''King's Rhapsody'' is a

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

with book and music by

Ivor Novello Ivor Novello (born David Ivor Davies; 15 January 1893 – 6 March 1951) was a Welsh actor, dramatist, singer and composer who became one of the most popular British entertainers of the first half of the 20th century. He was born into a musical ...

and lyrics by

Christopher Hassall Christopher Vernon Hassall (24 March 1912 – 25 April 1963) was an English actor, dramatist, librettist, lyricist and poet, who found his greatest fame in a memorable musical partnership with the actor and composer Ivor Novello after work ...

. The musical was first produced at the

Palace Theatre, London The Palace Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster in London. Its red-brick facade dominates the west side of Cambridge Circus behind a small plaza near the intersection of Shaftesbury Avenue and Charing Cross Road. The Palace ...

, on 15 September 1949 and ran for 841 performances, surviving its author, who died in 1951. It starred Novello in the title role of the heir to the throne under pressure from his long-lived mother, Queen Elana, to abdicate in favour of his infant son, with

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 ...

as his mistress Marta Karillos,

Zena Dare Zena Dare (born Florence Hariette Zena Dones; 4 February 1887 – 11 March 1975) was an English singer and actress who was famous for her performances in Edwardian musical comedy and other musical theatre and comedic plays in the first half of ...

as Queen Elana,

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 Strea ...

as Princess Cristiane, Robert Andrews as Vanescu, and

Olive Gilbert Olive Sarah Gilbert (22 November 1898 – 19 February 1981) was a British singer and actress, who, in a career spanning seven decades, performed first in opera and then in many of Ivor Novello's musicals in London's West End. After the First Wor ...

as Countess Vera. A 1955 film adaptation was made, starring

Errol Flynn Errol Leslie Thomson Flynn (20 June 1909 – 14 October 1959) was an Australian-American actor who achieved worldwide fame during the Golden Age of Hollywood. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles, frequent partnerships with Olivia ...

Musical numbers

*The Dancing Lesson *Birthday Greetings *Someday My Heart Will Awake *National Anthem *Fly Home, Little Heart *Mountain Dove *If This Were Love *The Mayor of Perpignan *The Gates of Paradise *Take Your Girl *The Violin Began to Play *Muranian Rhapsody (Ballet) *Coronation Hymn *The Years Together, theme from the score, used as a number in the film version.

Original Production

The production opened at the

Palace Theatre Palace Theatre, or Palace Theater, is the name of many theatres in different countries, including: Australia *Palace Theatre, Melbourne, Victoria *Palace Theatre, Sydney, New South Wales Canada *Palace Theatre, housed in the Robillard Block, Mo ...

, London, on 15 September 1949 and ran for 841 performances. It was directed by Murray MacDonald, with the following cast: *Princess Cristiane –

*Countess Vera Lemainken, ''her companion'' –

*King Peter of Norseland, ''Cristiane's father'' – Victor Bogetti *Princesses Kirsten and Hulda, ''Cristiane's little cousins'' – Pamela Harrington and Wendy Warren *Marta Karillos –

*Queen Elana of Murania –

*Prime Minister Vanescu – Robert Andrews *Nikki –

*Jules, ''Nikki's valet'' – Michael Anthony *Count Egon Stanieff, ''of the Royal Guard'' –

Denis Martin Denis Martin (1920 – October 1988) was a Northern Irish singer, actor and theatre producer active in the 1940s to 1980s. Martin won the All-Ireland tenor competition at Feis Ceoil in 1944, He then moved to England where he performed as a sing ...

*Countess Olga Varsov, ''a lady in waiting'' – Anne Pinder *Madame Koska, ''a modest'' – Jaqueline Le Geyt *Mr. Trontzen, ''a dance master'' – John Palmer *Major Domo – Eric Sutherland *Manservant – Harry Fergusson *Tormas – Gordon Duttson *Boy King – John Young *Chorus of Norseland village peasants, mannequins, serenaders, palace guards and servants, courtiers, members of the Muranian Royal Ballet Company, and people of Murania. The dancers were played by the Pauline Grant Ballet.

Critical reception

In ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

'',

Ivor Brown Ivor John Carnegie Brown CBE (25 April 1891 – 22 April 1974) was a British journalist and man of letters. Biography Born in Penang, Malaya, Brown was the younger of two sons of Dr. William Carnegie Brown, a specialist in tropical diseases, ...

was of the opinion that Novello, "can with his tranquility stand up to all the bounding '' Oklahomans'' and '' Brigadooners'' in the world"; and in ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...

'',

Harold Hobson Sir Harold Hobson CBE, (4 August 1904 – 12 March 1992) was an English drama critic and author. Early life and education Hobson was born in Thorpe Hesley near Rotherham then in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. He attended Sheffield Gramm ...

considered it "a better musical than '' South Pacific''."

Adaptations

The musical was novelised in 1950 by Hester W. Chapman. The 1955 British film version was 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 ...

, and starred

as Nikki and

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 ...

as his mistress. A condensed 45-minute version, taken from the film's soundtrack, was broadcast as a

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering th ...

play in September 1955. The piece was produced for BBC Radio in 1950, 1951, 1968 and 1993 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Novello's birth. A television version was broadcast in 1957 by the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

, who (according to the ''

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by J ...

'') "ingeniously cut the three and a quarter hours of the original action to an hour and a half." Vanessa Lee reprised her role of Princess Cristiane from the original stage production, and Griffith Jones played Nikki, with

Margot Grahame Margot Grahame (born Margaret Clark; 20 February 1911 – 1 January 1982) was an English actress most noted for starring in '' The Informer'' (1935) and ''The Three Musketeers'' (1935). She started acting in 1930 and made her last screen app ...

as his mistress.

References

External links