''The Sultan of Mocha'' is a three 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 ...

of 1874 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 Albert Jarrett and a score by

Alfred Cellier Alfred Cellier (1 December 184428 December 1891) was an English composer, orchestrator and conductor. In addition to conducting and music directing the original productions of several of the most famous Gilbert and Sullivan works and writing th ...

. It was first produced at the

Prince's Theatre, Manchester The Prince's Theatre in Oxford Street, Manchester, England, was built at a cost of £20,000 in 1864. Under the artistic and managerial leadership of Charles Calvert, "Manchester's most celebrated actor-manager", it soon became a great popular suc ...

in 1874 and revived in London in 1876 and 1887 (with a new libretto by

William Lestocq William Lestocq (born Lestock Boileau Wooldridge; 1852 – 16 October 1920) was a British theatre manager, playwright, and actor.(20 October 1920)William Lestocq (obituary) ''New York Tribune''(20 October 1920)William Lestocq is Dead ''The Evening ...

) and in New York in 1880, among others.

Productions

The

musical theatre 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, movemen ...

writer

Kurt Gänzl Kurt-Friedrich Gänzl (born 15 February 1946) is a New Zealand writer, historian and former casting director and singer best known for his books about musical theatre. After a decade-long playwriting, acting and singing career, and a second ca ...

describes ''The Sultan of Mocha'' as "one of the earliest British musicals of the modern era both to have a significant career at home and to win overseas productions". Gänzl, Kurt. ''The British Musical Theatre'', Oxford University Press (1987) pp. 74–80 It was first produced in 1874 at the

by the

actor-manager An actor-manager is a leading actor who sets up their own permanent theatrical company and manages the business, sometimes taking over a theatre to perform select plays in which they usually star. It is a method of theatrical production used co ...

Charles Alexander Calvert Charles Alexander Calvert (28 February 1828 – 12 June 1879) was a British actor and theatre manager known for arranging new productions of the Shakespearean canon featuring elaborate staging and what were considered historically accurate set ...

, who "accepted a text supplied by a local gentleman of some literary attainment", Albert Jarrett (1834–1916), which was then set to music by

, the

musical director A music(al) director or director of music is the person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert band, the ...

at Alexander's theatre.Albert Jarrett was a schoolmaster with literary aspirations who had supplied the theatre with scripts for

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...

s for some years. Jarrett was also Secretary of the Manchester Mechanics Institute, chairman of the Manchester Arts Club, and a registrar of cemeteries in Manchester. The production borrowed a camel from the local zoo for Middle-Eastern authenticity; it ran initially for 30 performances from 16 November to 9 December 1874, with

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 ...

in the title roleStone, David
"Furneaux Cook"
Who Was Who in The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, accessed 11 July 2008 and Bessie Emmett as Dolly. ''The Sultan of Mocha'' was taken off for the annual

but returned in March 1875 (for two weeks) and April 1875 (for three weeks) with largely the same cast but with tenor John Chatterson as Peter, Catherine Lewis and Emily Muir as Dolly and

reprising his role as the Sultan. Of the score, Gänzl wrote:

Cellier's music took little or no notice of the French opéra-bouffe style which had been dominant in Britain's musical theatres for the past years and which had featured in such French-composed British musicals as ''Aladdin II'' (
Hervé Hervé is a French language, French masculine given name of Breton language, Breton origin, from the name of the 6th-century Breton Saint Hervé. The common latinization of the name is Herveus (also ''Haerveus''), an early (8th-century) latinizati ...
), ''Cinderella the Younger'' (
Jonas Jonas may refer to: Geography * Jonas, Netherlands, Netherlands * Jonas, Pennsylvania, United States * Jonas Ridge, North Carolina, United States People with the name * Jonas (name), people with the given name or surname Jonas * Jonas, one of ...
) and ''
Whittington Whittington may refer to: Places * Whittington, Victoria, Australia * Whittington, Illinois, United States England * Old Whittington, Derbyshire * New Whittington, Derbyshire * Whittington Moor, Derbyshire * Whittington, Gloucestershire * Whit ...
'' ( Offenbach) and the spectacular ''
The Black Crook ''The Black Crook'' is a work of musical theatre first produced in New York City with great success in 1866. Many theatre writers have cautiously identified ''The Black Crook'' as the first popular piece that conforms to the modern notion of a mu ...
'' and ''Babil and Bijou''. Following instead the tones of Sullivan's '' Contrabandista'' and
Clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...
's '' The Gentleman in Black'' and ''Cattarina'', Cellier's music for ''The Sultan of Mocha'' helped establish the kind of English comic-opera score which would find its apogée in the
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 and his own ''
Dorothy Dorothy may refer to: *Dorothy (given name), a list of people with that name. Arts and entertainment Characters *Dorothy Gale, protagonist of ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' by L. Frank Baum * Ace (''Doctor Who'') or Dorothy, a character playe ...
''.

