Released – 1st September 1857.
Green’s Title Sheet in “Daughter of the Regiment”.
Notes:
Originally “The
Daughter of the Regiment” was a comic opera
in two acts, by Donizetti with words by Bayard and Jules H. Vernoy (Marquis St.
Georges). It was first produced at, Opéra Comique, Paris, as "La Fille du
Régiment," on 11th February 1840. The first performance in
London, in English, was at the Surrey Theatre on 21st December 1847;
the same season in Italian, with Jenny Lind as Marie, which was reported to be
her favourite role.
Act I - Mountains of the Swiss Tyrol in 1815.
Marie, the daughter of the
regiment, was found on the field of battle when she was a mere child. Upon her
person was affixed a letter written by her father to the Marchioness of
Berkenfeld, which has been carefully preserved by the Sergeant. Marie was
brought up by a whole regiment of fathers, the spoiled darling of the
grenadiers, the Twenty-first regiment of Napoleon's army.
At the beginning of
the opera the little waif has grown into a sprightly young woman, full of
mischief and spirit, as is shown by her opening song ("The Camp was my
Birthplace"), in which she tells the story of her life with the Regiment.
But for the last few days Marie has not been her cheerful self. She has been
seen with a young man. The Grenadier’s Sergeant, Sulpice, asks her about him.
She tells Sulpice that this young man saved her life by preventing her from
falling over a precipice. That, however, established no claim upon her. The
regiment has decreed that only a grenadier shall have her for a wife.
Tonio, a young Tyrolean peasant, is caught sneaking about the camp and charged
as a spy. His punishment would have been short shrift had not Marie pleaded for
him, for he is none other than her rescuer. As he wants to remain near Marie,
he decides to become a soldier. The grenadiers celebrate his decision by
drinking to his health and calling upon Marie to sing the "Song of the
Regiment," a dapper tune, which is about the best-known number of the
score: "Ciascun lo dice, ciascum lo sa! E il Reggimento, ch’equal non
ha."(All men confess it, Go where we will! Our gallant regiment, is
welcome still.)
There is then a love scene for Marie and Tonio, followed by a duet for them,
"A voti cosi ardente" (No longer can I doubt it).
But, alas, the Sergeant has been informed that the
Marquise de Birkenfeld desires safe conduct. Birkenfeld! That is the very name
to which were addressed certain papers found on Marie when she was discovered
as a baby on the battlefield. The Marquise examines the papers, declares that
Marie is her niece and henceforth must live with her in the castle. Poor Tonio
has become a grenadier in vain. The regiment cannot help him. It can only
lament with him that their daughter is lost to them. She herself is none too
happy. She sings a sad farewell, "Convien partir! O miei compagni
d’arme" (Farewell, a long farewell, my dear companions).
Act II. In the
castle of the Marquise.
Marie is learning to dance the minuet and to sing
classical airs. But in the midst of her singing she and Sulpice, whom the
Marquise also has brought to the castle, break out into the "Song of the
Regiment" and stirring "rataplans." Their liveliness, however,
is only temporary, for poor Marie is to wed, at her aunt’s command, a scion of
the ducal house of Krakenthorp. The march of the grenadier is heard. They come
in, led by Tonio, who has been made a captain for valour. Sulpice can now see
no reason why Marie should not marry him instead of the nobleman selected by
her aunt. And, indeed, Marie and Tonio decide to elope. But the Marquise
confesses to the Sergeant, in order to win his aid in influencing Marie, that
the girl really is her daughter, born out of wedlock, with her father being an
officer in the army. Sulpice informs Marie, who now feels that she cannot go
against her mother’s wishes.
In the end, however, it is Marie herself who saves the situation. The guests
have assembled for the signing of the wedding contract, when Marie, before them
all, sings fondly of her childhood with the regiment, and of her life as a
vivandière. "Quando il destino in mezzo a stragiera" (When I was
left, by all abandoned).
At last Marie's sorrow arouses old associations in the mind of the Marchioness,
and she consents to the union of Tonio and Marie. The opera ends with an
ensemble, "Salute to France!"
The Toy Theatre
Play.
Like most toy theatre plays, “The Daughter of the Regiment” is based on an actual stage production of the time, as performed at the Surrey Theatre in 1847 and adapted by Edward Fitzball. The characters and scenes of this toy theatre play were originally created by John Kilby Green in 1857. John Kilby Green was one of the toy theatre’s most prolific publishers and also claimed to be the “original inventor”.
Green used different names for the leading characters of the piece. Marie became Madelaine and Tonio became Andreas, a Tyrolean. These names coincide with Fitzball’s production rather than the slightly earlier original by Bayard and Vernoy. The script for the toy theatre version was remarkably similar to its full sized counterpart.
Few original sheets from Green’s production survive and certainly not enough to create a complete coloured set. Luckily for us, on Green’s death in 1860, John Redington, Green’s former agent, acquired Green’s printing plates and in turn he left them to his son-in-law to be, Benjamin Pollock upon his own death in 1876. Pollock used the lithographic stone to print his sheets so he was able, with ease, to replace the imprint of JK Green with his own. The colouring of the sheets was carried out mostly by Benjamin’s Pollock’s daughter, Louisa Pollock. In the early days the painting was done freehand, but Pollock soon developed a stencilling technique to create consistent and speedy results. Many of the stencils still survive today at “Pollock’s Toy Museum” at 1 Scala Street, London.
To perform the play you need 7 sheets in all, of characters, scenery and wings - and a book of the words, which also gave instructions on how to perform the play.
Character Plates
|
|
|
|
|
Plate 1 |
Plate 2 |
Plate 3 |
Scene Plates
|
|
|
|
Scene 1 – Original for this play |
Scene 2 – Original for this play |
Wing Plates
|
Image |
Wing Plate No. |
Original Play |
Imprint Date |
|
Forty Thieves |
1836 |
||
|
Forty Thieves |
1836 |