Quite an Adventure

"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).

Background

When the Gilbert and Sullivan partnership disbanded after the production of "The Gondoliers" in 1889, impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte needed new works to fill the Savoy Theatre. He asked Arthur Sullivan to write additional operas, and one of these was "The Chieftain". The fashion in the late Victorian era was to present long evenings in the theatre, and so Carte preceded the savoy operas with curtain raisers. [Lee Bernard. [http://www.sheffieldtelegraph.co.uk/classical/Swashbuckling-Savoy-curtainraiser-.4348391.jp "Swash-buckling Savoy curtain-raiser",] "Sheffield Telegraph", 1 August 2008]

To supply a curtain raiser for "The Chieftain", Carte seleted "Quite an Adventure", a piece that had already played in 1881 at the Olympic Theatre and that had enjoyed considerable success on tour.

ynopsis

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.

Cast information

The original cast was:
*Mr. Wallaby. Robert Rous
*Mr. Fraser. Henri Delplanque
*Police Officer. Albert E. Rees
*Mrs. Wallaby. Re Stephanie

ee also

Savoy opera

References

* [http://math.boisestate.edu/gas/companions/adventure/index.html "Quite an Adventure" 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://math.boisestate.edu/gas/whowaswho/S/SolomonEdward.htm Profile of Solomon with information about the piece]