The Rose of Persia; or, The Story-Teller and the Slave, is a two-act comic opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by Basil Hood. It premiered at the Savoy Theatre on 29 November 1899, closing on 28 June 1900 after a profitable run of 211 performances. The opera then toured, had a brief run in America and played elsewhere throughout the English-speaking world.
The original cast included Savoy Theatre regulars Ellen Beach Yaw, Rosina Brandram, Emmie Owen, Louie Pounds, Isabel Jay, Walter Passmore, Henry Lytton and Robert Evett. Later, Decima Moore joined the cast as Scent-of-Lillies.
The opera was regularly revived by amateur theatre groups, particularly in Britain, through the 1950s, but it has been produced only sporadically since then.Bond, Ian. "Rarely Produced Shows" . St. David's Players, accessed 22 July 2010 The New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players produced the opera professionally in 2007 at New York City Center.Dale, Michael. "The Rose of Persia: Sullivan Without Gilbert", BroadwayWorld.com, 14 January 2007
Background and original production When the Gilbert and Sullivan partnership collapsed after the production of The Gondoliers in 1889, impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte struggled to find successful new works for the Savoy Theatre. He was able to bring Gilbert and Sullivan together briefly for two more operas (Utopia, Limited and The Grand Duke), neither of which was a great success. He also paired Sullivan with several other librettists, but none of the resulting operas were particularly successful. Carte's other new pieces for the Savoy in the 1890s had done no better. In Basil Hood, Sullivan finally found a congenial new collaborator, giving the Savoy its first significant success since the early 1890s. Sullivan and Hood worked together on the new piece, originally entitled Hassan, over the summer of 1899.Gordon-Powell, Robin. Notes to programme for Sir Arthur Sullivan Society Festival Concert, 16 September 2006, London Unlike W. S. Gilbert, Hood did not direct his own works, and the Savoy's stage manager, Richard Barker, acted as stage director. Costumes were designed by Percy Anderson.Programme for The Rose of Persia at The Gilbert and Sullivan Archive, accessed 19 July 2018
The casting of the soprano to play the leading role of the Sultana Zubedyah was problematic. Sullivan had been much impressed by the American high soprano Ellen Beach Yaw, and he prevailed upon the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company to cast her in the role. Leading soprano Ruth Vincent quit the company when she was passed over for the role (although she later played the Sultana in New York). Sullivan wrote a special high cadenza for one of Yaw's songs, "'Neath My Lattice", to show off her extraordinary range. Yaw's first two nights were shaky, though the reviews were mixed, and both the music director, Francois Cellier, and Mrs. Carte advocated her replacement. Sullivan at first agreed, though writing in his diary on 2 December 1899, "I don't quite see what it's all about – Miss Yaw is not keeping people out of the theatre as Cellier and the Cartes imply." By 10 December, however, he wrote in his diary that Yaw was "improving rapidly" and "sang the song really superbly: brilliant. So I wrote again to Mrs. Carte saying that I thought if we let Miss Yaw go it would be another mistake."Cannon, John. "The Suppressed Saga of Two Savoy Sultanas", The Gilbert and Sullivan Archive, 15 July 2007 It was too late, however, and the next day Yaw was dismissed summarily by Mrs. Carte (ostensibly on account of illness). Isabel Jay was promoted to play the part.
The first performance, on 29 November 1899, was a reassuring success – the first that the Savoy had enjoyed since Utopia Limited six years earlier. The piece played for a total of 211 performances, closing on 28 June 1900,Wearing, p. 844, gives the run length as 211 performances noting that, according to contemporary advertisements, there were no performances on either Christmas day, 1899 or 13 April 1900 (Good Friday); Rollins and Witts, p. 18, gives 213 but does not explain their methodology. and D'Oyly Carte touring companies soon were performing The Rose of Persia around the British provinces and then throughout the English-speaking world. In New York, it opened at Daly's Theatre on 6 September 1900, closing on 29 September 1900 after 25 performances. Ruth Vincent played the Sultana, Hassan was John Le Hay, the Sultan was Charles Angelo, and Yussuf was Sidney Bracy."Daly's Theatre", Internet Broadway Database, accessed November 29, 2018 After Rose proved to be a hit, Sullivan and Hood teamed up again, but the composer died, leaving their second collaboration, The Emerald Isle, unfinished until the score was completed by Edward German.
Rose is firmly reminiscent of the style of the earlier Savoy successes, with its topsy-turvy plot, mistaken identities, the constant threat of executions, an overbearing wife, and a fearsome monarch who is fond of practical joking. Although critics found Hood inferior to Gilbert, his delight in comic word-play at times resembles the work of his great predecessor. With its episodic plot, its exotic setting, and its emphasis on dance numbers, Rose also takes a step towards musical comedy, which by 1899 was the dominant genre on the London stage.
When Sullivan died, his autograph scores passed to his nephew, Herbert Sullivan, and then to Herbert's widow. After her death, the collection was broken up and sold by auction at Sotheby's in London on 13 June 1966.Catalogue of Valuable Printed Books, Music, Autograph Letters and Historical Documents... auction by Messrs. Sotheby & Co., London, 13 June 1966 Some items were sold for considerable sums (the score of Trial by Jury sold for £9,000), but the manuscript of The Rose of Persia sold for a mere £90, passing to a collector."Prices and Buyers' Names", Sotheby & Co. Sale of Valuable Printed Books, Music, Autograph Letters and Historical Documents, 13 June 1966 Upon the death of this collector, almost forty years later, the manuscript was bequeathed to Oriel College, Oxford, and in December 2005 scholars from the Sir Arthur Sullivan Society were able to examine the manuscript, along with other Sullivan autograph manuscripts. They discovered, at the back of The Rose of Persia, an item that had been cut from the show before the premiere, which was not even known to exist.
