''Bitter Sweet'' is an

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs, and dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, length of the work, and at face value, subject matter. Apart from its s ...

in three acts, with book, music and lyrics by

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time'' magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and ...

. The story, set in 19th century and early 20th century England and

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

, centres on a young woman's elopement with her music teacher. The songs from the score include "The Call of Life", "If You Could Only Come with Me", "

I'll See You Again "I'll See You Again" is a song by the English songwriter Sir Noël Coward. It originated in Coward's 1929 operetta ''Bitter Sweet'', but soon became established as a standard in its own right and remains one of Coward's best-known compositions. ...

", "Dear Little Café", "

If Love Were All "If Love Were All" is a song by Noël Coward, published in 1929 and written for the operetta '' Bitter Sweet''. The song is considered autobiographical, and has been described as "self-deprecating" as well as "one of the loneliest pop songs ev ...

", "Ladies of the Town", "Tokay", "Zigeuner" and "Green Carnation". The show had a long run in the West End from 1929 to 1931, and a more modest one on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

in 1929–1930. The work has twice been adapted for the cinema, and the complete score has been recorded for CD.

Background

Coward wrote the leading role of Sari with

Gertrude Lawrence Gertrude Lawrence (4 July 1898 – 6 September 1952) was an English actress, singer, dancer and musical comedy performer known for her stage appearances in the West End of London and on Broadway in New York. Early life Lawrence was born Gertr ...

in mind, but the vocal demands of the part were beyond her capabilities. His second choice,

Evelyn Laye Evelyn Laye (née Elsie Evelyn Lay; 10 July 1900 – 17 February 1996) was an English actress who was active on the London light opera stage, and later in New York and Hollywood. Her first husband, actor Sonnie Hale, left her for Jessie M ...

, refused the role because of a private grievance against the producer of the show, C B Cochran.Hoare, p. 202 Coward's third choice,

Peggy Wood Mary Margaret Wood (February 9, 1892 – March 18, 1978) was an American actress of stage, film, and television. She is best remembered for her performance as the title character in the CBS television series ''Mama'' (1949–1957), for which sh ...

, made a considerable success in the part, and Laye, realising her mistake in turning it down, willingly accepted the role in the subsequent

production. For the part of the leading man, Cochran and Coward toured the theatres of Europe in search of someone suitable. According to Coward, a likely candidate named Hans Unterfucker was ruled out because of his name, and George Metaxa was cast.

Original cast

*Parker, a butler – Claude Farrow *Dolly Chamberlain – Dorothy Bond *Lord Henry – William Harn *Vincent Howard –

Billy Milton Billy Milton (8 December 190522 November 1989) was a British stage, film and television actor. Born in Paddington, Middlesex, (now in London), as William Thomas Milton, he was the son of Harry Harman Milton (1880-1942), a commission agent, and ...

*Marchioness of Shayne (Sari) –

*Marquess of Shayne –

Alan Napier Alan William Napier-Clavering (7 January 1903 – 8 August 1988), better known as Alan Napier, was an English actor. After a decade in West End theatre, he had a long film career in Britain and later, in Hollywood. Napier is best remembered for ...

*Carl Linden – George Metaxa *Manon la Crevette – Ivy St Helier *Nita –

Isla Bevan Isla Mary Bevan (''née'' Foster; 26 October 1908 – 19 July 1976) was a British stage and film actress from Peckham, London.Austin Trevor Claude Austin Trevor Schilsky (7 October 1897 – 22 January 1978) was an Irish actor who had a long career in film and television. He played the parson in John Galsworthy's ''Escape'' at the world premiere in London's West End in 1926 an ...

*Hugh Devon –

Robert Newton Robert Guy Newton (1 June 1905 – 25 March 1956) was an English actor. Along with Errol Flynn, Newton was one of the more popular actors among the male juvenile audience of the 1940s and early 1950s, especially with British boys. Known for hi ...

*Helen – Nancy Bevill *Jackie – Maureen Moore *Frank – Arthur Alexander :Source: ''

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'' (fou ...

'' and Stanley Green.

