''Claude Duval – or Love and Larceny'' is a comic opera with music by Edward Solomon to a libretto by Henry Pottinger Stephens. The plot is loosely based on supposed events in the life of the seventeenth century

highwayman A highwayman was a robber who stole from travellers. This type of thief usually travelled and robbed by horse as compared to a footpad who travelled and robbed on foot; mounted highwaymen were widely considered to be socially superior to footp ...

, Claude Duval. The piece was first produced at the Olympic Theatre, London, on 24 August 1881, under the management of Michael Gunn. It ran until the end of October.''The Era'', 27 August 1881, p. 6 From January to March 1882, a D'Oyly Carte touring company played the work in the British provinces. Another D'Oyly Carte company played it in New York in March and April 1882 under Richard D'Oyly Carte's personal supervision, in tandem with

Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan was a Victorian era, Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900), who jointly created fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which ...

's '' Patience''. In New York, a few local references were interpolated into Blood-red Bill's comic song, "William's Sure to Be Right."

Roles and early casts

*Claude Duval – F. H. Celli *Charles Lorrimore – George Power *Sir Whiffle Waffle – Arthur Williams *Martin McGruder – Charles Ashford *Captain Harleigh –

Clarence M. Leumane Clarence M. "Jack" Leumane (died 23 February 1928) was an English-born singer, actor, songwriter and librettist. He played leading tenor roles in opera, especially the comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan, in the 1880s, first in Britain and the ...

*Blood-red Bill – Fred Solomon *Boscatt – Harold Russell *Hodge – Mr. Goldie *Podge – Cooper Cliffe *Constance –

Marion Hood Marion Hood (1 April 1854 – 14 August 1912) was an English soprano who performed in opera and musical theatre in the last decades of the 19th century. She is perhaps best remembered for creating the role of Mabel in Gilbert and Sullivan's ''Th ...

*Rose – Edith Blande *Mistress Betty – Harriet Coveney *Dolly – Nellie Sanson *Mary – Daisy Foster *Prudence – May Lennox *Kenia – Violet Dare *Barbara – Miss Beaumont In the 1882 D'Oyly Carte tour, which played in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

, Duval was played by G. Byron Browne; Lorrimore by George Traverner; Blood-red Bill by George Thorne; McGruder by J. B Rae; Constance by Laura Clement; Rose by Kate Chard; Boscatt by H. Cooper Cliffe; and Mistress Betty by Miss Jones. Cooper Cliffe deputised for Browne who was taken ill in Edinburgh. In the New York company, Duval was played by William Carleton; Blood-red Bill by

J. H. Ryley John Handford Ryley (11 September 1841Kurt Gänzl, Gänzl, Kurt"J H Ryley: setting at least some of the record straight ..." Kurt of Gerolstein, 13 May 2018 – 28 July 1922) was an English singer and actor, best known for his performances in th ...

; Sir Whiffle Waffle by Arthur Wilkinson; and McGruder by W. H. Hamilton.

Plot

The following synopsis is condensed from the plot summary printed in '' The Eras review of the premiere. ;Act 1 In 1670 at Newmarket Heath, Duval's gang of highwaymen are disguised as gypsy fortune-tellers, and local maidens come to have their fortunes told. Charles Lorrimore arrives; he has attached himself to the losing faction at court and is fleeing from arrest. The gang captures him, but Duval has met Lorrimore before and likes him. Lorrimore tells Duval that he is in love with Constance, the niece of the old miser McGruder, who has gained possession of the Lorrimore estate. Soon a coach bearing McGruder and his two nieces crosses the Heath and is waylaid by the gang. Duval persuades Constance to dance a minuet with him and then she and her travelling companions are allowed to go on their way without further interference. ;Act 2 On the village green of Milden Manor, Festivities are in progress to celebrate the forthcoming marriage of Constance to Sir Whiffle Waffle, a very rich and extremely silly baronet, the match being at her miserly uncle's insistence. There is a secret meeting between the lovers, and it is discovered that the military are approaching to arrest Lorrimore. Duval changes cloaks with him and is arrested in his stead. ;Act 3 The highwaymen, disguised as guests, have infiltrated Milden Manor with a view to robbing it. In the Great Hall of the Manor, Duval's lieutenant, Blood-red Bill, charms McGruder's sister Betty into handing over the keys to a chest containing documents of great value. One document proves that the estates belong to Lorrimore, and another is a free pardon with the name of the beneficiary left blank. The estates are restored to Lorrimore, and Duval, having escaped from the military, writes Lorrimore's name in the pardon. All ends happily with the union of the lovers and the discomfiture of Sir Whiffle Waffle.

Critical reception

The reviews of the original production were generally favourable. Some reservations were expressed about the libretto and the lack of comedy, but most critics praised the music, though some thought it derivative in parts.''The Era'', 27 August 1881, p. 6; ''

Punch Punch commonly refers to: * Punch (combat), a strike made using the hand closed into a fist * Punch (drink), a wide assortment of drinks, non-alcoholic or alcoholic, generally containing fruit or fruit juice Punch may also refer to: Places * Pun ...

'', 17 September 1881, p. 125; ''

Fun Fun is defined by the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' as "Light-hearted pleasure, enjoyment, or amusement; boisterous joviality or merrymaking; entertainment". Etymology and usage The word ''fun'' is associated with sports, entertaining medi ...

'', 7 October 1881, p. 102; and '' The Sporting Times'', 3 October 1881, p. 2 The staging was unreservedly praised. '' The New York Times'' wrote, "It is superbly put upon the stage, both as regards scenery and dresses, while the cast is even more attractive than that of '' Patience'' at the Opera Comique ut… unlike the

work, there is a dull, sober earnestness about this opera."London Dramatic Events; 'Claude Duval' Produced, and Other Plays that Will Be"
''The New York Times'', 11 September 1881, p. 5 Celli was "as good a Duval as could well be imagined … vociferously encored"; Power and Hood as the lovers were generally well-received, though both were thought by some to be slightly lacking in personality.

Notes

References

* {{Authority control English-language operas English comic operas 1881 operas Operas by Edward Solomon