''Die geschiedene Frau'' (''The Divorcée''), 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 by

Leo Fall Leopold Fall (2 February 187316 September 1925) was an Austrian Kapellmeister and composer of operettas. Life Born in Olmütz (Olomouc), Leo (or Leopold) Fall was taught by his father Moritz Fall (1848–1922), a bandmaster and composer, who sett ...

with a

libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...

by Victor Léon based on

Victorien Sardou Victorien Sardou ( , ; 5 September 18318 November 1908) was a French dramatist. He is best remembered today for his development, along with Eugène Scribe, of the well-made play. He also wrote several plays that were made into popular 19th-centur ...

's ''Divorçons!''. Conducted by the composer, It opened to considerable success at the

Carltheater The Carltheater was a theatre in Vienna. It was in the suburbs in Leopoldstadt at Praterstraße 31 (at that time called Jägerzeile). It was the successor to the Leopoldstädter Theater. After a series of financial difficulties, that theater had ...

in Vienna on 23 December 1908 with

Hubert Marischka Hubert Marischka (27 August 1882 – 4 December 1959), brother of Ernst Marischka, was an Austrian operetta tenor, actor, film director and screenwriter. Career Marischka was born in Brunn am Gebirge, the son of Jiří (or Johann) Marisch ...

as Karel. It was translated into Italian and premiered at the Teatro Lirico Internationale in Milan as ' on 16 August 1909, then translated into English and performed at the

Vaudeville Theatre The Vaudeville Theatre is a West End theatre on the Strand in the City of Westminster. As the name suggests, the theatre held mostly vaudeville shows and musical revues in its early days. It opened in 1870 and was rebuilt twice, although each ...

in London as ''The Girl in the Train'' from 4 June 1910. Performances followed in Rome on 19 January 1911, in Paris as ' at the Théâtre Apollo on 18 February, and in Madrid as ' at the Teatro Eslava on 23 December the same year, conducted by the composer.

Roles

English adaptations

The 1910 English adaptation, ''The Girl in the Train'', was produced in two acts by

George Edwardes George Joseph Edwardes (né Edwards; 8 October 1855 – 4 October 1915) was an English theatre manager and producer of Irish ancestry who brought a new era in musical theatre to the British stage and beyond. Edwardes started out in theatre ma ...

at the

in London, with 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 ran for 340 performances. The London production starred

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 ...

Phyllis Dare Phyllis is a feminine given name which may refer to: People * Phyllis Bartholomew (1914–2002), English long jumper * Phyllis Drummond Bethune (née Sharpe, 1899–1982), New Zealand artist * Phyllis Calvert (1915–2002), British actress * Ph ...

Huntley Wright Huntley Wright (7 August 1868 – 10 July 1941) was an English stage and film actor, comedian, dancer and singer, best known for creating roles in many important Edwardian musical comedies. His career spanned more than half a century, beginnin ...

and

Rutland Barrington Rutland Barrington (15 January 1853 – 31 May 1922) was an English singer, actor, comedian and Edwardian musical comedy star. Best remembered for originating the lyric baritone roles in the Gilbert and Sullivan operas from 1877 to 1896, his ...

.Howarth, Paul
"''The Girl in the Train'': A Musical Play"
Gilbert and Sullivan Archive, 16 April 2017, accessed 27 April 2021 Arthur Williams and

Connie Ediss Connie Ediss (born Ada Harriet Whitley; 11 August 1870 – 18 April 1934) Gänzl, Kurt"The real Connie Ediss, or 'She was a Milliner's Daughter'" Kurt of Gerolstein, 6 November 2020 was an English actress and singer best known as a buxom, good-h ...

later joined the cast. After closing in London this production, by then starring

Daisy Burrell Daisy Burrell (born Daisy Isobel Eaglesfield Ratton; 16 June 1892 – 10 June 1982) was a British stage actress and Edwardian musical comedy performer who also appeared as a leading lady in silent films and in pantomime. In 1951 she appeared i ...

, went on tour until 1911. In October 1911 the ''

Gloucestershire Echo The ''Gloucestershire Echo'' is a local weekly newspaper based in Gloucester, England. Published every Thursday, it covers the areas of Bishops Cleeve, Cheltenham, Moreton-in-Marsh, Northleach, Stow-on-the-Wold and Tewkesbury. The newspaper is he ...

'' reported that " Mr. Nicholas Hannen as President Van Eyck was 'great'. Miss Daisy Burrell acts and sings delightfully as Gonda Van der Loo and Miss Millicent Field is equally good as the jealous wife Karel Van Raalte". The American production opened at the Globe Theatre in New York City (now the

Lunt-Fontanne Theatre The Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, originally the Globe Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 205 West 46th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1910, the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre was designed by Carrère and Hasting ...

