The Magic Knight

"The Magic Knight" is a one-act musical burlesque with music by Victor Herbert and a libretto by Edgar Smith. The piece parodies the Richard Wagner opera "Lohengrin".

The original production opened at Weber's Music Hall in New York City on December 25, 1906, and ran for 102 performances until March 23, 1907. It was played as a show within a show with Herbert and Smith's two-act operetta, "Dream City". [ [http://www.ibdb.com/production.asp?ID=426983 Information about "The Magic Knight" at the IBDB database] ]

Modern performances of the piece, especially with orchestra, are rare. It was performed without orchestra, within "Dream City", during the 2006 Victor Herbert Festival in Ann Arbor, Michigan. [ [http://comicoperaguild.org/PAGES/HISTORY.html Lising of performances, including 2006 performance of "The Magic Knight"] ]

ynopsis

Elsa is accused of murdering her brother, Godfrey, who has mysteriously disappeared, but Elsa is guilty of nothing more than an excessive fondness for singing cadenzas. Frederick, who was to have married Elsa, marries the enchantress Ortrud, instead. Ortrud has turned Godfrey into a swan. Elsa calls upon a magic knight to save her by engaging in combat with Frederick. A first call to fairyland to summon the knight is unsuccessful, but after a second call, the knight arrives on the back of the enchanted swan. The knight soon defeats the cowardly Frederick and turns the swan back into Godfrey. He asks Elsa to marry him, but when she asks his name, the enchantment is broken. He must return to fairyland, leaving Elsa alone and grief stricken, but still singing cadenzas.

Musical numbers

*Our King Is Here – Ensemble
*The Court Is Called to Order – The King
*Elsa Is Accused – Frederick and Tunite
*I'm Such a Modest Maiden – Elsa
*The Human Canary – Elsa
*The Magic Knight Is Summoned – The Herald
*Oh, Look Who's Here – Elsa and Chorus
*Ta Ta, My Dainty Little Darling – Lohengrin
*The Cake-Walk Duel – Lohengrin and Frederick
*The Confession – Ortrud

Roles and original cast

*The King – Frank Belcher
*Elsa – Lillian Blauvelt
*The Herald – W. L. Romaine
*Ortrud – Cora Tracey
*Lohengrin – Maurice Farkoa
*The Swan, Godfrey – Lores Grimm
*Frederick – Otis Harlan
*Tumaronite – Lillian deLee
*Tunite – Lois Ewell
*Lastnite – Billie Norton

Recording

A recording of "The Magic Knight" was released with "Dream City" in 2006 by the Comic Opera Guild. [ [http://www.geocities.com/edeglaz/discography.html#magicknight Information about Victor Herbert recordings, including "The Magic Knight"] ]

References

External links

* [http://gabrielleray.150m.com/ArchiveTextF/MauriceFarkoa.html Review of "The Magic Knight"]