''Cox and Box; or, The Long-Lost Brothers'', 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
F. C. Burnand
Sir Francis Cowley Burnand (29 November 1836 – 21 April 1917), usually known as F. C. Burnand, was an English comic writer and prolific playwright, best known today as the librettist of Arthur Sullivan's opera ''Cox and Box''.
The son of ...
and music by
Arthur Sullivan
Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan (13 May 1842 – 22 November 1900) was an English composer. He is best known for 14 comic opera, operatic Gilbert and Sullivan, collaborations with the dramatist W. S. Gilbert, including ''H.M.S. Pinaf ...
, based on the 1847
farce
Farce is a comedy that seeks to entertain an audience through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, ridiculous, absurd, and improbable. Farce is also characterized by heavy use of physical humor; the use of deliberate absurdity o ...
''
Box and Cox'' by
John Maddison Morton
John Maddison Morton (3 January 1811 – 19 December 1891) was an English playwright who specialised in one-act farces. His most famous farce was '' Box and Cox'' (1847). He also wrote comic dramas, pantomimes and other theatrical pieces.
Biog ...
. It was Sullivan's first successful comic opera. The story concerns a landlord who lets a room to two lodgers, one who works at night and one who works during the day. When one of them has the day off, they meet each other in the room and tempers flare. Sullivan wrote this piece five years before his first opera with
W. S. Gilbert
Sir William Schwenck Gilbert (18 November 1836 – 29 May 1911) was an English dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for his collaboration with composer Arthur Sullivan, which produced fourteen comic operas. The most f ...
, ''
Thespis
Thespis (; grc-gre, Θέσπις; fl. 6th century BC) was an Ancient Greek poet. He was born in the ancient city of Icarius (present-day Dionysos, Greece). According to certain Ancient Greek sources and especially Aristotle, he was the first pe ...
''.
The piece premiered in 1866 and was seen a few times at charity benefits in 1867. Once given a professional production in 1869, it became popular, running for 264 performances and enjoying many revivals and further charity performances. During the 20th century, it was frequently played by the
D'Oyly Carte Opera Company
The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company is a professional British light opera company that, from the 1870s until 1982, staged Gilbert and Sullivan's Savoy operas nearly year-round in the UK and sometimes toured in Europe, North America and elsewhere. Th ...
in an abridged version, 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 ...
for the shorter
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 ...
operas. It has been played by numerous professional and amateur companies throughout the world and continues to be frequently produced.
Background
![CoxBoxNY](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f7/CoxBoxNY.gif)
The Moray Minstrels were an informal gathering of notable men involved in London society and the arts, including painters, actors and writers, who were mostly amateur musicians. They would meet for musical evenings at Moray Lodge, in
Kensington
Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London.
The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...
, the home of Arthur James Lewis (1824–1901), a haberdasher and silk merchant (of the firm Lewis & Allenby), who married the actress
Kate Terry
Kate Terry (21 April 1844 – 6 January 1924) was an English actress. The elder sister of the actress Ellen Terry, she was born into a theatrical family, made her debut when still a child, became a leading lady in her own right, and left the stag ...
in 1867. The Minstrels would discuss the arts, smoke and sing part-songs and other popular music at monthly gatherings of more than 150 lovers of the arts; their conductor was John Foster. Foster, as well as the dramatist
F. C. Burnand
Sir Francis Cowley Burnand (29 November 1836 – 21 April 1917), usually known as F. C. Burnand, was an English comic writer and prolific playwright, best known today as the librettist of Arthur Sullivan's opera ''Cox and Box''.
The son of ...
and many other members were friendly with young
Arthur Sullivan
Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan (13 May 1842 – 22 November 1900) was an English composer. He is best known for 14 comic opera, operatic Gilbert and Sullivan, collaborations with the dramatist W. S. Gilbert, including ''H.M.S. Pinaf ...
, who joined the group.
