King's Rhapsody

King's Rhapsody is a musical with book and music by Ivor Novello and lyrics by Christopher Hassall.

Original programme cover, Palace Theatre, 1949

The musical was first produced at the Palace Theatre, London, on 15 September 1949 and ran for 841 performances, surviving its author, who died in 1951.[1] 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,[1] with Phyllis Dare as his mistress Marta Karillos, Zena Dare as Queen Elana, Vanessa Lee as Princess Cristiane, Robert Andrews as Vanescu, and Olive Gilbert as Countess Vera.[2]

A 1955 film adaptation was made, starring Errol Flynn.[3]

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, London, on 15 September 1949 and ran for 841 performances.[1] It was directed by Murray MacDonald, with the following cast:

  • Princess Cristiane – Vanessa Lee
  • Countess Vera Lemainken, her companion – Olive Gilbert
  • King Peter of Norseland, Cristiane's father – Victor Bogetti
  • Princesses Kirsten and Hulda, Cristiane's little cousins – Pamela Harrington and Wendy Warren
  • Marta Karillos – Phyllis Dare
  • Queen Elana of Murania – Zena Dare
  • Prime Minister Vanescu – Robert Andrews
  • Nikki – Ivor Novello
  • Jules, Nikki's valet – Michael Anthony
  • Count Egon Stanieff, of the Royal Guard – Denis Martin
  • 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.[2]

Critical reception

In The Observer, Ivor Brown 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, Harold Hobson considered it "a better musical than South Pacific."[4]

Adaptations

The 1955 British film version was directed by Herbert Wilcox, and starred Errol Flynn in Novello's role, and Anna Neagle as his mistress.[3]

A television version of the play was broadcast in 1957 by the BBC, who (according to the Radio Times) "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 Novello's role of Nikki, with Margot Grahame as his mistress.[5]

Notes
  1. Simon Callow (3 August 2012). "Ivor Novello, master of the musical". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  2. "King's Rhapsody". The Guide to Musical Theatre. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
  3. "King's Rhapsody (1955) - Herbert Wilcox - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related - AllMovie". AllMovie.
  4. Ortolano, Scott (14 December 2017). "Popular Modernism and Its Legacies: From Pop Literature to Video Games". Bloomsbury Publishing USA. ISBN 978-1501325120 – via Google Books.
  5. "King's Rhapsody · British Universities Film & Video Council". bufvc.ac.uk.
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References
  • Traubner, Richard. Operetta: A Theatrical History (2003), Routledge ISBN 0-415-96641-8
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