SOLOMON, EDWARD.
Billee Taylor.
[Nautical comic opera, in two acts; text by Stephens. First produced in London in 1880]
PERSONAGES.
Felix Flapper, R. N., Captain of “H. M. S. Thunderbomb.” Sir Mincing Lane, knight. Billee Taylor. Ben Barnacle. Christopher Crab, tutor. Phœbe Farleigh, a charity girl. Arabella Lane, heiress. Eliza Dabsey. Susan. Jane Scraggs.
[Villagers, peasants, sailors, press gang, etc.]
The scene is laid in Southampton, England; time, the year 1805.
The story of “Billee Taylor” is based upon an old English marine ballad of the same name. The first act opens at the inn of the Royal George in Southampton, where the villagers have gathered to celebrate the wedding of Billee Taylor and Phœbe Farleigh, a charity girl. The heiress, Arabella Lane, is also in love with Billee, and has offered him her hand, which he has rejected. Her father, Sir Mincing Lane, is going to give the villagers a feast upon the occasion of Billee’s wedding, and invites his friend, Captain Flapper, to attend. The captain accepts, falls in love with Phœbe at sight, and vows Billee shall not marry her. Crab, the tutor, is also in love with Phœbe. In Captain Flapper’s crew is Bill Barnacle, who went to sea “on account of Eliza,” who had been unfaithful to him, and he is ordered by the press gang to carry Billee away, which he does during the wedding festivities.
The second act opens at Portsmouth, two years supposedly having elapsed. All the charity girls, among them Phœbe, disguised as sailors, followed Billee to sea, who in the mean time has risen to a lieutenancy. Arabella forces her attentions upon him and he is inclined to yield. At this juncture Phœbe, still seeking her lover, turns up as a common sailor answering to the name of Richard Carr. Captain Flapper in her presence mentions that he is in love with her, also that Billee is about to marry Arabella. Sir Mincing Lane, now a commander of volunteers, endeavors to persuade some of the sailors to join him, and Phœbe offers herself as a recruit, but is claimed as a messmate by Barnacle, which leads to a quarrel. Crab then incites Phœbe to revenge herself upon her recreant lover, and she fires at him, but the shot hits Crab. She is arrested and is about to be executed, but is released when she declares herself a woman. In the end Billee is disrated, but marries Arabella. Barnacle secures his Eliza. Phœbe marries the captain, and is made full lieutenant of the “Thunderbomb.”
“Billee Taylor” is essentially a ballad opera. The best of the ballads are “The Virtuous Gardener,” in which Billee describes the ethical pleasures of gardening; “The Two Rivers,” sung by Phœbe, Susan, and chorus; “The Self-made Knight,” by Sir Mincing Lane, which resembles Sir Joseph Porter’s song in the first act of “Pinafore” (“When I was a Lad I served a Term”); Phœbe’s sentimental song, “The Guileless Orphan”; Barnacle’s well-known song, “All on account of Eliza”; Crab’s humorous ditty, “The Poor Wicked Man”; Angelina’s sentimental “Ballad of the Billow”; and Captain Flapper’s disquisition on love in the interrogative song, “Do you know why the Rabbits are caught in the Snares?”
SOUSA, JOHN PHILIP.
El Capitan.
[Comic opera, in three acts; text by Klein. First produced at the Tremont Theatre, Boston, April 13, 1896.]
PERSONAGES.
Medigua, Viceroy of Peru. Cazarro, deposed viceroy. Pozzo, secretary of Medigua. Verrada, in love with Isabel. Scaramba, an insurgent. Estrelda, Cazarro’s daughter. Marghanza, Medigua’s wife. Isabel, her daughter.
[Troops, insurgents, peasants, etc.]
The scene is laid in Peru; time, the eighteenth century.
At the opening of the story Cazarro, viceroy of Peru, has been deposed by the King of Spain, and Medigua has been appointed in his stead. Cazarro incites a revolution, and sends to Spain for El Capitan, a noted soldier, to come to his help. He sails on the same ship with Medigua, in the disguise of a seaman, but is killed in a quarrel on board. Medigua finds out who he was, and when he lands, discovering that his faction is in a hopeless minority, he proclaims himself El Capitan and joins the rebels. To further his scheme he induces his secretary, Pozzo, to represent the Viceroy. Among the other characters are Scaramba, a revolutionist in love with Estrelda, daughter of Cazarro; the Princess Marghanza, wife of Medigua; her daughter Isabel; and Count Verrada, who is in love with her. Estrelda falls in love with the pseudo El Capitan, which arouses Scaramba’s jealousy. Pozzo is thrust into prison, much to the grief of the Princess and of Isabel, who believe him to be Medigua. After the arrival of the Spanish troops, however, Medigua declares himself. The rebellion is squelched, all are pardoned, and everything ends happily.