[Walker, Raymond. "The Original Cox and Box", ''The Gilbert & Sullivan News'', vol. II, no. 13, Autumn–Winter 1998; pp. 13–15] On one occasion in early 1865, they heard a performance of
Offenbach's short two-man operetta ''
Les deux aveugles
''Les deux aveugles'' (, ''The Two Blind Men'' or ''The Blind Beggars'') is an 1855 one-act French ''bouffonerie musicale'' (operetta) by Jacques Offenbach.Lamb 1992, p. 1143. The libretto was written by Jules Moinaux and was a condensation of ...
'' ("The Two Blind Men"). After seeing another operetta at Moray Lodge the following winter, Burnand asked Sullivan to collaborate on a new piece to be performed for the Minstrels.
Burnand adapted the libretto for this "triumviretta" from
John Maddison Morton
John Maddison Morton (3 January 1811 – 19 December 1891) was an English playwright who specialised in one-act farces. His most famous farce was '' Box and Cox'' (1847). He also wrote comic dramas, pantomimes and other theatrical pieces.
Biog ...
's famous farce, ''
Box and Cox'', which had premiered in London in 1847, starring
J. B. Buckstone
John Baldwin Buckstone (14 September 1802 – 31 October 1879) was an English actor, playwright and comedian who wrote 150 plays, the first of which was produced in 1826.
He starred as a comic actor during much of his career for various periods ...
. The text follows Morton's play closely, differing in only two notable respects. First, in the play the protagonists lodge with Mrs Bouncer; in Burnand's version the character is Sergeant Bouncer. This change was necessitated by the intention of performing the piece for the all-male gathering of the Moray Minstrels. Secondly, Burnand wrote original lyrics to be set to music by the 24-year-old Sullivan. The date and venue of the first performance was much disputed, starting in 1890, in duelling letters to ''
The World
In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...
'', with Burnand and Lewis each claiming to have hosted it.
Andrew Lamb has concluded that the run-through at Burnand's home on 23 May 1866, without costumes or sets, was a ''rehearsal'' before a small group of invited friends, followed by the first ''performance'' at Lewis's home on 26 May 1866.
[Lamb, Andrew. "Cox and Box" – A Postscript", ''The Gilbert & Sullivan Journal'', 1968, volume IX, 7, pp.132–133] A printed programme dated 23 May later surfaced, suggesting more than a mere rehearsal, but the composer himself supported the later date, writing to ''The World'': "I feel bound to say that Burnand's version came upon me with the freshness of a novel. My own recollection of the business is perfectly distinct". John Foster, who played Bouncer in the production, called the run-through at Burnand's house a rehearsal.
["Mr. John Foster", ''The Musical Herald'', 1 April 1901, pp. 99–101] The original cast also included
George du Maurier
George Louis Palmella Busson du Maurier (6 March 1834 – 8 October 1896) was a Franco-British cartoonist and writer known for work in ''Punch'' and a Gothic novel ''Trilby'', featuring the character Svengali. His son was the actor Sir Gerald d ...
as Box and Harold Power as Cox, with Sullivan improvising the accompaniment at the piano.
[
Another performance at Moray Lodge took place eleven months later on 26 April 1867. This was followed by the first public performance, which was given as part of a charity benefit by the Moray Minstrels (along with Kate, Florence and ]Ellen Terry
Dame Alice Ellen Terry, (27 February 184721 July 1928), was a leading English actress of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Born into a family of actors, Terry began performing as a child, acting in Shakespeare plays in London, and tour ...
and others) for the widow and children of C. H. Bennett, on 11 May 1867 at the Adelphi Theatre
The Adelphi Theatre is a West End theatre, located on the Strand in the City of Westminster, central London. The present building is the fourth on the site. The theatre has specialised in comedy and musical theatre, and today it is a receiv ...
, with du Maurier as Box, Quintin Twiss as Cox and Arthur Cecil
Arthur Cecil Blunt (1 June 1843 – 16 April 1896), better known as Arthur Cecil, was an English actor, comedian, playwright and theatre manager. He is probably best remembered for playing the role of Box in the long-running production of ''Cox a ...
as Bouncer, performing as an amateur under his birth name, Arthur Blunt. A review in ''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 ...