Its first revival was at the St James' Theatre in London from 17 April to 2 June 1876, a run of 47 performances, with Constance Loseby as Dolly, George W. Anson as Admiral Sneak, Alfred Brennir as Peter and Henri Corri as the Sultan and a chorus of 70. Cellier conducted his own piece as the musical director at the theatre. It received its American premiere in December 1878 at the Bush Street Theater in San Francisco, California, where it had a short run under the management of Alice Oates. Blanche Roosevelt produced it at the

Union Square Theatre Union Square Theatre was the name of two different theatres near Union Square, Manhattan, New York City. The first was a Broadway theatre that opened in 1870, was converted into a cinema in 1921 and closed in 1936.(8 October 1921)Two landmarks to ...

in New York with her Blanche Roosevelt English Opera Company from 14 to 25 September 1880 for a run of 13 performances with

Leonora Braham Leonora Braham (born Leonora Abraham; 3 February 1853 – 23 November 1931) was an English opera singer and actress primarily known as the creator of principal soprano roles in the Gilbert and Sullivan comic operas. Beginning in 1870, Braham st ...

as Dolly and with Cellier conducting. The work returned to

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

in 1880, where it played at the Theatre Royal with

Alice May Alice May (1847 – 16 August 1887) was an English singer and actress best remembered as the creator of the soprano role of Aline in Gilbert and Sullivan's ''The Sorcerer'' (1877). After musical studies as a child, May studied voice in London ...

as Dolly, Fred. J. Stimson as Flint, George Fox as the Sultan, Allen Thomas as Sneak and Frederic Wood as Peter. The piece received various revivals thereafter including at the Strand Theatre in 1887 with a new libretto by

and included an additional song by

Paolo Tosti Sir Francesco Paolo Tosti KCVO (9 April 1846, Ortona, Abruzzo2 December 1916, Rome) was an Italian composer and music teacher. Life Francesco Paolo Tosti received most of his music education in his native Ortona, Italy, as well as the cons ...

, with

Violet Cameron Violet Lydia Thompson (7 December 1862 – 25 October 1919), known professionally as Violet Cameron, was an English actress and singer who gained fame in Robert Planquette's operettas '' Les cloches de Corneville'' and ''Rip Van Winkle'', and ...

Charles Danby Charles Clemson Percy Danby (1858 – 7 September 1906) was a British actor, singer and comedian of the late Victorian era who regularly appeared at the Gaiety Theatre in London. During his career he made 37 tours of the United States and th ...

and

Henry Bracy Henry Bracy (8 January 1846 – 31 January 1917) was a Welsh opera tenor, stage director and opera producer who is best remembered as the creator of the role of Prince Hilarion in the Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera ''Princess Ida''. Bracy oft ...

in the cast. Opening on 21 September 1887, this production ran for 114 performances."''The Sultan of Mocha''"
The Guide to Musical Theatre, accessed 27 March 2020 Cellier dedicated the score to his friend, colleague and sometime employer,

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 ...

. Following his success as Peter at the Strand Theatre Bracy took up the Australian rights to ''The Sultan of Mocha'', producing the show with his Henry Bracy's Comic Opera Company at the Alexandra Theatre in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

in November 1889 and at the

Criterion Theatre The Criterion Theatre is a West End theatre at Piccadilly Circus in the City of Westminster, and is a Grade II* listed building. It has a seating capacity of 588. Building the theatre In 1870, the caterers Spiers and Pond began development ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

in March 1890. Bracy was Peter, Lilian Tree was Dolly, John Forde was Sneak, Knight Aston was the Sultan, Flora Granpner was Lucy and William Stevens was Flint.

