''Sweethearts'' is an operetta or

musical play Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement ...

in two acts with music by

Victor Herbert Victor August Herbert (February 1, 1859 – May 26, 1924) was an American composer, cellist and conductor of English and Irish ancestry and German training. Although Herbert enjoyed important careers as a cello soloist and conductor, he is bes ...

, lyrics by Robert B. Smith and book by Harry B. Smith and

Fred de Gresac Fred de Gresac (died February 20, 1943), born Frédérique Rosine de Grésac, was a French librettist, playwright and screenwriter. She was the wife of opera singer Victor Maurel. Early life Frédérique Rosine de Grésac was born at Lamalou-les- ...

.''Sweethearts''
The Guide to Light Opera and Operetta, accessed May 17, 2017

Productions

The first performance of the work was at the Academy of Music in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

in March 1913, after which the show was overhauled and shortened before spending five weeks in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

and another five in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

tryouts. The original Broadway production opened at the

New Amsterdam Theatre The New Amsterdam Theatre is a Broadway theater on 214 West 42nd Street, at the southern end of Times Square, in the Theater District of Manhattan in New York City. One of the oldest surviving Broadway venues, the New Amsterdam was built fro ...

on September 8, 1913 and transferred to the

Liberty Theatre The Liberty Theatre is a former Broadway theater at 234 West 42nd Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1904, the theater was designed by Herts & Tallant and built for Klaw and Erlanger, the partnersh ...

on November 10, 1913 running for a total of 136 performances. The original cast included

Christie MacDonald Christie MacDonald (February 28, 1875 – July 25, 1962) was a Canadian-born American musical comedy actress and opera singer. She was perhaps best remembered as the Princess of Bozena in the 1910 operetta ''Spring Maid''. The 1913 musical ' ...

as Princess Jeanne/Sylvia, Thomas Conkey as Prince Franz, Edwin Wilson as Lieutenant Karl, Frank Belcher as Petrus Von Tromp, Tom McNaughton as Mikel Mikeloviz, Ethel Du Fre Houston as Dame Paula, and Hazel Kirk as Liane. There was a brief revival at Jolson's 59th Street Theatre, opening on September 21, 1929 and closing on October 5, 1929. Gladys Baxter played Sylvia. MGM made the musical into a film in 1938 with a screenplay considerably altered from the musical's book, directed by

W. S. Van Dyke Woodbridge Strong Van Dyke II (Woody) (March 21, 1889 – February 5, 1943) was an American film director and writer who made several successful early sound films, including '' Tarzan the Ape Man'' in 1932, ''The Thin Man'' in 1934, ''San Franc ...

and starring

Jeanette MacDonald Jeanette Anna MacDonald (June 18, 1903 – January 14, 1965) was an American singer and actress best remembered for her musical films of the 1930s with Maurice Chevalier (''The Love Parade'', '' Love Me Tonight'', ''The Merry Widow'' and '' On ...

and

Nelson Eddy Nelson Ackerman Eddy (June 29, 1901 – March 6, 1967) was an American actor and baritone singer who appeared in 19 musical films during the 1930s and 1940s, as well as in opera and on the concert stage, radio, television, and in nightclub ...

. This was the first all-

Technicolor Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...

film of MGM Studio. A Broadway revival opened at the Shubert Theater on January 21, 1947 and ran for 288 performances. It featured a revised book by

John Cecil Holm John Cecil Holm (November 4, 1904, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – October 24, 1981, in Westerly, Rhode Island) was an American dramatist, theatre director and actor. He is best known for his 1935 play ''Three Men on a Horse'', co-written w ...

and musical direction by Robert Russell Bennett. The cast included Bobby Clark as Mikel,

Marjorie Gateson Marjorie Augusta Gateson (January 17, 1891 – April 17, 1977) was an American stage and film actress. Biography Gateson was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Augusta and Daniel Gateson. Her maternal grandfather and brother were clergymen; So ...

as Dame Lucy, Gloria Story as Princess Sylvia and June Knight as Liane. The piece was presented in the 1980s by the

Light Opera of Manhattan Light Opera of Manhattan, known as LOOM, was an off-Broadway repertory theatre company that produced light operas, including the works of Gilbert and Sullivan and European and American operettas, 52 weeks per year, in New York City between 1968 ...

. In 2002 the

Ohio Light Opera The Ohio Light Opera is a professional opera company based in Wooster, Ohio that performs the light opera repertory, including Gilbert and Sullivan, American, British and continental operettas, and other musical theatre works, especially of the lat ...

commissioned a new critical edition of the operetta from

Quade Winter Edward Quade Winter (April 8, 1951 – October 8, 2019) was an American composer, musical restorer and translator, specializing in the light operas of Victor Herbert. He began his career as a performer, singing opera for over two decades. Early ye ...