'' commented that Burnand had adapted Morton's libretto well, and that Sullivan's music was "full of sparking tune and real comic humour". The rest of the evening's entertainment included a musicale by the Moray Minstrels, the play ''A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing'' and ''Les deux aveugles''.[Gilbert, W. S. ''Fun'' magazine, issue for 1 June 1867, pp.128–29] The opera was heard with a full orchestra for the first time on that occasion, with Sullivan completing the orchestration a matter of hours before the first rehearsal. ''The Musical World'' praised both author and composer, suggesting that the piece would gain success if presented professionally. It was repeated on 18 May 1867 at the Royal Gallery of Illustration
The Royal Gallery of Illustration was a 19th-century performance venue located at 14 Regent Street in London. It was in use between 1850 and 1873.
The gallery was built in the 1820s by the architect John Nash as part of his own house, to displa ...
in Regent Street. The critic for the magazine ''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 ...
'', W. S. Gilbert
Sir William Schwenck Gilbert (18 November 1836 – 29 May 1911) was an English dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for his collaboration with composer Arthur Sullivan, which produced fourteen comic operas. The most f ...
, wrote of the 11 May performance:
At yet another charity performance, at the Theatre Royal, Manchester, on 29 July 1867, the overture was heard for the first time. The autograph full score is inscribed, ''Ouverture à la Triumvirette musicale 'Cox et Boxe' et 'Bouncer' composée par Arthur S. Sullivan, Paris, 23 Juillet 1867. Hotel Meurice
Le Meurice () is a Brunei-owned five-star luxury hotel in the 1st arrondissement of Paris opposite the Tuileries Garden, between Place de la Concorde and the Musée du Louvre on the Rue de Rivoli. From the Rue de Rivoli, it stretches to the Rue ...
''. The duet "Stay, Bouncer, stay!" was probably first heard in this revival.
There were discussions about an 1867 professional production under the management of Thomas German Reed
Thomas German Reed (27 June 1817 – 21 March 1888), known after 1844 as simply German Reed was an English composer, musical director, actor, singer and theatrical manager of the Victorian era. He was best known for creating the German Ree ...
, but instead Reed commissioned Sullivan and Burnand to write a two-act comic opera, ''The Contrabandista
''The Contrabandista'', ''or The Law of the Ladrones'', is a two-act comic opera by Arthur Sullivan and F. C. Burnand. It premiered at St. George's Hall, in London, on 18 December 1867 under the management of Thomas German Reed, for a run of 72 ...
'', which was less well received. ''Cox and Box'' had its first professional production under Reed's management at the Royal Gallery of Illustration on Easter Monday, 29 March 1869, with Gilbert and Frederic Clay
Frederic Emes Clay (3 August 1838 – 24 November 1889) was an English composer known principally for songs and his music written for the stage.
Although from a musical family, for 16 years Clay made his living as a civil servant in HM Treasury ...
's ''No Cards
''No Cards'' is a "musical piece in one act" for four characters, written by W. S. Gilbert, with music composed and arranged by German Reed. It was first produced at the Royal Gallery of Illustration, Lower Regent Street, London, under the mana ...
'' preceding it on the bill. The occasion marked the professional debut of Arthur Cecil, who played Box. German Reed played Cox and F. Seymour played Bouncer. ''Cox and Box'' ran until 20 March 1870, a total of 264 performances, with a further 23 performances on tour. The production was a hit, although critics lamented the loss of Sullivan's orchestration (the Gallery of Illustration was too small for an orchestra): "The operetta loses something by the substitution... of a piano and harmonium
The pump organ is a type of free-reed organ that generates sound as air flows past a vibrating piece of thin metal in a frame. The piece of metal is called a reed. Specific types of pump organ include the reed organ, harmonium, and melodeon. T ...
accompaniment for the orchestral parts which Mr. Sullivan knows so well how to write; but the music is nevertheless welcome in any shape."
Subsequent productions
''Cox and Box'' quickly became a Victorian staple, with additional productions in Manchester in 1869 and on tour in 1871 (conducted by 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 ...