Synopsis

Scenes and settings in the original 1874 production: *Act I: "The Jolly Tars", Greenwich, and River from the Park. *Act II: The Market-place at Mocha. *Act III: Scene 1: A Cavern on the Seashore - Scene 2: Interior of the Sultan's Palace. Act I Dolly receives a proposal of marriage from the wealthy

ship chandler A ship chandler is a retail dealer who specializes in providing supplies or equipment for ships. Synopsis For traditional sailing ships, items that could be found in a chandlery include sail-cloth, rosin, turpentine, tar, pitch, linseed oil, ...

'Admiral' Sneak, but Dolly loves another – Peter, a handsome young sailor. However, her slave-trader uncle, Captain Flint, does not regard either of these as suitable suitors for his niece and believing he can make an arrangement more advantageous to himself sails off to sea taking Dolly with him. Act II On the Island of Mocha, Peter and the vengeful Sneak have arrived on the beach, having followed in hot pursuit of Dolly and Captain Flint. While Captain Flint sells his slaves Shallah, the Sultan of Mocha, sees Dolly and buys her from her uncle. Dolly is rescued from this fate by Peter, but the couple are captured by Sneak who sells her to the Sultan. Dolly agrees to become the Sultana in return for Peter's freedom. Act III Eureka and Isadora, two members of the Sultan's harem, are vying to marry the Sultan. The Sultan is tricked into marrying Isadora when Dolly changes clothes and veil with her on the wedding day. Dolly and Peter are released and are finally united.Claire Mabilat
''Orientalism and Representations of Music in the Nineteenth-Century British Popular Arts''
Routledge (2016), Google Books, p. 47

Roles

The original 1874 production in Manchester had the following cast: *Shallah, the Sultan of Mocha –

*Captain Flint – Henry M. Clifford *Admiral Sneak – Frederick Mervin *Peter – Robertha Erskine *Dolly – Bessie Emmett For the 1887 revival the version of 1874 underwent a major rewriting, with Admiral Sneak, a villain in 1874 becoming Dolly's father, while other characters disappear and others appear. The new cast included:Programme for ''The Sultan of Mocha'' (1887) - Duke University Libraries Repository Collections and Archive
/ref> *H. H. The Seyd Shallah, Sultan of Mocha – Ernest Birch *Admiral Sneak (Father of Dolly) – C. H. Kenney *Captain Flint (a Marine Store Dealer) –

*Peter (a Heart of Oak) –

*Lord Chamberlain – C. Wrexford *Grand Vizier – Leonard Calvert *Frank (a Sailor) – L. Batten *Blackwall Bill – J. Harvey *Chief of Pirates – Calder O'Byrne *Head Slave – Mr Edwards *Dolly (the Lass that loves a Sailor) –

*Lucy (her Friend) – Madeleine Shirley *Isidore – Florence Melville *Eureka – Florence Montgomery *Haidee (Dancing Girl) – Florence Levey Greenwich People, Pensioners, Watchmen, Slaves, Sailors, Villagers, Corsairs, Guards, Odalisques, etc.

Songs

ACT 1 *1 – Here's Three Times Three – Chorus and Hornpipe *2 – Let the Lords of Legislation – Dolly *3 - The Letter (Ballad) - Dolly *4 - He is Returning - Dolly, Chorus *5 - The Telescope - Sneak *6 - How now, what's the row - Flint, Sneak and Dolly *7 - Two sad when I and Dolly parted - Peter *8 - The Island that dares to be free – Wooden Leg Chorus of Pensioners *9 - The Lass that waits for Peter - Peter *10 - Pipes and Grog - Peter *11 - Finale: We'll Sail Away with Peter ACT II *12 - I Love the Ocean - Sneak *13 - Now tremble, you traitor - Peter, Sneak and Men *14 - O Caspian – Chorus of Slaves *15 - Woman's Rights - Dolly *16 - Sultan Am I -Sultan *17 - Come buy, come buy - Flint *18 - Sweet Hannah or Alice - Sultan and Dolly *19 - Finale: You'd better stay at Mocha ACT III *20 - A Sailor's Love – Male chorus *21 - I Really Am So Sleepy - Peter *22 - Close, thou gentle sleep - Dolly *23 - From Chambers – Chorus of Odalisques *24 - It's very perplexing - Sultan, Isidora, Eureka *25 - Unrequited love - Sultan *26 - My boat is on the shore - Peter, Dolly *27 - Ballet music *28 - Finale: We are sober, we are ready. ... We'll sail away with Peter

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sultan of Mocha, The English comic operas English-language operas 1874 operas Operas Operas by Alfred Cellier