piece was on December 31, 1894, to accompany another Sullivan–Burnand opera, The Chieftain, which had opened on December 12. For this production, Sullivan cut the opera down to about half of its original one-hour length (Walters, p. 13).
In 1921, Rupert D'Oyly Carte introduced Cox and Box as a curtain raiser to The Sorcerer, with additional cuts prepared by J. M. Gordon and Harry Norris (Walters, p. 15). This slimmed-down "Savoy Version" remained in the company’s repertory as curtain raiser for the shorter Savoy Operas. By the 1960s, Cox and Box was the usual companion piece to The Pirates of Penzance. It received its final D'Oyly Carte performance on February 16, 1977 (Turnbull 1994, p. 53).
Many amateur theatre companies have also staged Cox and Box – either alone or together with one of the shorter Savoy Operas. In recent years, after the rediscovery of the one-act Sullivan and B. C. Stephenson opera, The Zoo, C&B has been sometimes presented as part of an evening of the three Sullivan one-act operas, sharing a bill with The Zoo and Trial by Jury.
[edit] Roles
- James John Cox, A Journeyman Hatter (baritone)
- John James Box, A Journeyman Printer (tenor)
- Sergeant Bouncer, Late of the Dampshire Yeomanry, with military reminiscences (bass-baritone) [See "Versions" below]
[edit] Synopsis
- Note: The following synopsis describes the original version. For other versions, see the discussion below.
After a brisk overture, the scene opens on a room with a bed, a chest of drawers, a table and chairs, a fireplace, and three doors.
Cox is rushing to dress for the day. His landlord, Sergeant Bouncer, helps him get ready, while Cox complains about an uncomfortable pillow and an overly short haircut, which makes him look like he's in the army. Any mention of the army sends Bouncer into a reverie about his own military career. The irritated Cox goes into his dressing-room, while Bouncer sings a mock-Handelian aria about his days in the militia, ending with his favourite catch-phrase, "Rataplan! Rataplan!"
Cox asks Bouncer why the room always reeks of tobacco smoke. Bouncer suggests that it must be from the tenant in the attic, but Cox observes that smoke always travels up, not down. Cox also wonders why his supply coals, matches, candles, tea, sugar, etc., seem to be disappearing. Bouncer suggests it was the cat. When Cox won't accept this explanation, Bouncer launches into another reprise of "Rataplan! Rataplan!" Cox, at last, is late for work and leaves without resolving the mystery.
Bouncer admits that Cox has left in the nick of time, for the room is let to two different lodgers, neither of whom knows about the other. Cox, a hatter, works all day; Box, a printer, works all night; so they never come in contact, except that they occasionally pass on the staircase. Bouncer hurriedly re-arranges the room, hiding Cox's possessions and putting out Box's possessions.
Box enters, after a brief offstage altercation with Cox on the staircase. After dismissing Bouncer, he takes out a roll, lights the fire, and puts a rasher of bacon on the gridiron. Overcome with exhaustion, he lies down on the bed for a catnap.
Cox re-enters, having unexpectedly secured a day off from his employer. He is delighted to find a roll on the table, but surprised to find the fire already lit. Assuming that Bouncer has been using the room in his absence, he takes the bacon off the gridiron, replaces it with a mutton chop, and heads off to his dressing room to retrieve his breakfast utensils.
The slam of Cox's dressing room door awakens Box, who suddenly remembers his bacon. When he sees a mutton chop on the gridiron, he assumes it is Bouncer's, and throws it out the window, hitting a pedestrian outside. He once again puts the bacon on the fire, and heads off to his dressing room to retrieve his breakfast utensils.
The slam of Box’s dressing room door sends Cox scurrying back in, assuming it is the sound of someone knocking. Seeing the bacon on the gridiron once again, he tosses it out the window, hitting the pedestrian for a second time.
Box re-enters from his dressing room, and they confront each other for the first time. Each orders the other to leave. Cox produces his receipt for rent, to prove the room is his, and Box does likewise. Realizing they've been duped, they yell for Bouncer, who arrives and promptly tries to change the subject with yet another reprise of "Rataplan! Rataplan!"
Finally cornered, Bouncer admits that the room belongs to both of them, but he says that he'll have his little back second floor room ready later the same day. Both lodgers say they'll take it, which Bouncer quickly points out makes no sense whatsoever. He leaves them to decide which will vacate the current room. Each suggests the other should leave, but neither will budge. Finally, they realise that it is all Bouncer's fault, so they may as well be friends. They serenade each other on the guitar.
In the course of conversation, Cox admits he has a fiancée, but as she's the proprietor of bathing machines some distance away, she is unlikely to make an appearance. Box says that he's neither single nor married nor widowed, but has been "defunct for the last three years." Cox admits that he wouldn't mind being defunct himself, if it would allow him to escape from an unwanted matrimony.
Box explains that he was in exactly the same predicament several years ago. On the eve of marriage, he left his possessions at the edge of a cliff with a suicide note. Everyone assumed he had jumped, and so he was free of his intended bride, Penelope Ann. At the mention of that name, Cox realises that his present intended is the same fiancée that Box had eluded. Cox now declares that he will restore Box to Penelope Ann, while Box says that he wouldn't dream of taking her away from Cox.
Unable to resolve the matter, they at first suggest duelling, but decide on a gentler solution. At first, they throw dice, but each man has a trick die that only throws sixes. Then they try tossing coins, but each one keeps throwing only has heads. At last, Bouncer arrives with a letter from Margate, which they assume must be from Penelope Ann. In fact, the letter informs them that Penelope Ann was lost in a sailing accident, and has left her entire estate to "my intended husband." The two men try to resolve which of them is the beneficiary, but Bouncer arrives with a second letter, informing them that Penelope Ann survived after all, and will be arriving later that day.
