''Chris and the Wonderful Lamp'' is an operetta in four acts by

John Philip Sousa John Philip Sousa ( ; November 6, 1854 – March 6, 1932) was an American composer and conductor of the late Romantic era known primarily for American military marches. He is known as "The March King" or the "American March King", to dis ...

with a libretto by

Glen MacDonough Glen MacDonough (1870 – March 30, 1924) was an American writer, lyricist and librettist. He was the son of theater manager Thomas B. MacDonough and actress/author Laura Don. Glen MacDonough married Margaret Jefferson in 1896 in Buzzard's Bay, ...

(best remembered as the librettist for Victor Herbert's '' Babes in Toyland''). Of the nine operettas that Sousa wrote between 1885 and 1909, ''Chris and the Wonderful Lamp'' is number 7, chronologically. It was composed in 1899 and was based on a popular book of the same name by Albert Stearns, and retells the story of a young man from Connecticut who buys Aladdin's lamp at an auction and employs the genie to help him see his love, Fanny, who is sequestered in a school for girls. (Stearns later wrote the script for a 1917 film of the same name, based on his story.) Sousa's ''Chris...'' is the only one of his operettas specifically written to appeal to children, was immediately popular, and has remained in the repertoire even today, undergoing periodic revivals. ''Chris and the Wonderful Lamp'' was first produced at the Hyperion Theatre in

New Haven New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,023 ...

, beginning on October 23, 1899. After this tryout, it moved to Oscar Hammerstein's Victoria Theater in New York, opening on January 1, 1900. where it ran for 58 performances. The cast featured Jerome Sykes and

Edna Wallace Hopper Edna Wallace Hopper (January 17, 1872 – December 14, 1959) was an American actress on stage and in silent films. She was known as the "eternal flapper". Biography Hopper was believed to have been born on January 17, 1872, as Edna Marga ...

. Reviews of the opening were extraordinarily favorable. ''The World'' (New York) (January 2, 1900) said: “''Chris and the Wonderful Lamp'' did miracles at Hammersteins ''Victoria'' last night... twill be a huge success. Everything in it is good...Sousa did not spare his muse in its composition, nor Hammerstein his money in its production.”

References

*''The World'' (New York), January 2, 1900.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chris And The Wonderful Lamp English-language operettas 1899 operas Compositions by John Philip Sousa Operas