, with the composer's brother Fred
Fred may refer to:
People
* Fred (name), including a list of people and characters with the name
Mononym
* Fred (cartoonist) (1931–2013), pen name of Fred Othon Aristidès, French
* Fred (footballer, born 1949) (1949–2022), Frederico Ro ...
playing Cox), at London's Alhambra Theatre
The Alhambra was a popular theatre and music hall located on the east side of Leicester Square, in the West End of London. It was built originally as the Royal Panopticon of Science and Arts opening on 18 March 1854. It was closed after two yea ...
in 1871, with Fred as Cox, and at the Gaiety Theatre in 1872, 1873, and 1874 (the last of these again starring Fred as Cox and Cecil as Box), and Manchester again in 1874 (paired with ''The Contrabandista''). There were also numerous charity performances beginning in 1867, including two at the Gaiety during the run of ''Thespis
Thespis (; grc-gre, Θέσπις; fl. 6th century BC) was an Ancient Greek poet. He was born in the ancient city of Icarius (present-day Dionysos, Greece). According to certain Ancient Greek sources and especially Aristotle, he was the first pe ...
'', and another in Switzerland in 1879 with Sullivan himself as Cox and Cecil as Box.[Adams, pp. 348–49] Sullivan sometimes accompanied these performances. The cast for a performance at the Gaiety in 1880 included Cecil as Box, George Grossmith
George Grossmith (9 December 1847 – 1 March 1912) was an English comedian, writer, composer, actor, and singer. His performing career spanned more than four decades. As a writer and composer, he created 18 comic operas, nearly 100 musical ...
as Cox and Corney Grain
Richard Corney Grain (26 October 1844 – 16 March 1895), known by his stage name Corney Grain, was an entertainer and songwriter of the late Victorian era.
Biography
Born at Teversham in Cambridgeshire, Grain was the youngest son of John Grai ...
as Bouncer.[ The first documented American production opened on 14 April 1879 at the ]Standard Theatre Standard Theatre or Standard Theater may refer to:
;in Australia
*Royal Standard Theatre, in Sydney, known as "Standard Theatre", since demolished
;in Canada;
* Standard Theatre (Toronto, Ontario)
;in the United States
*Standard Theatre, early n ...
, in New York, 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 a "pirated" production of ''H.M.S. Pinafore
''H.M.S. Pinafore; or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It opened at the Opera Comique in London, on 25 May 1878 and ran for 571 performances, whic ...
''. In an 1884 production at the Court Theatre, the piece played together with Gilbert's ''Dan'l Druce, Blacksmith
''Dan'l Druce, Blacksmith'' is a play by W. S. Gilbert, styled "A Three-Act Drama of Puritan times". It opened at the Haymarket Theatre in London on 11 September 1876, starring Hermann Vezin, Johnston Forbes-Robertson and Marion Terry. The pla ...
'' (but later in the year with other pieces), with Richard Temple as Cox, Cecil as Box, and Furneaux Cook
Furneaux Cook (1839 – 19 January 1903), born John Furneaux Cook, was an English opera singer and actor best known for baritone roles in the comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan and Alfred Cellier on the London stage. Cook appeared on stage f ...
as Bouncer. This production was revived in 1888, with Cecil, Eric Lewis and William Lugg
William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
playing Box, Cox and Bouncer.
The first D'Oyly Carte Opera Company
The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company is a professional British light opera company that, from the 1870s until 1982, staged Gilbert and Sullivan's Savoy operas nearly year-round in the UK and sometimes toured in Europe, North America and elsewhere. Th ...
performance of the piece was on 31 December 1894, to accompany another Sullivan–Burnand opera, ''The Chieftain
''The Chieftain'' is a two-act comic opera by Arthur Sullivan and F. C. Burnand based on their 1867 opera, ''The Contrabandista''. It consists of substantially the same first act as the 1867 work with a completely new second act. It premiered at ...
'', which had opened on 12 December 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 Pala ...
