''Captain Billy'' is a one-act

comic opera Comic opera, sometimes known as light opera, is a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending and often including spoken dialogue. Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a ne ...

with a libretto by

Harry Greenbank Harry Greenbank (11 September 1865 – 26 February 1899) was an English author and dramatist best known for contributing lyrics to the successful series of musicals produced at Daly's Theatre by George Edwardes in the 1890s. Life and career Harr ...

and music by

François Cellier François Arsène Cellier (14 December 1849 – 5 January 1914), often called Frank, was an English conductor and composer. He is known for his tenure as musical director and conductor of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company during the original runs ...

. It was first performed at the

Savoy Theatre The Savoy Theatre is a West End theatre in the Strand in the City of Westminster, London, England. The theatre was designed by C. J. Phipps for Richard D'Oyly Carte and opened on 10 October 1881 on a site previously occupied by the Savoy P ...

on 24 September 1891 until 16 January 1892, as a

curtain raiser A curtain raiser is a short performance, stage act, show, actor or performer that opens a show for the main attraction. The term is derived from the act of raising the stage curtain. The first person on stage has "raised the curtain". The fashio ...

to ''

The Nautch Girl ''The Nautch Girl'', or, ''The Rajah of Chutneypore'' is a comic opera in two acts, with a book by George Dance, lyrics by Dance and Frank Desprez and music by Edward Solomon. It opened on 30 June 1891 at the Savoy Theatre managed by Richard D ...

'', and from 1 February 1892 to 18 June 1892, as a curtain raiser to ''

The Vicar of Bray The Vicar of Bray is a satirical description of an individual fundamentally changing his principles to remain in ecclesiastical office as external requirements change around him. The religious upheavals in England from 1533 to 1559 (and then from ...

'', for a total of 217 performances. The first stage production with an orchestra for over 100 years was done in May 2007 by the Chapel End Savoy Players at the Deaton Theatre, Forest School, Snaresbrook, London as a curtain raiser for their production of ''

The Pirates of Penzance ''The Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. Its official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on 31 December 187 ...

''. The vocal score was published by Chappells and is in the British Library. There is no printed libretto. A copy of the libretto was filed in the Lord Chamberlain's collection in January/February 1880. A recording of an abridged version was made by a Leicester (UK) G&S Society in the 1970s. A recording (omitting the spoken dialogue) was issued by Dutton Epoch in 2020, together with ''

Haddon Hall Haddon Hall is an English country house on the River Wye near Bakewell, Derbyshire, a former seat of the Dukes of Rutland. It is the home of Lord Edward Manners (brother of the incumbent Duke) and his family. In form a medieval manor house, it ...

'' and Mr. Jericho, The recording features the BBC Singers and

BBC Concert Orchestra The BBC Concert Orchestra is a British concert orchestra based in London, one of the British Broadcasting Corporation's five radio orchestras. With around fifty players, it is the only one of the five BBC orchestras which is not a full-scale sym ...

, conducted by John Andrews.

Background

When the Gilbert and Sullivan partnership disbanded after the production of ''

The Gondoliers ''The Gondoliers; or, The King of Barataria'' is a Savoy Opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It premiered at the Savoy Theatre on 7 December 1889 and ran for a very successful 554 performances (at that time the ...

'' in 1889, impresario

Richard D'Oyly Carte Richard D'Oyly Carte (; 3 May 1844 – 3 April 1901) was an English talent agent, theatrical impresario, composer, and hotelier during the latter half of the Victorian era. He built two of London's theatres and a hotel empire, while also establi ...

needed new works to fill the Savoy Theatre. The first of these was ''The Nautch Girl''. The fashion in the late

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...

was to present long evenings in the theatre, and so producer

preceded his

Savoy opera Savoy opera was a style of comic opera that developed in Victorian England in the late 19th century, with W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan as the original and most successful practitioners. The name is derived from the Savoy Theatre, which impr ...

s with curtain raisers.

