Cirrus@Austlit

Although the authorship of this second-part burlesque has not been established (as is the situation with other productions then being included in the Kate Howarde Pantomime and Burlesque Company tour), advertising and reviews indicate that the songs and comic business included a good deal of both new and original material.

The story, which is loosely based on Fra Diavolo; Ou, L'hôtellerie de Terracine (Fra Diavolo; Or, The Inn of Terracina), an opera comique by French composer Daniel-François-Esprit Auber and librettist Eugène Scribe (1830), concerns Neapolitan guerilla leader Michele Pezza, who was active in southern Italy around 1800-1806. Pezza was known by the name Fra Diavolo, meaning 'Brother Devil.' In reviewing Howarde's production, the Brisbane Courier critic writes, '[Diavolo Up-To-Date] certainly [contains] very little of the opera; there was the merest outline. Still that is not expected in an openly confessed burlesque' (10 January 1898, p.6).

Songs known to have been incorporated into the production were 'Dreaming as She Sleeps' (sung by the Countess), and 'I Fear No Foe' and the duet 'Funiculi, Funicula' (both sung by the brigands).