A Private Wire

A Private Wire

"A Private Wire" is a one-act musical "vaudeville" operetta with a libretto by Frank Desprez and Arnold Felix and music by Percy Reeve. It was first produced at the Savoy Theatre on 31 March 1883 to 1 January 1884 as a companion piece to Gilbert and Sullivan's "Iolanthe". The piece also toured from March to July 1884.

No copy of a printed libretto or vocal score is in British Library. A copy of the libretto is in the Lord Chamberlain's collection.

Background

The fashion in the late Victorian era was to present long evenings in the theatre, and so Richard D'Oyly Carte preceded his savoy operas with curtain raisers such as "A Private Wire". [Lee Bernard. [http://www.sheffieldtelegraph.co.uk/classical/Swashbuckling-Savoy-curtainraiser-.4348391.jp "Swash-buckling Savoy curtain-raiser",] "Sheffield Telegraph", 1 August 2008]

ynopsis

Phillip FitzStubbs lives in a ground floor flat. Rose Frumpington lives in another, just across a street. Phillip's father has forbidden the match and made his son promise not to see or write to Rose, but Phillip has had a telephone installed so that they can talk. The reason for the father's refusal is that he himself is planning to marry Rose's mother, though why this should be an objection is not explained. On visiting her daughter, Mrs. Frumpington finds the telephone. Hearing Phillip's voice, she mistakes it for the ghost of her late husband. Phillip mistakes her for Rose and a misunderstanding arises. All is eventually sorted out, Phillip and Rose are engaged, and the parents agree not to marry. The dialogue is witty, but the plot is implausible.

Cast information

The original cast was:

*Mrs. Frumpington, Rosina Brandram/Miss Twyman
*Miss Rose Frumpington, Minna Louis/Rose Hervey
*Napoleon FitzStubbs, Eric Lewis
*Phillip FitzStubbs, Charles Rowan
*Mary, the maid, Sybil Grey

References

* [http://math.boisestate.edu/gas/companions/private_wire/index.html "A Private Wire" at the Gilbert and Sullivan Archive]
* [http://math.boisestate.edu/gas/companions/index.html List of Savoy opera curtain raisers]

External links

* [http://math.boisestate.edu/gas/companions/gas2.html Article on Savoy curtain raisers]
* [http://www.savoyoperas.org.uk/companions/ Brief review of the piece]
* [http://www.musicweb-international.com/garlands/162.htm Brief profile of Reeve mentioning the piece]


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