Roles and original cast
The Sultan Mahmoud of Persia (lyric baritone) – Henry Lytton Hassan (a philanthropist) (comic baritone) – Walter Passmore Yussuf (a professional story-teller) (tenor) – Robert Evett Abdallah (a priest) (bass-baritone) – George Ridgwell The Grand Vizier (baritone) – W. H. Leon The Physician-in-Chief (tenor) – Charles Childerstone The Royal Executioner (baritone) – Reginald Crompton Soldier of the Guard (bass) – Powis Pinder The Sultana Zubeydeh (named "Rose-in-Bloom") (coloratura soprano) – Ellen Beach Yaw, replaced by Isabel Jay The Sultana's favourite slaves: "Scent-of-Lilies" (soprano) – Jessie Rose "Heart's Desire" (mezzo-soprano) – Louie Pounds "Honey-of-Life" (soprano) – Emmie Owen "Dancing Sunbeam" (Hassan's first wife) (contralto) – Rosina Brandram "Blush-of-Morning" (his twenty-fifth wife) (soprano) – Isabel Jay, replaced by Agnes Fraser Wives of Hassan: "Oasis-in-the-Desert" – Madge Moyse "Moon-Upon-the-Waters" – Jessie Pounds "Song-of-Nightingales" – Rose Rosslyn "Whisper-of-the-West-Wind" – Gertrude Gerrard
Chorus (Act I) — Hassan's Wives, Mendicants and Sultan's Guards Chorus (Act II) — Royal Slave Girls, Palace Officials and Guards
Synopsis Act I Scene: Court of Hassan's House.
The wealthy merchant Hassan is contented with his peaceful life in Persia. He is surrounded by his twenty-five wives (he has carelessly miscounted and dismisses his 26th wife, as he has decided that 25 is his limit!), including his first wife, Dancing Sunbeam, who wishes that the family would mingle more with high society. Hassan is known for generously entertaining travellers and the poor in his home. Abdallah, the High Priest, arrives. Abdallah accuses Hassan of madness, because he consorts with beggars and other riff-raff, which he says does not follow Islam. He threatens to drive the evil spirit out of Hassan by force. As evidence of his sanity, Hassan offers to make out his will in Abdallah's favour. Abdallah agrees that anyone who would do this must be sane. Dancing Sunbeam plans to share Hassan's fortune with Abdallah should Hassan perish.
Yussuf, a traveling story-teller, arrives, shortly followed by four of the Sultana's slaves, who have slipped out of the palace disguised as dancing girls to explore the outside world. One of the girls, Heart's Desire, quickly falls in love with Yussuf. Another is actually Rose-in-Bloom, the Sultana. They know that they will surely be executed if the Sultan learns of their absence. Yussuf says that he will ensure that they return home safely. Hassan invites Yussuf, the girls, and a crowd of beggars and cripples into his home, offering them supper. Yussuf sings them a drinking song, and the "dancing girls" also perform for them. Abdallah enters with two police officers to arrest the unruly group. Hassan helps the beggars escape while Abdallah reads the warrant.
Abdallah orders the dancing girls arrested. Heart's Desire, who is wearing the Sultana's ring, steps forward and claims that she is the Sultana. By doing so, she hopes to provide Rose-in-Bloom (the real Sultana) with an alibi. Abdallah, thinking he has found the Sultana consorting with another man, is delighted, as he is sure the Sultan will order Hassan's execution. Abdallah expects that he will inherit Hassan's wealth under the will. Dancing Sunbeam realises that Abdallah has double-crossed her and that she will not share any of Hassan's estate after all.
After Abdallah leaves, Hassan distributes a narcotic drug called "bhang", which he says will relieve the distress of their impending execution. Rose-in-Bloom giddily tells Hassan that she is the real Sultana. Hassan, anticipating his execution, takes a triple dose of "bhang". Heart's Desire announces that the Sultan himself is about to arrive, along with his Grand Vizier, Physician-in-Chief and Royal Executioner, all disguised as a religious order of dancing dervishes. The Sultan has decided to investigate for himself the rumours of Hassan's mad behaviour.
Intoxicated with "bhang", Hassan tells them that he doesn't care about the Sultan or his Executioner. The Physician realises that Hassan has overdosed on "bhang". He says the effect of the drug is that Hassan will gradually consider himself a person of more and more importance, until he suddenly falls unconscious for ten hours. Hassan starts behaving exactly as the Physician had described, claiming that he actually is the Sultan. As evidence of this, he tells them that he will introduce the Sultana. The actual Sultan is incensed that anyone would imitate his Sultana and says that the perpetrator will be punished. In the meantime, he decides to play a trick on Hassan and tells the Vizier to conduct Hassan to the palace and treat him as if he were the Sultan. They tell Hassan's wives that Hassan has been leading a double-life and is really the Sultan disguised. Hassan, believing that he is the Sultan, orders Rose-in-Bloom to lift her veil, so all may see that she is the Sultana, and threatens her with execution should she refuse. Fortunately, he collapses from the drug's effects before she does so. The Sultan orders him taken to the palace.
Act II Scene: Audience Hall of the Sultan's Palace, the next morning.