Plot

;Act I In 1929, the elderly and widowed, but still lively, Marchioness of Shayne is holding a party at her home in London to celebrate the impending society marriage of a young woman, Dolly Chamberlain, who is in love not with her fiancé but with a poor musician ("That Wonderful Melody"). Dolly is torn between love and fortune, and Lady Shane is reminded of her own youth ("The Call of Life"). Nearly 55 years earlier, in 1875, Lady Shayne is the young Sarah Millick, a wealthy London society debutante, who is having a singing lesson with her dashing music teacher, Carl Linden. The spirited Sarah is engaged to Lord Hugh, a wealthy but stuffy young nobleman, but Sarah and Carl have fallen in love ("If You Could Only Come With Me"). Carl's integrity makes him decide not to ruin Sarah's 'proper' life and return directly to his native Austria, but vows to think of Sarah each Spring ("I'll See You Again"). At the pre-wedding party, Sarah realises she would be unhappy with Lord Hugh and that true love is more important ("What Is Love?"). Carl is entertaining at the party ("The Last Dance"). Later, during a game of blindman's buff, Carl and Sarah declare their mutual love and decide to elope to Vienna. ;Act II Five years later, in Vienna, Carl is a bandleader, and Sarah (now called Sari), sings his songs, but their employment at Schlick's Café, a racy establishment patronised by army officers and whores, requires Sari to dance with the patrons, and perhaps more ("Ladies of the Town"). Carl's previous lover, Manon La Crevette, entertains at the café and expresses feelings of lost love ("If Love Were All"). Sari and Carl plan to quit and find their dream café ("Dear Little Café"), but it's a busy night ("Tokay"), and after Manon's number ("Bonne Nuit, Merci"), Sari is obliged to dance with an army captain who makes a determined pass, provoking Carl to intervene. The captain challenges him to a duel, which he wins easily, killing Carl; Sari is distraught, as Manon reprises a sad waltz number ("Kiss Me"). ;Act III Thirteen years pass, and in 1893 London it is the

Gay Nineties The Gay Nineties is an American nostalgic term and a periodization of the history of the United States referring to the decade of the 1890s. It is known in the United Kingdom as the Naughty Nineties, and refers there to the decade of supposedly ...

("Ta Ra Ra Boom De Ay"; "Green Carnation"). The young ladies are now respectable society matrons ("Alas! The Time is Past"). Sari, now a Viennese star singing Carl's music ("Zigeuner"), is pursued by the Marquis of Shayne, who seeks to restore her youthful spirit. He has proposed to her in every European capital, and now home in London, she finally accepts him, but reprises "I'll See You Again" to her lost love, Carl. Again at the 1929 party, Dolly, inspired by Lady Shane's story of love pursued and lost, rejects her society fiancé and declares her love for the poor musician, whose reaction is to burst into a syncopated piano rendition of "I'll See You Again" as the heartbroken Sarah gives way to bitter mirth.

Critical reception

After the opening night in Manchester the reviewer in ''The Manchester Guardian'' wrote that the future of the show seemed rosy: "If a wealth of light melody, a spice of wit, and much beauty of setting can assure it, Mr Coward need have no misgivings". In London,

James Agate James Evershed Agate (9 September 1877 – 6 June 1947) was an English diarist and theatre critic between the two world wars. He took up journalism in his late twenties and was on the staff of ''The Manchester Guardian'' in 1907–1914. He later ...

praised the piece: "a thundering good job … a thoroughly good light entertainment". When the piece was revived in 1988, Jeremy Kingston wrote in ''The Times'', "Coward's melodic gift reached its peak in this show, with its gipsy music, drinking song, witty jokes about the gay Nineties and the waltzes that, once heard, are imperishable."

Productions

The piece, directed by Coward, opened on 2 July 1929 at the Palace Theatre, Manchester,"''Bitter Sweet'' – Mr Noel Coward's Operette", ''The Manchester Guardian'', 3 July 1929, p. 13 before the London premiere at His Majesty's Theatre on 18 July."Bitter Sweet", ''The Times'', 19 July 1929, p. 12 It ran in London for 697 performances, at five different theatres, concluding its run at the

Lyceum The lyceum is a category of educational institution defined within the education system of many countries, mainly in Europe. The definition varies among countries; usually it is a type of secondary school. Generally in that type of school the th ...

, with Laye returning from New York to succeed Wood as Sari.