W. J. MacQueen-Pope Walter James MacQueen-Pope (11 April 1888 – 27 June 1960), known familiarly as Popie, was an English theatre historian and publicist. From a theatrical family which could be traced back to contemporaries of Shakespeare, he was in management for ...

commented, concerning such curtain raisers: :This was a one-act play, seen only by the early comers. It would play to empty boxes, half-empty upper circle, to a gradually filling stalls and dress circle, but to an attentive, grateful and appreciative pit and gallery. Often these plays were little gems. They deserved much better treatment than they got, but those who saw them delighted in them. …

hey Hey or Hey! may refer to: Music * Hey (band), a Polish rock band Albums * ''Hey'' (Andreas Bourani album) or the title song (see below), 2014 * ''Hey!'' (Julio Iglesias album) or the title song, 1980 * ''Hey!'' (Jullie album) or the title s ...

served to give young actors and actresses a chance to win their spurs … the stalls and the boxes lost much by missing the curtain-raiser, but to them dinner was more important. To create a curtain raiser for ''The Nautch Girl'', Carte turned to Cellier, who was the long-time music director of the Savoy Theatre and had produced other works for Carte. Greenbank, on the other hand, was a new writer who would go on to a very productive and successful career writing lyrics for hit musicals, although he lived to the age of only 33.

Synopsis

Captain Billy has been absent from Porthaven, his native village, for many years. His relatives do not know that he has been pursuing a very successful career as a pirate. A young foundling, Christopher Jolly, visits the village to examine the parish register in an attempt to find his birth certificate; he does not know his own age. Jolly falls in love with Polly, and they exchange this dialogue: :JOLLY: I love you. … But until that certificate is forthcoming, we can never be married. … My darling, you surely would not marry a man whose age you did not know? :POLLY: Oh, Christopher, my precious, your personal appearance pleases me very much! Why should I trouble about your age? :JOLLY: … How would you feel if the certificate were found, and showed that you had married a man old enough to be your grandfather? Or, possibly, I might turn out to be years younger than you are. Would you like to have it said that you had entrapped a mere boy into marriage? … I like to think that I am young; it gives me so much longer to find the certificate in. Billy returns to the village on the same day and is recognised by his brother Samuel Chunk. Billy is reunited with his wife, who is surprised to discover that she is not a widow after all, and Jolly discovers that he is Billy's nephew, whom the old scoundrel had "lost" in the Sahara Desert many years before. Billy attests to Jolly's age, so that he can wed Polly. Billy becomes a respectable soap salesman.

Musical numbers

*No. 1 – Christopher Jolly – "Oh! it isn't very nice when you fail …" *No. 2 – Christopher and Polly – "When flowers blossom in the spring …" *No. 3 – Quartett and dance: Widow Jackson, Polly, Christopher and Chunk – "With beating heart I wait to see …" *No. 4 – Captain Billy, with Samuel Chunk – "A pirate bold am I …" *No. 5 – Widow Jackson – "I thought my dashing buccaneer …" *No. 6 – Polly, Widow Jackson, Christopher and Captain Billy – "It's unpleasant, mia cara …" *No. 7 – Finale – "By fate released at last …"

Cast information

The original cast was as follows:Introduction and cast list for Captain Billy
*Captain Billy, a pirate ( baritone). Helier Lemaistre *Christopher Jolly (

tenor A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is wide ...

). C.R. Rose *Samuel Chunk (baritone). Rudolph Lewis *Widow Jackson (

contralto A contralto () is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range is the lowest female voice type. The contralto's vocal range is fairly rare; similar to the mezzo-soprano, and almost identical to that of a countertenor, typica ...

Rosina Brandram Rosina Brandram (2 July 1845 – 28 February 1907) was an English opera singer and actress primarily known for creating many of the contralto roles in the Savoy operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company. Brandram joined the D'Oyly Carte compa ...

*Polly, her daughter ( soprano).

Decima Moore Lilian Decima, Lady Moore-Guggisberg, CBE (11 December 1871 – 18 February 1964), better known by her stage name Decima Moore, was an English singer and actress, known for her performances in soprano roles with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Compa ...

(later

Florence Easton Florence Easton (25 October 1882 – 13 August 1955) was a popular English dramatic soprano in the early 20th century. She was one of the most versatile singers of all time. She sang more than 100 parts, covering a wide range of styles and ...

)

Notes

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External links

Cast list and link to libretto and other information
of