, based on the composer's original manuscripts in the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...

. A complete recording was issued by

Albany Records Albany Records is a record label that concentrates on unconventional contemporary classical music by American composers and musicians. It was established by Peter Kermani in 1987 and is based in Albany, New York. See also * List of record labe ...

Synopsis

Mikel Mikeloviz, disguised as a monk, transports Princess Jeanne, the infant daughter of King René of the little kingdom of Zilinia, to

Bruges Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the country by population. The area of the whole city a ...

to wait in safety during the war. Dame Paula runs the Laundry of the White Geese and is known as Mother Goose. Mikel gives the princess to Paula in secret to raise as her own daughter under the name of Sylvia. Paula later has six daughters of her own who help her run the laundry. Their father has been at war for ten years. 22 years later, the people are demanding the restoration of a monarchy. Mikel is conspiring to restore Princess Jeanne to the throne, which is about to be offered to Prince Franz, the heir presumptive. Franz, while travelling in disguise, has fallen in love with Sylvia. But Sylvia, who does not know that she is really a princess, is bethrothed to Lieutenant Karl, a military lothario. A sleazy politician, disguised as Paula's battle-scarred husband, tries to ensnare one of the two apparently adopted daughters as the bride for Prince Franz, but he does not know whether the real adopted daughter is the scheming Liane or the sweet Sylvia. Mikel's plans are hindered by the schemes of three villains. Mikel also mistakes Liane, a milliner who has sought temporary employment in the Laundry of the White Geese, for the lost princess. After all the complications are combed out, Franz and Sylvia marry, vowing to rule together.

Recording

RCA Victor issued an album using studio singers and

Al Goodman Alfred Goodman (August 12, 1890 – January 10, 1972) was a conductor, songwriter, stage composer, musical director, arranger, and pianist. Early years Goodman was born in Nikopol, Ukraine, (another source says that he was born in Odessa, Ru ...

's orchestra on 78-RPM records in 1947. These highlights were issued on Lp by RCA Victor in 1951 and on their budget label

RCA Camden The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westin ...

in 1958. A 2008 CD release combines these recordings with selections from '' Naughty Marietta'' and ''

The Red Mill ''The Red Mill'' is an operetta written by Victor Herbert, with a libretto by Henry Blossom. The farcical story concerns two American vaudevillians who wreak havoc at an inn in Holland, interfering with two marriages; but all ends well. The musica ...

''.Recording of ''Naughty Marietta, The Red Mill'' and ''Sweethearts''
Castalbums.org (2008)

Songs

;Act 1 *Iron, Iron, Iron - Chorus *On Parade - Ensemble *Smiles - Liane and Ensemble *Sweethearts (If You Ask Where Love Is Found) - Sylvia *For Every Lover Must Meet His Fate - Prince Franz and Ensemble *Mother Goose - Sylvia and Ensemble *The Angelus - Sylvia and Prince Franz *Jeanette and Her Little Wooden Shoes (Sabot Dance) (Clip Clop Clop) - Liane, Hon. Percy *Algernon Slingsby, Aristide Caniche and Baron Petrus Von Tromp ;Act 2 *Waiting for the Bride - Male Chorus *Pretty As a Picture - Von Tromp and Male Chorus *In the Convent They Never Taught Me That - Sylvia and Ensemble *Game Of Love - Lt. Karl and Daughters *I Don't Know How I Do It But I Do (Lyrics By Harry B. Smith) - Slingsby *Cricket on the Hearth - Sylvia and Prince Franz *The Monks' Quartette - Mikel Mikeloviz, Von Tromp, Slingsby and Aristide Caniche

Roles

*Dame Paula ( Mezzo-soprano) - Owner of the White Geese Laundry *Karl (

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 ...

) - A Lieutenant in the local military *Liane ( Soprano) - A hat shop girl masquerading as one of Paula's daughters *Mikel (Tenor) - A diplomat from Zenovia *Sylvia (Coloratura Soprano) - An adopted daughter of Dame Paula *Franz ( Baritone) - Prince of Zenovia *Van Tromp (Baritone) - A diplomat from Germany *Slingsby (Baritone) - A diplomat from France *Chorus

References

External links

Sweethearts
at the IBDB
Libretto
{{Authority control 1913 musicals Broadway musicals English-language operettas 1913 operas Original musicals Operas by Victor Herbert