Ivy St. Helier Ivy Janet Aitchison (1886, Saint Helier, Jersey – 8 November 1971, London, England) better known as Ivy St. Helier was a British theatre, stage actress, composer and lyrics, lyricist. Stage On the stage, St. Helier played Manon la Crevette in ...

played Manon, and the role of the aged Marquess of Shayne was played by the 26-year-old

, later to gain fame as Batman's butler,

Alfred Alfred may refer to: Arts and entertainment *''Alfred J. Kwak'', Dutch-German-Japanese anime television series * ''Alfred'' (Arne opera), a 1740 masque by Thomas Arne * ''Alfred'' (Dvořák), an 1870 opera by Antonín Dvořák *"Alfred (Interlu ...

. With the success of the London production, Cochran wanted a

presentation. Rather than wait until the end of the West End run and take the original cast to New York, Cochran insisted on moving quickly. The musical opened on Broadway on 5 November 1929, starring Evelyn Laye as Sari. She was well received by audiences and critics, but otherwise the cast was not as strong as their London counterparts. The production ran for 159 performances, closing on 22 March 1930. Although popular with amateur operatic societies, ''Bitter Sweet'' has had few professional revivals. A Broadway production played in 1934, starring Evelyn Herbert and Allan Jones. In America, the

St. Louis Municipal Opera The St. Louis Municipal Opera Theatre (commonly known as The Muny) is an amphitheater located in St. Louis, Missouri. The theatre seats 11,000 people with about 1,500 free seats in the last nine rows that are available on a first come, first se ...

presented six productions of ''Bitter Sweet'' between 1933 and 1953 as well as one in 1974. The Long Beach Civic Light Opera in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

staged a production in 1983 starring

Shirley Jones Shirley Mae Jones (born March 31, 1934) is an American actress and singer. In her six decades in show business, she has starred as wholesome characters in a number of musical films, such as ''Oklahoma!'' (1955), ''Carousel'' (1956), and ''The M ...

as Sari. The first professional revival in London was in 1988 at

Sadler's Wells Sadler's Wells Theatre is a performing arts venue in Clerkenwell, London, England located on Rosebery Avenue next to New River Head. The present-day theatre is the sixth on the site since 1683. It consists of two performance spaces: a 1,500-sea ...

;

Valerie Masterson Margaret Valerie Masterson (born 3 June 1937), is a retired English opera singer, a lecturer and Vice-President of British Youth Opera. After study in Italy, she began to sing opera in Europe. Returning to England, Masterson performed as princ ...

and Ann Mackay alternated as Sari, with

Martin Smith Martin Smith may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Martin Seymour-Smith (1928–1998), British poet, literary critic, biographer and astrologer *Martin Cruz Smith (born 1942), American writer * Martin Smith (drummer) (1946–1997), British drummer ...

as Carl and

Rosemary Ashe Rosemary Ashe (born 28 March 1953) is an English stage actress and singer. Early life and training She was born to Philip Stephen Ashe and Dorothy May (née Watts). She attended Lowestoft Grammar School before studying at the Royal Academy of ...

as Manon.Kingston, Jeremy. "Slight case of Coward nostalgia tugs the heart", ''The Times'', 25 February 1988, p. 18 The

Ohio Light Opera The Ohio Light Opera is a professional opera company based in Wooster, Ohio that performs the light opera repertory, including Gilbert and Sullivan, American, British and continental operettas, and other musical theatre works, especially of the late ...

produced ''Bitter Sweet'' in 1993 and 1998.

Films and recordings

The piece has been filmed twice. The first, in 1933, directed by

Herbert Wilcox Herbert Sydney Wilcox Order of the British Empire, CBE (19 April 1890 – 15 May 1977) was a British film producer and film director, director. He was one of the most successful British filmmakers from the 1920s to the 1950s. He is best know ...

was filmed in black-and-white, with

Anna Neagle Dame Florence Marjorie Wilcox (''née'' Robertson; 20 October 1904 – 3 June 1986), known professionally as Anna Neagle, was an English stage and film actress, singer, and dancer. She was a successful box-office draw in the British cinema ...

and Fernand Gravet in the leading roles. An opulent Technicolor version for MGM in 1940, directed by W S Van Dyke, starred

Jeanette MacDonald Jeanette Anna MacDonald (June 18, 1903 – January 14, 1965) was an American singer and Actor, actress best remembered for her musical films of the 1930s with Maurice Chevalier (''The Love Parade'', ''Love Me Tonight'', ''The Merry Widow (1934 ...

and

Nelson Eddy Nelson Ackerman Eddy (June 29, 1901 – March 6, 1967) was an American actor and baritone singer who appeared in 19 musical films during the 1930s and 1940s, as well as in opera and on the concert stage, radio, television, and in nightclub ...

