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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
Operetta.
The story concerns a peasant girl named Cazille who is in love with a young man of her social station. Tension arises, however, when Cazille's foster-mother arranges for a wealthy, but much older, miller to be her future husband. When the miller overhears a conversation between Cazille and her young suitor he realises that he has no hope of securing her affection and hatches a plan to blow up the boat the lovers intend using to elope. The plan is foiled by some boatmen, and his treachery is discovered, allowing Cazille and her sweetheart to eventually marry.
Notes
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The libretto and music for Cazille is believed to have been completed prior to Richard Horne's return to England in 1869. Schmitt tried unsuccessfully to get the opera produced in its full theatrical form, and thus the only performance involved extracts only. These were performed during a benefit concert held for the composer at the Masonic Hall in Sydney in 1872.
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Eric Irvin writes in his paper on 'Nineteenth Century English Dramatists in Australia' (q.v.) that Cazille was 'little worse but certainly no better than the average opera libretto of the period' and that while 'the story was melodrama at its most unconvincing... perhaps the music, as it does in so many operas, was able to rise above it' (p28).
Production Details
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1872 : Masonic Hall, Sydney ; 8 April. Music Dir. Carl Schmitt. - Cast incl. Andrew Fairfax, Miss James, Mrs Conduit, Miss Maud, G. F. Jackson, M. Younger, E. A. Roper.
- The extracts from the operetta were presented as the second part of the evening's entertainment, with the first part made up of various musical selections from composers such as Auber and Mendelssohn.
- The orchestra comprised some 30 instrumentalists, while the chorus was made up approximately 50 singers.
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This entry has been sourced from on-going historical research into Australian-written music theatre being conducted by Dr Clay Djubal.
Details have also been derived in part from Annotated Calendar of Plays Premiered in Australia: 1870-1890 (q.v.).
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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Nineteenth Century English Dramatists in Australia
1976
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Theatre Notebook , vol. 30 no. 1 1976; (p. 27-28) -
Herr Carl Schmitt's Complimentary Concert
1872
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 9 April 1872; (p. 4)
— Review of Cazille 1872 single work musical theatre -
Dramatic and Musical Review
1872
single work
review
— Appears in: The Australian Town and Country Journal , 6 April 1872; (p. 425)
— Review of Cazille 1872 single work musical theatre A preview of the benefit for composer Carl Schmitt at the Masonic Hall, Sydney on 8 April 1872. The second half of the programme comprised extracts from the operetta, Cazille, by Schmitt and Richard Hengist Horne.
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Dramatic and Musical Review
1872
single work
review
— Appears in: The Australian Town and Country Journal , 6 April 1872; (p. 425)
— Review of Cazille 1872 single work musical theatre A preview of the benefit for composer Carl Schmitt at the Masonic Hall, Sydney on 8 April 1872. The second half of the programme comprised extracts from the operetta, Cazille, by Schmitt and Richard Hengist Horne. -
Herr Carl Schmitt's Complimentary Concert
1872
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 9 April 1872; (p. 4)
— Review of Cazille 1872 single work musical theatre -
Nineteenth Century English Dramatists in Australia
1976
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Theatre Notebook , vol. 30 no. 1 1976; (p. 27-28)
