Mirette (opera)

However, one song ("Long ago in Alcala") became very popular in the United States in the early years of the twentieth century, though it was not credited as being from Mirette.

Richard Temple joined in the revised version, as did the experienced singer Florence St. John, who made her Savoy debut in the work.

Gilbert and Sullivan's Utopia Limited was playing more weakly than its producer, Richard D'Oyly Carte, had expected, and he anticipated that he would need a new work for the Savoy Theatre for the summer of 1894.

Later Messager works would prove to be more successful in England, including The Little Michus (1897), Véronique (which became a hit in London in 1904, six years after its 1898 Paris premiere), and Monsieur Beaucaire (1919, based on the novel by Booth Tarkington).

To assist Messager in what was for him (at the time) an unfamiliar idiom, he enlisted the help of the songwriter Hope Temple, née Dotie (Alice Maude) Davis, who later became his second wife.

The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians lists her as possible co-author; Messager's biographer Benoit Duteurtre unequivocally names her as such.

The cast changes, including adding another Savoy favourite, Richard Temple, as the Baron and engaging the soprano Florence St. John as Mirette.

Evening News and Post wrote that "There has been nothing at the Savoy for a long time prettier or more elaborate in a spectacular way than Mirette, and it would be ungenerous to grumble at the quality of the humour when it affords such a feast of beauty for eye and ear.

"[5] The Globe disagreed: "English audiences have been accustomed to expect something more in the librettos of comic operas than a mere dishing-up of old situations and conventional characters....

"[5] The reviewer in the magazine Judy wrote, "Despite the poor book, the poorer lyrics, and the poorest dialogue,—despite, too, the desperately unfunny funny man—Mirette must not be neglected.

Applause ruled long and loud; in fact, the outburst of enthusiasm which followed the final descent of the curtain brought with it a reminder of the palmy days when the Gilbert-Sullivan alliance was at its strongest.

"[5] Morning Advertiser recommended that the public pay a "speedy visit to the Savoy", and The Era noted, "The presence of Miss Florence St John has caused the other performers to act and sing with greater animation".

In 1906, as a professor of singing and stage manager at the Royal College of Music, Richard Temple was asked to direct a work from his earlier career for the first performance of the Cambridge University Operatic Club, at the Scala Theatre.

In act two, Mirette is discovered one month later in the service of the world-weary Marquise, who is planning the engagement party for Gerard and Bianca, the convent-raised daughter of the Baron Van Den Berg.

Picorin is still unable to express himself; the two indulge in a nicely conceived duet where they cover their emotions for each other behind eating a meal uncomfortably.