. For this production Sullivan cut the "Sixes" duet and verses from several other numbers, and dialogue cuts were also made. Temple played Bouncer and Scott Russell was Cox.[ It then was played by several D'Oyly Carte touring companies in 1895 and 1896.
In 1900, the piece was presented at the Coronet Theatre with ]Courtice Pounds
Charles Courtice Pounds (30 May 1861 Gänzl, Kurt"Pounds of Pyes, or mea culpa No. 2" Kurt Gänzl's blog, 4 May 2018. Note that hibirth registrationis in central London in the third quarter of 1861 – 21 December 1927), better known by the sta ...
as Box. In 1921, Rupert D'Oyly Carte
Rupert D'Oyly Carte (3 November 1876 – 12 September 1948) was an English hotelier, theatre owner and impresario, best known as proprietor of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company and Savoy Hotel from 1913 to 1948.
Son of the impresario and hotelier R ...
introduced ''Cox and Box'' as a curtain raiser to ''The Sorcerer
''The Sorcerer'' is a two-act comic opera, with a libretto by W. S. Gilbert and music by Arthur Sullivan. It was the British duo's third operatic collaboration. The plot of ''The Sorcerer'' is based on a Christmas story, ''An Elixir of Lo ...
'', with additional cuts prepared by J. M. Gordon and Harry Norris
Harry Norris (12 June 1888 – 15 December 1966) was an Australian architect, one of the more prolific and successful in Melbourne in the interwar period, best known for his 1930s Art Deco commercial work in the Melbourne CBD.
His designs were ...
.[ This slimmed-down "Savoy Version" remained in the company's repertory as curtain raiser for the shorter ]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. By the 1960s, ''Cox and Box'' was the usual companion piece to ''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, W. S. Gilbert. Its official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on 31 ...
''. It received its final D'Oyly Carte performance on 16 February 1977.
Many amateur theatre companies have also staged ''Cox and Box'' – either alone or together with one of the shorter Savoy Operas
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 ...
. In recent years, after the rediscovery of the one-act Sullivan and B. C. Stephenson opera, ''The Zoo
''The Zoo'' is a one-act comic opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by B. C. Stephenson, writing under the pen name of Bolton Rowe. It premiered on 5 June 1875 at the St. James's Theatre in London (as an afterpiece to W. S. Gil ...
'', ''Cox and Box'' has sometimes been presented as part of an evening of the three Sullivan one-act operas, sharing a bill with ''The Zoo'' and ''Trial by Jury
A jury trial, or trial by jury, is a legal proceeding in which a jury makes a decision or findings of fact. It is distinguished from a bench trial in which a judge or panel of judges makes all decisions.
Jury trials are used in a significant ...
''.
Roles
* James John Cox, ''A Journeyman Hatter'' (baritone
A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...
)
* John James Box, ''A Journeyman Printer'' (tenor
A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, 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 lo ...
)
* Sergeant Bouncer, ''Late of the Dampshire Yeomanry, with military reminiscences'' (Baritone, later bass-baritone
A bass-baritone is a high-lying bass or low-lying "classical" baritone voice type which shares certain qualities with the true baritone voice. The term arose in the late 19th century to describe the particular type of voice required to sing thr ...
) ee "Versions" below
Synopsis
:''Note:'' The following synopsis describes the original version. For other versions, see the discussion below.
After a brisk overture, the scene opens on a room with a bed, a chest of drawers, a table and chairs, a fireplace, and three doors. Cox is rushing to dress for the day. His landlord, Sergeant Bouncer, helps him get ready, while Cox complains about an uncomfortable pillow and an excessively short haircut, which makes him look like as though he is in the army. Any mention of the army sends Bouncer into a reverie about his own military career. The irritated Cox goes into his dressing room, while Bouncer sings a mock-Handelian aria about his days in the militia, ending with his favourite catch-phrase, "Rataplan! Rataplan!" Cox asks Bouncer why the room always reeks of tobacco smoke. Bouncer suggests that it must be from the tenant in the attic, but Cox observes that smoke always travels up, not down. Cox also wonders why his supplies of coals, matches, candles, tea, sugar, etc., seem to be disappearing. Bouncer suggests it was the cat. When Cox will not accept this explanation, Bouncer launches into another reprise of "Rataplan! Rataplan!" Cox, at last, is late for work and leaves without resolving the mystery.
