Draft:The Smugglers (operetta)
{{Custom sketch of "The Smugglers"[1]}}
 | Review waiting, please be patient.
This may take 4 weeks or more, since drafts are reviewed in no specific order. There are 938 pending submissions waiting for review.
Where to get help
How to improve a draft
You can also browse Wikipedia:Featured articles and Wikipedia:Good articles to find examples of Wikipedia's best writing on topics similar to your proposed article. Improving your odds of a speedy review To improve your odds of a faster review, tag your draft with relevant WikiProject tags using the button below. This will let reviewers know a new draft has been submitted in their area of interest. For instance, if you wrote about a female astronomer, you would want to add the Biography, Astronomy, and Women scientists tags. Editor resources
Reviewer tools
|
The Smugglers, composed in 1881, was the first fully produced operetta with music composed by John Philip Sousa.[2] The libretto was written by Wilson Vance, a friend of his, who also wrote the libretto to another Sousa operetta Katherine (1879), which was never produced.[3] [4]The Smugglers is made up of two acts. It was based on the Arthur Sullivan and F.C. Burnand opera The Contrabandista.[5]
Two versions of The Smugglers were produced. An "1881" edition and a "1882 revision".[2] The original "1881 edition" libretto has been lost. However, the "1882 revision" libretto, which was also once considered lost,[6] is located at Bowling Green State University,Ohio.[7] The libretto has been copied and transcribed for easier reading by Arthur O’Dwyer in 2025.[8] The piano/vocal score was published by W. F. Shaw, Philadelphia, in 1881.[9]
Productions
[edit]The operetta was first produced on March 25, 1882 at Lincoln Hall in Washington D.C. The audience enjoyed it, and the production included the local National Rifles group for the "Soldier's Chorus". [10] The production was put on by the Washington Operatic Association. Afterword, the show went on a brief tour but ended in financial failure for Sousa. [11]
Characters
[edit]List of characters.[8]
- Tito, a smuggler (baritone)
- Mateo, a smuggler (bass)
- Enrique, Violante’s beau (tenor)
- Stubbs, a tourist (tenor)
- Captain of the Guard (baritone)
- Violante, a kidnapped maiden (soprano)
- Queen of the Smugglers (contralto)
- Chorus of male and female smugglers
- Chorus of carabineers
Musical Numbers
[edit]1881 Edition Order[12]
Act 1
- Opening Chorus: Smugglers We
- Scene: Silence, At Your Stations Hie!
- Song: The widow's life's a lonely one
- Scene and Solo: When the Storms of Life
- Quintet: Ah, Love, Kind Love
- Ballad: The Maiden Sat with Folded Hands
- Duet: Come to These Arms that Long to Hold Thee!
- Song: I've Leapt and I've Climbed Like a Blawsted Goat
- Quintet and Chorus: It Matters Not
- Trio and Chorus: He is a Spy
- Finale: Rouse Thee, and Put Thine Armor On!
Entre Act
Act 2
- Introduction and Duet: How Slowly Fades the Sun
- Song: I'm a Robber Free and Bold
- Trio: Do with your Flocks and Herds
- Coronation Scene: We Hail Our New-Found King!
- Duet: Canst Thou Turn Away
- Song: Free Hearts of Spain
- Song and Chorus: Wine! Wine!
- Duet: Sighing, Ah, Sighing
- Soldier's chorus: Let us march along
- Scene and Chorus: Battle Song
- Finale
Music
[edit]Some of the music in The Smugglers is done in the style of Arthur Sulivan, in order to pay homage to what inspired this operetta, The Contrabandista. This was highly unusual for Sousa, as he rarely copied other composer styles.[13]
Parts for the quintet in The Smugglers are in the Sousa Archives at the University of Illinois,[14] and restored orchestrations are available at IMSLP.[2]
Sousa later used the music of We Hail Our New-Found King from Act 2 in his suite At the King's Court, and the melody to Sighing, Ah, Sighing was reused in his later operetta El Capitan (operetta) for Sweetheart, I'm Waiting.[15] Melodies from The Smugglers were later used to form The Lambs' March (1914). [16]
References
[edit]- ^ https://archon.library.illinois.edu/archives/index.php?p=digitallibrary/digitalcontent&id=5354
- ^ a b c "The Smugglers (Sousa, John Philip) - IMSLP". imslp.org.
- ^ Vance, Wilson J.; Sousa, John Philip (July 17, 1879). "Katherine (1879)" – via Internet Archive.
- ^ "Esprit de Corps March". www.marineband.marines.mil.
- ^ "John Philip Sousa - Guide to Musical Theatre - Operetta". www.musicaltheatreguide.com.
- ^ https://archive.org/details/worksofjohnphili00bier/page/32/mode/2up?view=theater
- ^ "MS 1184 - Vance Family Papers". lib.bgsu.edu.
- ^ a b "The Smugglers". quuxplusone.github.io.
- ^ "EBSCO Locate". search.catalog.loc.gov.
- ^ https://s9.imslp.org/files/imglnks/usimg/2/22/IMSLP334105-PMLP404642-new1882sousaSmugglers_02.pdf
- ^ https://api.drum.lib.umd.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/9486365f-4b8a-42f4-a32c-d1f8faf1d2c8/content
- ^ https://imslp.org/wiki/The_Smugglers_(Sousa,_John_Philip)
- ^ https://archive.org/details/worksofjohnphili00bier/page/30/mode/2up?view=theater
- ^ "Finding Aid for John Philip Sousa Music and Personal Papers, circa 1880-1932 | The Sousa Archives and Center for American Music". University of Illinois Archives Holdings Database.
- ^ https://archive.org/details/worksofjohnphili00bier/page/32/mode/2up?view=theater
- ^ https://www.esm.rochester.edu/uploads/WWJ-Issue-5-Complete.pdf
Works Cited
[edit]- Bierley, Paul E (1984). The Works of John Philip Sousa. Integrity Press. ISBN 978-0-918048-04-2. LCCN 84080665. OL 2876313M