) on 3 October 1910 with a new adaptation by Harry B. Smith, which subsequently toured in Britain, America and Australia, among others. In the English version, Gonda Van Der Loo, a young actress travelling on a train in Holland at night, is unable to secure a berth. Karel Van Raalte, a young married gentleman, generously offers her his compartment, but by an accident the two become locked in the compartment together. Their cries and knocks are unheard, and they are forced to spend the night together. Raalte's wife learns of the incident and jealously brings divorce proceedings. However, after many complications and much time spent in the divorce court, Raalte and his wife are reunited, while the Judge finds romance with the actress.

Musical numbers (Adrian Ross version)

Act 1 – Court of Justice, Amsterdam *No. 1 – Jana – "Only one word I add, that I have loved him well" *No. 2 – Karel, President and Chorus – "Confound it all, confound it all" *No. 2a – Chorus – "Confound it all, confound it all" *No. 2b – Chorus – "Oh Jiminy, Oh Jiminy, Oh Jim, Oh Jiminy!" *No. 3 – Jana, Martje, Karel, Willem and President – "You see we got married the very same day" *No. 3a – Entrance of Gonda *No. 4 – Gonda – "We poor little girls with a part to play must often be travelling night and day" *No. 4a – Chorus – "Oh Jiminy, Oh Jiminy, Oh Jim, Oh Jiminy!" *Nos. 5 & 6 – Scena and Finale: Karel, Jana, Gonda, President, etc. – "Now, Jana, say, why should you be so jealous?" Act 2 – Drawing room, Karel Van Raalte's house *No. 7 – Introductory Dance *No. 8 – Gonda and Karel – "I'm no lover, as you'll discover by hearing me propose" *No. 9 – Karel – "Pictured face, that smile in your place, with joy of a day that's gone" *No. 10 – Jana – "I wonder whether you can tell me a secret that I long to know!" *No. 11 – Karel, Jana and Van Tromp – "Children, I feel there's a sort of a change! Say, is there anything wrong?" *No. 11a – President and Van Tromp – "Oh, Memory! Oh! the merry days when we were boys" *No. 12 – Gonda, De Leije, Van Dender, President and Van Tromp – "So to put an end to doubt" *No. 13 – Gonda and President – "So you catch her! ... Catch her? ... Catch her! ... If you can" *No. 14 – Jama & Karel – "You give your word?... I give my word! I'll keep your promise, tho' it seems absurd" *No. 15 – Finale: Jana, Gonda, Van Tromp and President – "Gonda, charming little Gonda! You're as good as you are clever"

Film versions

The 1926 silent film ''

The Divorcée ''The Divorcée'' (german: Die geschiedene Frau) is a 1953 German musical film directed by George Jacoby and starring Marika Rökk, Johannes Heesters and Hans Nielsen. It was based on the operetta '' Die geschiedene Frau'' by Leo Fall and Vict ...

'' by

Victor Janson Victor Arthur Eduard Janson ( lv, Viktors Artūrs Eduards Jansons; 25 September 1884 – 29 June 1960) was a German stage and film actor and film director of Latvians, Latvian ethnicity. Selected filmography Actor * ''Your Dearest Enemy'' (1916) ...

and

Rudolf Dworsky Rudolf Dworsky (1882–1927) was a German film producer and film director, director of the Silent era. His production company was called Aafa-Film (Althoff-Ambos-Film), Berlin, the co-owner was the producer Gabriel Levy. Selected filmography Pro ...

is based on this operetta. A musical version was made in 1953 under the original title '' Die geschiedene Frau'', but it was released in Britain, France and the United States as ''The Divorcée''. it was directed by

Georg Jacoby Georg Jacoby (23 July 1882 – 21 February 1964) was a German film director and screenwriter.Profile
, bfi.org.uk; accessed ...

, and starred

Marika Rökk Marika Rökk (; born Marie Karoline Rökk, 3 November 1913 – 16 May 2004) was a German-Austrian dancer, singer and actress of Hungarian descent who gained prominence in German films in the Nazi era. She resumed her career in 1947 and was one of ...

and

Johannes Heesters Johan Marius Nicolaas Heesters (5 December 1903 – 24 December 2011), known professionally as Johannes Heesters, was a Dutch actor of stage, television and film, as well as a vocalist of numerous recordings and performer on the concert stag ...

References

External links

Information about the German version
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Geschiedene Frau, Die German-language operettas Operas by Leo Fall 1908 operas Operas 1910 musicals Musicals based on operas Operas based on works by Victorien Sardou