Left on his own, Bouncer admits that Cox has left in the nick of time, for the room is let to two lodgers, neither of whom knows about the other. Cox, a hatter, works all day; Box, a printer, works all night; so they never come in contact, except that they occasionally pass on the staircase. Bouncer hurriedly re-arranges the room, hiding Cox's possessions and putting out Box's.
Box enters, after a brief offstage altercation with Cox on the staircase. After dismissing Bouncer, he takes out a bread roll, lights the fire, and puts a rasher of bacon on the gridiron. Overcome with exhaustion, he lies down on the bed for a catnap. Cox re-enters, having unexpectedly secured a day off from his employer. He is delighted to find a roll on the table, but surprised to find the fire already lit. Assuming that Bouncer has been using the room in his absence, he takes the bacon off the gridiron, replaces it with a mutton chop, and heads off to his dressing room to retrieve his breakfast utensils.
The slam of Cox's dressing room door awakens Box, who suddenly remembers his bacon. When he sees a mutton chop on the gridiron, he assumes it is Bouncer's, and throws it out the window, hitting a pedestrian outside. He once again puts the bacon on the fire, and goes to his dressing room to retrieve his breakfast utensils. The slam of Box's dressing room door sends Cox scurrying back in, assuming it is the sound of someone knocking. Seeing the bacon on the gridiron once again, he tosses it out the window, hitting the pedestrian for a second time.
Box re-enters from his dressing room, and they confront each other for the first time. Each orders the other to leave. Cox produces his receipt for rent, to prove the room is his, and Box does likewise. Realising they have been duped, they call for Bouncer, who arrives and promptly tries to change the subject with yet another reprise of "Rataplan! Rataplan!" Finally cornered, he admits that the room belongs to both of them, but he says that he will have his little back second floor room ready later the same day. Both lodgers say they will take it, which Bouncer quickly points out makes no sense whatsoever. He leaves them to decide which will vacate the current room. Each suggests the other should leave, but neither will budge. Finally, they realise that it is all Bouncer's fault, and they may as well be friends. They serenade each other on the guitar.
In the course of conversation, Cox admits he has a fiancée, but as she is the proprietor of bathing machines some distance away, she is unlikely to make an appearance. Box says that he is neither single nor married nor widowed, but has been "defunct for the last three years." Cox admits that he would not mind being defunct himself, if it would allow him to escape from unwanted matrimony. Box explains that he was in exactly the same predicament several years ago. On the eve of marriage, he left his possessions at the edge of a cliff with a suicide note. Everyone assumed he had jumped, and so he was free of his intended bride, Penelope Ann. At the mention of that name, Cox realises that his ''present'' intended is the same fiancée whom Box had eluded. Cox now declares that he will restore Box to Penelope Ann, while Box says that he would not dream of taking her away from Cox.
Unable to resolve the matter, they at first suggest duelling, but decide on a gentler solution. At first, they throw dice, but each man has a trick die that only throws sixes. Then they try tossing coins, but each one keeps throwing only "heads". At last, Bouncer arrives with a letter from Margate, which they assume must be from Penelope Ann. However, the letter informs them that Penelope Ann was lost in a sailing accident and has left her entire estate to "my intended husband." The two men try to resolve which of them is the beneficiary, but Bouncer arrives with a second letter, informing them that Penelope Ann survived after all, and will be arriving later that day.
They both try to leave, but Bouncer arrives with a third letter: "Being convinced that our feelings, like our ages, do not reciprocate, I hasten to apprise you of my immediate union with Mr. Knox." They rejoice that Penelope Ann is out of the way. Suddenly, Box observes that Cox must surely be his long-lost brother, and Cox says that he was about to make the same observation: Box asks if Cox has a strawberry mark on his left arm. Cox replies that he does not. That settles it: they ''are'' long-lost brothers. In a brief finale, they agree that they will remain in the room for good, with Bouncer adding a "Rataplan!" reprise. The curtain falls on general rejoicing.
