Quite an Adventure
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| Operas by Edward Solomon |
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Billee Taylor (1880) |
Quite an Adventure is a one-act comic opera by Edward Solomon with a libretto by Frank Desprez. It was first produced at the Olympic Theatre in the fall of 1881 and had also been toured by the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company. It was revived on tour on a number of occasions, including the fall of 1881, in 1882 with a cast that included Charles Manners, in 1883, and a decade later in the fall of 1892, in 1893, in the fall of 1894 and in the spring of 1895. It was revived at the Savoy Theatre from 15 December 1894 to 29 December 1894 as a companion piece to The Chieftain.
A copy of the vocal score (published in 1882 by Chappell), but no printed libretto, is found in British Library. The score contains music only, no dialogue. A copy of the libretto is in the Lord Chamberlain's collection (filed September/October 1880).
The fashion in the Victorian era was to present long evenings in the theatre, and so Carte preceded his operas with curtain raisers. To fill this spot for The Chieftain, Carte seleted a piece that had already played in 1881 at the Olympic Theatre and that had enjoyed considerable success on tour.
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[edit] Synopsis
Mr. and Mrs. Wallaby have been out of their London house separately. The latter having been taken faint in town is assisted by Fraser, who drops his key down her neck to help revive her, and then puts her in a cab for home. Realising after she is on the way that she still has his front door key down her back and that he is therefore locked out, he follows her to her home to retrieve it. This accomplished, he realises that he has missed the last train home. Mrs. Wallaby therefore asks him to wait till her husband returns. Mr. Wallaby has forgotten his keys and so lets himself in by the window. He and Fraser meet, and each mistakes the other for a burglar. A police officer arrives and is about to arrest Mr. Wallaby when his wife comes back into the room to clear up the matter.
[edit] Cast information
The original cast was:
- Mr. Wallaby. Robert Rous
- Mr. Fraser. Henri Delplanque
- Police Officer. Albert E. Rees
- Mrs. Wallaby. Re Stephanie
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Quite an Adventure at the Gilbert and Sullivan Archive
- List of Savoy opera curtain raisers