. In both cases, the score was heavily cut. Coward disliked the much-rewritten 1940 film and vowed that no more of his plays would be filmed in Hollywood.Dugan ''et al'', pp. 399–400 In 1951 he told ''

The Daily Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet ...

'', "I was saving up ''Bitter Sweet'' as an investment for my old age. After MGM's dreadful film I can never revive it." Abridged recordings have been made starring

Vanessa Lee Vanessa Lee (18 June 1920 - 15 March 1992), born Winifred Ruby Moule, was a British actress and singer. She was known for her appearances in Ivor Novello's musicals, especially after the Second World War. Life Winifred Moule was born in Streat ...

(1960) and

June Bronhill June Mary Bronhill (26 June 192924 January 2005), also known as June Gough, was an Australian coloratura soprano opera singer, performer and actress, She was well known for light opera, operetta and musical theatre in London West End theatr ...

(1969) The first recording of the complete score was issued in 1989, based on the 1988 Sadler's Wells production, with Masterson as Sari.

Musical numbers

Act I * That Wonderful Melody – Singer and Dancing Chorus * The Call of Life – The Marchioness of Shayne and Chorus * If You Could Only Come with Me – Carl Linden *

– Sarah Millick and Carl * Polka * Tell Me What is Love? – Sarah and Chorus * The Last Dance – The Marquis of Steere, Lord Edgar James, Lord Sorrel, Mr. Vale, Mr. Bethel, Mr. Proutie, Victoria, Harriet, Gloria, Honor, Jane and Effie * Finale Act II * Life in the Morning – Waiters and Cleaners * Ladies of the Town – Lotte, Freda, Hansi and Gussie *

– Manon * Evermore and a Day – Sari Linden * Dear Little Café – Sari and Carl * Bitter Sweet Waltz * We Wish to Order Wine – * Tokay – Carl, Officers and Chorus * Bonne Nuit, Merci – Manon * Kiss me – Manon and Chorus Act III *

Ta-ra-ra Boom-de-ay "Ta-ra-ra Boom-de-ay" is a vaudeville and music hall song. Its first known public performance was in Henry J. Sayers' 1891 revue ''Tuxedo'' in Boston, Massachusetts. The song became widely known in the version sung by Lottie Collins in London music ...

(by Henry J. Sayers) – Wealthy and noble couples of London * Alas! The Time is Past – The Duchess of Tenterton, Lady James, Mrs. Proutie, Lady Sorrel, Mrs. Vale and Mrs. Bethel * We All Wear a Green Carnation – Bertram Sellick, Lord Henry Jade, Vernon Craft and Cedrick Ballantyne * Zigeuner – Sari * I'll See You Again (reprise) – Sari The Noël Coward Society's website, drawing on performing statistics from the publishers and the Performing Right Society, ranks "I'll See You Again" and "If Love Were All" as among Coward's ten most popular songs. "Dear Little Café" is among the top twenty."Appendix 3 (The Relative Popularity of Coward's Works)"
, Noël Coward Music Index, accessed 9 March 2009

Notes

References

* * * *

External links

*
''Bitter Sweet''
at

Tams-Witmark Music Library, Inc. Tams-Witmark is an American company that provides professional and amateur theaters license to Broadway musical scripts and scores. Among the many notable properties handled by the company are ''Kiss Me, Kate''; ''My Fair Lady''; '' Gypsy''; ''By ...

''Bitter Sweet (1940 film)''
at Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy: A Tribute {{Authority control 1929 plays English-language operettas British plays adapted into films Musicals by Noël Coward British musicals Fiction set in 1929 Fiction set in 1875 Fiction set in 1880 Fiction set in 1893