Musical numbers
# Overture
# Song, "Rataplan" (Bouncer)
# Duet, "Stay, Bouncer, Stay" (Cox, Bouncer)
# Lullaby, "Hush-a-bye, Bacon" (Box)
# Song and Dance, "My Master is Punctual" (Cox)
# Trio, "Who are You, Sir?" (Box, Cox, Bouncer)
# Serenade, "The Buttercup" (Box, Cox)
# Romance, "Not Long Ago" (Box, with Cox)
# Gambling Duet, "Sixes!" (Box, Cox)
# Finale, "My Hand upon It" (Box, Cox, Bouncer)
Versions
The original domestic version is scored for the three voices (Box, tenor; Cox, baritone; and Bouncer, partly baritone and partly counter-tenor) and piano.["Mr. John Foster". ''The Musical Herald'', 1 April 1901, pp. 99–101] Sullivan wrote the role of Bouncer partly in the alto
The musical term alto, meaning "high" in Italian (Latin: ''altus''), historically refers to the contrapuntal part higher than the tenor and its associated vocal range. In 4-part voice leading alto is the second-highest part, sung in choruses by ...
range for Foster, a counter-tenor (including the high line in the "Rataplan trio"), but subsequently the role was played by a bass-baritone.[Harris, pp. XXII and 270] For the theatre, Sullivan rescored the piece for his usual small orchestra of about 30 players. He added a short overture and some additional music in the main piece, including the extended duet, "Stay, Bouncer, Stay!". This version plays for just under an hour.[ For the 1894 revival by the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, Sullivan cut the "Sixes" duet (No. 9) in which Box and Cox each try to ''lose'' (the stake being the unwanted Penelope Ann). He also cut verses from numbers 2 (first verse); 3 (Cox's first verse, "That two are two" and a repeat of the "Rataplan" duet); 4 (second verse); 6 (a repeat of the "Rataplan" trio) and the vocal sections of 10 (finale). Dialogue cuts were also made.][
In 1921 the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company prepared the "Savoy Edition", which they presented thereafter as a curtain raiser. It made further minor cuts throughout the score, but restored the finale (except for Bouncer's reprise). Box's verse in No.7, "The Buttercup", was also omitted, and further dialogue cuts were made. The keys of some of the numbers are lower in the Savoy Version, so that Bouncer is best sung by a bass-baritone. The key changes, however, may have been first made by Sullivan for the 1894 revival.][ The Savoy Edition runs about half an hour. The changes were made by D'Oyly Carte musical director Harry Norris. Additional orchestrations were added at various places by ]Geoffrey Toye
Edward Geoffrey Toye (17 February 1889 – 11 June 1942), known as Geoffrey Toye, was an English conductor, composer and opera producer.
He is best remembered as a musical director of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company and for his association wit ...
, the conductor of the company's 1920–21 London season.[Harris, pp. XV-XVI] According to the musicologist Roger Harris, "taken all together, the tamperings of the 1921 version amount to a considerable vandalization of Sullivan's original score, and it is a matter for regret that this version should have been presented to successive generations as the genuine article."[
]
Discography
The first commercial recording of ''Cox & Box'' was not made until 1961. Both D'Oyly Carte recordings use the heavily cut "Savoy Version" of the score that the company performed as a curtain raiser to other operas, whereas the more recent recordings use a less heavily pruned score. All the recordings listed below except the Chandos set include dialogue.
*1961 D'Oyly Carte (with ''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 ...
'') – Conductor, Isidore Godfrey
Isidore Godfrey OBE (27 September 1900 – 12 September 1977), born Israel Gotfryd, was musical director of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company for 39 years, from 1929 to 1968. He conducted most of the company's performances during that period, exce ...
; Joseph Riordan (Box), Alan Styler (Cox) and Donald Adams
Charles Donald Adams (20 December 1928 – 8 April 1996) was an English opera singer and actor, best known for his performances in bass-baritone roles of the Savoy operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company and his own company, Gilbert and Sull ...
