Erminie

A Comic Opera in Two Acts
Music by Edward Jakobowski
Book by Harry Paulton

Argument

            The story of Erminie deals principally with the adventures of two thieves, Cadeaux and Ravennes, who have escaped from the convict prison at Toulon, and of whom a company of soldiers are in pursuit.  On their way across the country these two robbers meet a certain vicomte De Brassac, whom they rob of all his effects, letters of introduction, etc. and leave him bound to a tree in the forest of Toulon.  In the first act we see them at a roadside inn and coach house, the Lion d’Or, where the Marquis has arrived, accompanied by his daughter Erminie, her friend Cerisse, the Chevalier De Brabazon, and old roue, and Eugene, the Marquis’ secretary, a brother of Cerisse and lover of Erminie, without the knowledge of the Marquis.  This party has come from the Marquis’ chateau nearby, to meet the Visconte De Brissac whom the Marquis is about to betroth to Erminie.

            Ravennes, the robber, overhears this, and at the same time learning that none of the party have ever seen the Visconte, presents the letters of introduction and introduces himself as the Vicomte and his friend Cadeaux as the Baron Bonne, accounting for their appearance by stating they have been waylaid and robbed in the woods.  This is for the double purpose of escaping from the soldiers, who are in hot pursuit, and at the same time afford them an opportunity as guests of the Marquis, to rob his house.  The soldiers arrive at the inn, and just as the party are about to set off for the chateau, the real Vicomte appears, but is at once denounced as the robber by the two thieves, and is arrested and taken to prison as the curtain falls.

            The second act takes place in the ballroom of the chateay of the Marquis, where a reception is being held to celebrate the betrothal of Erminie to the Vicomte.  Eugene, fearful of losing his love, is watching with jealous and suspicious eyes the attentions of the pretended Vicomte, while the false Baron is devoting himself to an eccentric old princess, and incidentially relieving her of her cash and valuables, under the pretense of legerdemain, and causing no end of amusement by his antics. The captain of the soldiers arrives from the prison with a statement from the Vicomte to the Marquis, which is secured by Erminie, on the advice of Ravennes, who promises to aid her in her love affair with Eugene, and thus averts the threatened arrest and disgust for the second time, and the curtain falls on a picturesque gavotte.

            The second scene is in a reception hall of the chateau.  The two thieves have made all their preparations to rob the house of all the valuables they can secure, and to aid them in their escape, Ravennes has persuaded Erminie to elope with Eugene; she orders a carriage to be brought from the stable for that purpose, and all retire for the night.  The thieves then begin their operations.  The Chevalier, who cannot sleep and goes into the garden to take a walk, returning, by mistake gets into the room of the old Princess, whose screams alarm the household, and the thieves are arrested with their plunder.

            Just at this moment the true Vicomte arrives, having been released from prison, and the Marquis is learning for the first time that he is already betrothed to Cerisse, consents to the marriage of Erminie and Eugene, everything thus ending to the entire satisfaction of everybody except the two thieves, whose fate will no doubt, be a hard one, in view of the amusement they afford.

History

Erminie opened at the Grand Theatre, Birmingham, England, on October 26, 1885. It transferred to the Comedy Theatre in London opening on November 9, 1885 and playing 154 performances.  Erminie ran longer than the original production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Mikado which was playing simultaneously at the Savoy! The Broadway production was extraordinarily successful, opening at the Casino Theatre on May 10, 1886 and running for a record 571 performances (a number that went unmatched until Irene in 1919). The show starred Pauline Hall as the title character and comedian Francis Wilson as Cadeaux. Erminie was revived on Broadway in 1893, 1899, 1903 and in 1921 with Wilson reprising his role and De Wolf Hopper as Ravennes.  
Erminie became a revered classic, produced all over the United States and the second act “Lullaby” becoming universally known and loved.

The New York Times: The success of Erminie can scarcely be questioned. The chief merit of Erminie is the combination it offers of pleasing and enlivening strains with an exceptionally good libretto.

Orchestration

Flute (doubles Piccolo)
Oboe
Clarinet 1 (in B-flat and A)
Clarinet 2 (in B-flat and A)
Bassoon
Horn 1
Horn 2
Cornet 1
Cornet 2
Trombone
Percussion (2 Players: Timpani 2: Bells, Snare Drum, Bass Drum & Cymbals, Triangle)
Violin 1
Violin 2
Viola
Cello
Bass

Authors