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2000 - The Bells of Corneville
Background and Brief Synopsis
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Although
"Les Cloches de Corneville" may be new to you, it was very popular
in its day and is still regularly performed in France. It was the second
longest running show in the nineteenth century. Composer Robert Planquette
(1848-1903) became the toast of Paris in April 1877 as his glorious melodies
were sung on every street corner. London publisher John Williams, having
heard just one of the piece's enchanting songs - the bell song with its
"dinga dinga ding dong" refrain - bought the operetta and it
made its London appearance at the tiny Folly Theatre on the 23 February
1878. The show ran uninterruptedly for more than two years at the Folly
and later at the larger Globe. Tours of the provinces went on well into
the twentieth century when it was taken over by the amateur operatic groups.
Geoffery Wilson, known for his works on railway history and industrial archaeology, prepared this new translation with Max Morris for the John Lewis Partnership at the time of the show's centenary. We are delighted that he will be attending the opening night at Lyme Regis, which coincides with a special birthday. The story, set in Normandy towards the end of the seventeenth century, follows a fairly conventional line keeping a surprise until the finale of Act 3. The chateau has been deserted for twenty years and is apparently haunted. Meanwhile the villagers await the return of the Marquis - a moment which will be heralded by the ringing of the Bells of Corneville. The first act, set at the local hiring fair, is reminiscent of Flotow's "Martha". The leading ladies escape the overbearing miser, Gaspard, by being hired by the village's newcomer (the Marquis in disguise). Regular supporters of Lyme Regis AOS might be forgiven for thinking they are back in "Ruddigore" during the second act when the Marquis' ancestors appear to accuse the miser. The third act brings all the characters together for a garden party and the final denouncement. Planquette went on to write the music for the 1882 London hit, "Rip Van Winkle" which ran for over a year at the Comedy Theatre. Some considered that Planquette's melodies were better than for "Les Cloches" but the former has remained the public's favourite. 1884 saw "Nell Gwynne" come and go. Since the 1950's Planquette has gently drifted into near oblivion, a fate he surely does not deserve. Robert Planquette is buried next to Oscar Wilde in Pere-Lachaise Cemetery, Paris. |
