''A Southern Maid'' is an operetta in three acts composed by Harold Fraser-Simson, with a book by Dion Clayton Calthrop and Harry Graham and lyrics by Harry Graham and Harry Miller. Additional music was provided by Ivor Novello and George H. Clutsam, with additional lyrics by

Adrian Ross Arthur Reed Ropes (23 December 1859 – 11 September 1933), better known under the pseudonym Adrian Ross, was a prolific writer of lyrics, contributing songs to more than sixty British musical comedies in the late 19th and early 20th centuries ...

and

Douglas Furber Douglas Furber (13 May 1885 – 20 February 1961) was a British lyricist and playwright. Furber is best known for the lyrics to the 1937 song " The Lambeth Walk" and the libretto to the musical '' Me and My Girl'', composed by Noel Gay, from whic ...

. It starred

José Collins Charlotte Josephine Collins (23 May 1887 – 6 December 1958) was an English actress and singer known by her stage name, José Collins, who was celebrated for her performances in musical comedies, such as the long-running ''The Maid of the Mo ...

and

Bertram Wallis Bertram Wallis (22 February 1874 – 11 April 1952) was an English actor and singer known for his performances in plays, musical comedies and operettas in the early 20th century, first as leading men and then in character roles. He also later ...

. The show originally opened at the

Prince's Theatre The Shaftesbury Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Shaftesbury Avenue, in the London Borough of Camden. Opened in 1911 as the New Prince's Theatre, it was the last theatre to be built in Shaftesbury Avenue. History The theatre was d ...

in Manchester on 24 December 1917. It also had three short engagements in Edinburgh between 1918 and 1920. The planned West End opening was delayed by the continuing success of ''

The Maid of the Mountains ''The Maid of the Mountains'', called in its original score a musical play, is an operetta or "Edwardian" musical comedy in three acts. The music was by Harold Fraser-Simson, with additional music by James W. Tate, lyrics by Harry Graham and ...

'', but ''A Southern Maid'' eventually reopened on 15 May 1920, when ''The Maid of the Mountains'' finally closed and

Daly's Theatre Daly's Theatre was a theatre in the City of Westminster. It was located at 2 Cranbourn Street, just off Leicester Square. It opened on 27 June 1893, and was demolished in 1937. The theatre was built for and named after the American impresar ...

became available. The piece was produced under the management of

Robert Evett Robert Evett (16 October 1874 – 15 January 1949) was an English singer, actor, theatre manager and producer. He was best known as a leading man in Edwardian musical comedies and later managed the George Edwardes theatrical empire. In 1892, at ...

and ran for 306 performances, a good run for the period, although dwarfed by that of its predecessor. The J. C. Williamson company toured the operetta in Australia in 1923 (starring Gladys Moncrieff) and 1936. A 1933 film was made based on the operetta, starring

Amy Veness Amy Veness (26 February 1876 – 22 September 1960) was an English film actress. She played the role of Grandma Huggett in ''The Huggetts Trilogy'' and was sometimes credited as Amy Van Ness. Veness was born Amy Clarice Beart in Aldeburgh, Suf ...

Lupino Lane Henry William George Lupino (16 June 1892 – 10 November 1959) professionally Lupino Lane, was an English actor and theatre manager, and a member of the famous Lupino family, which eventually included his cousin, the screenwriter/director/actr ...

, and

Bebe Daniels Phyllis Virginia "Bebe" Daniels (January 14, 1901 – March 16, 1971) was an American actress, singer, dancer, writer, and producer. She began her career in Hollywood during the silent film era as a child actress, became a star in musicals such ...

Cast

*Walter Wex – Mark Lester *Sir Willoughby Rawdon – Claude Flemming *Todo – Lionel Victor *Lord Toshington – William Spray *Francesco del Fuego – Bertram Wallis *Juanita – Dorothy Monkman *Chiquita – Gwendoline Brooden *Dolores – José Collins

Synopsis

The action is set in

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whos ...

. Todo, the proprietor of a café, and Mr. Walter Wex, who is the manager of a plantation owned by Sir Willoughby Rawdon are conversing. The truculent Francesco del Fuego enters. He boasts of his successful robberies and talks of his plans to marry the captivating Dolores. Had it not been for the arrival of Sir Willoughby Rawdon, Franceso's amatory aspirations might have been fulfilled, but Sir Willoughby and Dolores have met, and fallen in love. Rawdon is unpopular with the inhabitants of Santiago, not for anything he has done but because of the unscrupulous way in which his father acquired the plantation, depriving local people of their orange groves. Trading on this, Francesco raises the cry of the vendetta, and cards are drawn to decide who is to be the instrument of vengeance. Francesco stacks the deck, to ensure that the fatal card is drawn by Dolores. She makes a passionate appeal to Willoughby to ensure safety by leaving the island. He, however, is too much in love with her to relinquish her or yield to his formidable rival. Francesco, however, is pushed off a cliff into the sea, and escapes from drowning by the timely arrival of a boat's crew from Willoughby's yacht. This cools his ardour, and he calls the vendetta off, leaving Willoughby and Dolores free to marry in safety.

Critical reception

Although ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'' found echoes of an earlier show in ''A Southern Maid'', the show with which it compared the newcomer was not ''The Maid of the Mountains'', but ''

Chu Chin Chow ''Chu Chin Chow'' is a musical comedy written, produced and directed by Oscar Asche, with music by Frederic Norton, based (with minor embellishments) on the story of '' Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves''. Gänzl, Kurt"''Chu Chin Chow'' Musical Tal ...

'': "True, the scene of ''A Southern Maid'' is laid in Santiago and not in Baghdad, but there was something very familiar about the market place with its picturesque splashes of colour, with the people taking their siesta … even the white mule was there." The paper found the music "strangely familiar", and was disappointed at the tameness of the dénouement, but was full of praise for the staging and performances. In ''

The Manchester Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'',

Neville Cardus Sir John Frederick Neville Cardus, Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE (2 April 188828 February 1975) was an English writer and critic. From an impoverished home background, and mainly self-educated, he became ''The Manchester Gua ...

praised the music as "both popular in its lilt and musicianly in its orchestral detail", and found one passage "good enough to remind us of

Elgar Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestr ...

." ''

The Daily Mirror ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'' was enthusiastic: "…yet another wonderful success, sumptuous in colour and rich in musical rhythms … palpitates with fire and life.""A Southern Maid", ''The Daily Mirror'', 17 May 1920, p. 5

Notes

External links

Information about Fraser-Simpson and the shows that he wroteInformation about the 1933 filmInformation about the Edinburgh productionsBritish Library Catalogue entry for the score
{{DEFAULTSORT:Southern Maid, A Operas by Harold Fraser-Simson English-language operettas