Cox and Box
The Moray Minstrels were an informal gathering of notable men involved in London society and the arts, including painters, actors and writers, who were mostly amateur musicians.
[2] On one occasion in early 1865, they heard a performance of Offenbach's short two-man operetta Les deux aveugles ("The Two Blind Men").
[3] After seeing another operetta at Moray Lodge the following winter, Burnand asked Sullivan to collaborate on a new piece to be performed for the Minstrels.
[4] Burnand adapted the libretto for this "triumviretta" from John Maddison Morton's famous farce, Box and Cox, which had premiered in London in 1847, starring J.
The date and venue of the first performance was much disputed, starting in 1890, in duelling letters to The World, with Burnand and Lewis each claiming to have hosted it.
[12] The original cast also included George du Maurier as Box and Harold Power as Cox, with Sullivan improvising the accompaniment at the piano.
This was followed by the first public performance, which was given as part of a charity benefit by the Moray Minstrels (along with Kate, Florence and Ellen Terry and others) for the widow and children of C. H. Bennett, on 11 May 1867 at the Adelphi Theatre, with du Maurier as Box, Quintin Twiss as Cox and Arthur Cecil as Bouncer, performing as an amateur under his birth name, Arthur Blunt.
[14] A review in The Times commented that Burnand had adapted Morton's libretto well, and that Sullivan's music was "full of sparking tune and real comic humour".
[n 4] The rest of the evening's entertainment included a musicale by the Moray Minstrels, the play A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing and Les deux aveugles.
The Musical World praised both author and composer, suggesting that the piece would gain success if presented professionally.
The critic for the magazine Fun, W. S. Gilbert, wrote of the 11 May performance: Mr. Burnand's version of Box and Cox ... is capitally written, and Mr. Sullivan's music is charming throughout.
Firstly: Mr. Burnand should have operatized the whole farce, condensing it, at the same time, into the smallest compass, consistent with an intelligible reading of the plot.
The music was capitally sung by Messrs. Du Maurier, Quintin, and Blunt[18][n 5]At yet another charity performance, at the Theatre Royal, Manchester, on 29 July 1867, the overture was heard for the first time.
The autograph full score is inscribed, Ouverture à la Triumvirette musicale 'Cox et Boxe' et 'Bouncer' composée par Arthur S. Sullivan, Paris, 23 Juillet 1867.
Cox and Box had its first professional production under Reed's management, at the Royal Gallery of Illustration, opening on Easter Monday, 29 March 1869, with Gilbert and Frederic Clay's No Cards preceding it on the bill.
There were also numerous charity performances beginning in 1867, including two at the Gaiety during the run of Thespis, and another in Switzerland in 1879 with Sullivan himself as Cox and Cecil as Box.
[26] The cast for a performance at the Gaiety in 1880 included Cecil as Box, George Grossmith as Cox and Corney Grain as Bouncer.
[28] This production was revived in 1888, with Cecil, Eric Lewis and William Lugg playing Box, Cox and Bouncer.
[32] In 1921, Rupert D'Oyly Carte introduced Cox and Box as a curtain raiser to The Sorcerer, with additional cuts prepared by J. M. Gordon and Harry Norris.
[36] After a brisk overture, the scene opens on a room with a bed, a chest of drawers, a table and chairs, a fireplace, and three doors.
His landlord, Sergeant Bouncer, helps him get ready, while Cox complains about an uncomfortable pillow and an excessively short haircut, which makes him look like as though he is in the army.
The irritated Cox goes into his dressing room, while Bouncer sings a mock-Handelian aria about his days in the militia, ending with his favourite catch-phrase, "Rataplan!
After dismissing Bouncer, he takes out a bread roll, lights the fire, and puts a rasher of bacon on the gridiron.
The slam of Cox's dressing room door awakens Box, who suddenly remembers his bacon.
The slam of Box's dressing room door sends Cox scurrying back in, assuming it is the sound of someone knocking.
In the course of conversation, Cox admits he has a fiancée, but as she is the proprietor of bathing machines some distance away, she is unlikely to make an appearance.
However, the letter informs them that Penelope Ann was lost in a sailing accident and has left her entire estate to "my intended husband."
They both try to leave, but Bouncer arrives with a third letter: "Being convinced that our feelings, like our ages, do not reciprocate, I hasten to apprise you of my immediate union with Mr.
[40] In 1921 the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company prepared the "Savoy Edition", which they presented thereafter as a curtain raiser.
Conductor, Alexander Faris; John Fryatt (Box), Russell Smythe (Cox) Thomas Lawlor (Bouncer).
