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NAUGHTY MARIETTA A Comic Opera in 2 Acts, 3 Scenes. Book and lyrics by Rida Johnson Young. Music by Victor Herbert. Produced under the direction of Jacques Coini. Dances arranged by Pauline Verhoeven. Settings by Julius Dowe, Theodore Reisig. Costumes by Will R. Barnes. Orchestra under the direction of Gaetano Merola. (Orchestrations by Victor Herbert.) Produced by Oscar Hammerstein. New York Theatre, Broadway - November 7, 1910, Closed 4 March, 1911 (136 perfs) Synopsis Originally produced in New York, this operetta became Victor Herbert's greatest success. Set in New Orleans in 1780, it tells how Captain Richard Warrington is commissioned to unmask and capture a notorious French pirate calling himself 'Bras Pique'- and how he is helped and hindered by a high-spirited runaway Contessa Marietta. The score includes many well-known songs, the most notable being "Ah, Sweet Mystery Of life" which was sung by Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy in the popular film version. STORY ACT 1 It is early morning and, as the night watchman passes on his way, the square begins to come alive with the vendors of flowers and fruit, tropical birds and sugar cane, street sweepers, fortune tellers and a group of convent pupils on their way to school. Amongst the early risers this morning is Étienne Grandet, the son of the colony's acting governor and a great favourite with the local girls. Étienne has just returned from a trip to France, and the girls anxiously bring him up to date with the news: the dreadful pirate Bras Priqué has been abroad, terrorising the merchant ships attempting to serve New Orleans, and now the town fountain is haunted by the ghost of one of his victims. From the depths of the dried-up fountain a mysterious melody has been heard — even the priest has heard it. Étienne laughs aside the suggestion of a ghost and he also laughs silently at the tales of Bras Priqué for, unknown to all but his slave and mistress, the quadroon Adah, that frightful buccaneer is none other than Étienne himself. In search of both adventure and personal gain he has led a group of disaffected ruffians in plundering the sea coast whilst using his father's position to protect himself from suspicion. Local curiosity is truly aroused when a strange group of rugged-looking men march into town. A mixture of Canadian woodsmen, Tennessee mountain men, Kentucky farmers and Indians, dressed in skins and furs and old uniforms, they are led by the stalwart Captain Dick Warrington and his Irish lieutenant, Sir Harry Blake. Captain Dick's Infantry, as they call themselves, are, with the consent of the King of France, out to capture Bras Priqué, for the pirate has been attacking the English ships which provision their settlements. But they do not think to find their prey in New Orleans amongst the fashionable French. They have merely come to present themselves and their credentials to the Governor and to get his signature on the warrant for the pirate's arrest. They have also come for another and more tender reason. A bride ship is due to berth, bringing a group of poor French girls, the casket girls, disowned by the King of France and destined to be wives to the colonists. The men have spied the girls as their ship watered at Mozambique and they hope that among them they may each find a wife. The first part of their mission is balked, for the Governor has departed for France and Etienne's father is ruling in his place. The temporary Governor is a bloated, somnolent idiot who has become know to the people as Monsieur By-and-By because of his inability to make a decision. He is also a cowardly party

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