(Bouncer).
*1972 Gilbert and Sullivan for All (with ''Trial by Jury
A jury trial, or trial by jury, is a legal proceeding in which a jury makes a decision or findings of fact. It is distinguished from a bench trial in which a judge or panel of judges makes all decisions.
Jury trials are used in a significant ...
'') – Piano accompaniment by John Burrows; Thomas Round
Thomas Round (18 October 1915 – 2 October 2016) was an English opera singer and actor, best known for his performances in the leading tenor roles of the Savoy Operas and grand opera.
Round began working as a joiner and then a police officer. ...
(Box), Adams (Cox) and Thomas Lawlor (Bouncer).
*1978 D'Oyly Carte (with ''The Zoo
''The Zoo'' is a one-act comic opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by B. C. Stephenson, writing under the pen name of Bolton Rowe. It premiered on 5 June 1875 at the St. James's Theatre in London (as an afterpiece to W. S. Gil ...
'') – Conductor, Royston Nash
Royston may refer to:
Places
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*Royston, Queensland, a rural locality
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*Royston, British Columbia, a small hamlet
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*Royston, Hertfordshire, a town and civil parish, formerly partly in Cambridgeshire
*Royston, South Yorkshi ...
; (Box), Gareth Jones (Cox) and Michael Rayner
Michael Rayner (6 December 1932 – 13 July 2015)Mackie, David. "Obituaries: Michael Rayner", ''Gilbert and Sullivan News'', Vol. V, No. 9, Autumn/Winter 2015, pp. 17–18, The Gilbert and Sullivan Society was an English opera singer, best kno ...
(Bouncer).
*1984 Sir Arthur Sullivan Society – Piano accompaniment by Kenneth Barclay; Ian Kennedy (Box), Leon Berger (Cox) and Donald Francke (Bouncer).
*2004 BBC National Orchestra of Wales
The BBC National Orchestra of Wales (BBC NOW) ( cy, Cerddorfa Genedlaethol Gymreig y BBC) is a Welsh symphony orchestra and one of the BBC's five professional radio orchestras. The BBC NOW is the only professional symphony orchestra organisatio ...
(with ''Trial by Jury'') – Conductor, Richard Hickox
Richard Sidney Hickox (5 March 1948 – 23 November 2008) was an English conductor of choral, orchestral and operatic music.
Early life
Hickox was born in Stokenchurch in Buckinghamshire into a musical family. After attending the Royal Gram ...
; James Gilchrist (Box), Neal Davies (Cox) and Donald Maxwell (Bouncer); issued on the Chandos label. Dialogue is omitted and replaced by a narration written by Maxwell and delivered by him in the character of Bouncer.
For a nearly complete orchestral version with all the numbers that Sullivan composed, there is a video recording produced in 1982 as part of the Brent Walker series of Gilbert and Sullivan videos, together with ''Trial by Jury''. Conductor, Alexander Faris
Samuel Alexander "Sandy" Faris (11 June 1921 – 28 September 2015) was a Northern Irish composer, conductor and writer, known for his television theme tunes, including the theme music for the 1970s TV series '' Upstairs, Downstairs''. He compos ...
; John Fryatt
John James Fryatt (7 July 1927 – 7 January 2011) was an English actor and opera singer best known for his performance in comic character roles.
Fryatt began his career with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in 1952 in Gilbert and Sullivan roles ...
(Box), Russell Smythe (Cox) Thomas Lawlor (Bouncer). The Gilbert and Sullivan Discography considers this video to be the best of the series.[Shepherd, Marc]
"The Brent Walker Cox & Box (1982)"
The ''Gilbert and Sullivan Discography'', 7 November 2001, accessed 9 August 2010
Notes and references
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Sources
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External links
Vocal score
Sullivan's autograph manuscript
{{Authority control
1866 operas
English comic operas
English-language operas
Operas
One-act operas
Operas by Arthur Sullivan
Works about landlords