They both try to leave, but Bouncer arrives with a third letter: "Being convinced that our feelings, like our ages, do not reciprocate, I hasten to apprise you of my immediate union with Mr. Knox." They rejoice that Penelope Ann is out of the way. Suddenly, Box observes that Cox must surely be his long-lost brother, and Cox observes that he was about to make the same observation.
Box asks if Cox has a strawberry mark on his left arm. Cox replies that he does not. That settles it: they are long-lost brothers. In a brief finale, they agree that they will remain in the room for good, with Bouncer adding a "Rataplan!" reprise. The curtain falls on general rejoicing.
[edit] Musical numbers
- Overture
- Song, "Rataplan" (Bouncer)
- Duet, "Stay, Bouncer, Stay" (Cox, Bouncer)
- Lullaby, "Hush-a-bye, Bacon" (Box)
- Song and Dance, "My Master is Punctual" (Cox)
- Trio, "Who are You, Sir?" (Box, Cox, Bouncer)
- Serenade, "The Buttercup" (Box, Cox)
- Romance, "Not Long Ago" (Box, with Cox)
- Gambling Duet, "Sixes!" (Box, Cox)
- Finale, "My Hand upon It" (Box, Cox, Bouncer)
[edit] Versions
The original domestic version is scored for the three voices (Box, tenor; Cox, baritone; and Bouncer, bass) and piano. For the theatre Sullivan rescored the piece for his usual small orchestra of 35 or so players. He added a short overture and some additional music in the main piece, including the extended duet, ‘Stay, Bouncer, Stay!’. This version plays for just under an hour (Walters, pp. 13–15).
The ‘Savoy Version’ of 1921 cuts two complete numbers – a gambling duet in which Box and Cox each try to lose (the stake being the unwanted Penelope Ann) and the sung finale. In addition songs with two verses are reduced to a single verse, and many smaller cuts are made almost bar by bar. Perhaps the major casualty of the lopping off of verses is Bouncer’s first song, in which the lyric as sung lacks context. In Box’s lullaby to his rasher of bacon, and the duet, ‘The Buttercup’ a single verse suffices and is unlikely to trouble the listener who is unaware that another verse has been cut. Note also that the keys of some of the numbers are lower in the Savoy Version, so that Bouncer is probably best sung by a bass-baritone. There is some strange voicing in the vocal lines, however, and where Bouncer is voiced above Cox, most companies switch the lines so that Bouncer is always lowest.
Admirers of Sullivan may think it presumptuous to aver that some of the cuts are to the piece’s advantage, but they undeniably help keep the action moving. The D'Oyly Carte musical director at the time of this revision of the score was Harry Norris, who was willing to modify Sullivan's scores, adding, for instance, effective but inauthentic horn decorations to 'A Lady Fair' in Princess Ida. This 1921 version plays for a little over half an hour.
[edit] Discography
The first commercial recording of Cox & Box was not made until 1961. Both D'Oyly Carte recordings use the heavily cut "Savoy Version" of the score that the company performed as a curtain raiser to other operas, whereas the more recent recordings use a less heavily pruned score. All the recordings listed below include dialogue.
- 1961 D'Oyly Carte – Conductor, Isidore Godfrey); Joseph Riordan (Box), Alan Styler (Cox) and Donald Adams (Bouncer).
- 1972 Gilbert and Sullivan For All – Piano accompaniment by John Burrows; Thomas Round (Box), Donald Adams (Cox) and Thomas Lawlor (Bouncer).
- 1978 D'Oyly Carte – Conductor, Royston Nash; Geoffrey Shovelton (Box), Gareth Jones (Cox) and Michael Rayner (Bouncer).
- 1984 Sir Arthur Sullivan Society – Piano accompaniment by Kenneth Barclay; Ian Kennedy (Box), Leon Berger (Cox) and Donald Francke (Bouncer).
- 2004 BBC National Orchestra of Wales – Conductor, Richard Hickox; James Gilchrist (Box), Neal Davies (Cox) and Donald Maxwell (Bouncer); issued on the Chandos label.
For a nearly complete orchestral version with all the numbers that Sullivan composed, there is an excellent video recording produced in 1982 as part of the Brent Walker series of Gilbert and Sullivan videos. Conductor, Alexander Faris; John Fryatt (Box), Russell Smythe (Cox) Thomas Lawlor (Bouncer).
[edit] Notes
- ^ The Gramophone
[edit] References
- Jacobs, Arthur (1984). Arthur Sullivan: A Victorian Musician. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Harris, Roger, ed. (1999). Cox and Box. Chorleywood, Herts., UK: R. Clyde.
- Hulme, David Russell (1994). "The Evolution of Cox and Box", in David Eden, ed.: The Chieftain: A Centenary Review of Sullivan's Partnership with F. C. Burnand. Coventry, UK: The Sir Arthur Sullivan Society, 5–11.
- Lamb, Andrew (1968). ""Cox and Box"—A Postscript". The Gilbert & Sullivan Journal IX (7): 132–133.
- Rollins, Cyril; R. John Witts (1961). The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in Gilbert and Sullivan Operas. London: Michael Joseph.
- Turnbull, Stephen (1994). "Cox and Box 1869–1994", in David Eden, ed.: The Chieftain: A Centenary Review of Sullivan's Partnership with F. C. Burnand. Coventry, UK: The Sir Arthur Sullivan Society, 53–54.
- Walters, Michael "A Brief Overview of the Life of Rutland Barrington" in The Gilbert & Sullivan News, vol. II, no. 13, pp. 13-15 (Autumn/Winter 1998; The Gilbert and Sullivan Society)
- Wimbush, Roger (1966). "Here and There". The Gramophone XLIV (October): 202.
