Ib and Little Christina

Ib and Little Christina refers to two theatrical adaptations by Basil Hood of the 1855 fairy tale by Hans Andersen of the same name: a play (1900) and an opera (1901).

Indoor scene with a woman, a man and a young girl, seated at a cottage table, heads bowed for grace
Isabel Jay, Robert Evett and Ela Q. May in the 1901 opera

Play

The first version was a play subtitled "A Picture in 3 Parts", with incidental music by Arthur Bruhns, first produced at the Prince of Wales Theatre, opening on 15 May 1900 and running for 60 performances. It starred Martin Harvey and the nine-year-old Phyllis Dare.[1] The piece transferred to the Coronet Theatre that summer.[2] There was also a Broadway run in 1900.[3] It was revived at Terry's Theatre in January 1903, playing for 16 performances, and again at Terry's in early 1904, for 31 more performances. The play was also revived at the Adelphi Theatre in September 1908, playing for seven performances.[4]

Opera
Indoor scene with a young woman introducing a happy-looking young man to a sad one; an old man dozes in a chair by the fireside
Christina introduces her new lover to her childhood sweetheart

Hood rewrote Ib and Little Christina as an opera styled "A Picture in 3 Panels", with music by Franco Leoni. It was first produced by William Greet at the Savoy Theatre on 14 November 1901 and ran together with Hood's The Willow Pattern for 16 performances, until the end of November.[5] The libretto was published by Chappell & Co., and a copy is in the British Library at 11778.f.23(4) (1901).

The Times described the piece as "an opera of ultra-modern type" and compared it unflatteringly to the work of Arthur Sullivan, who had died earlier in that year.[6] The Manchester Guardian later said that "the music, though clever and attractive in many ways, was too realistic and too Southern to reflect the Northern symbolism of Andersen's story, and that its peculiar vein of passion was out of place."[7] The piece was revived at Daly's Theatre from 11 to 13 January 1904, then transferred to the Lyric Theatre from 19 January to 5 March 1904, running for a total of 23 matinee performances.[8] The opera is not quite a full-length piece and is played in three short scenes.[9]

Opera synopsis

Ib and his father are poor and live alone; Old Henrik and his granddaughter Christina are their neighbours. The two children are in love, and Ib is willing to sacrifice everything for her. An old gypsy woman visits Ib and grants him three wishes.

Fifteen years later, the children have grown up, and Christina is in love with John, a prosperous innkeeper. Broken‑hearted but faithful, Ib gives her up.

Seven years later, the marriage brought no happiness to Christina, who died in poverty. The gypsy woman brings Christina's daughter (also called Christina) to Ib, and they live happily together.

Roles and original casts
Play, 1900
Prince of Wales		 Play, 1900
Coronet		 Opera, 1901
Savoy		 Play, 1903
Terry's		 Opera, 1904
Daly's		 Play, 1904
Terry's		 Play, 1908
Adelphi
Ib's father Charles Lander Charles Lander Henry Lytton Julian Cross Ivor Foster William Dunlop Albert E. Raynor
Little Ib Vyvian Thomas Vyvian Thomas Laurence Emery Philip Tonge Louise Douste Roy Lorraine Bobbie Andrews
Old Henrik, Christina's grandfather Holbrook Blinn J. H. Barnes H. Thorndike J. D. Beveridge Gordon Cleather George Mudie, Jr Phillip Hewland
Ib's Mother/Gipsy Woman Mary Rorke Mary Rorke Isabel Jay Mary Rorke Susan Strong Irene Rooke Mary Rorke
Little Christina Phyllis Dare Phyllis Dare Ela Q. May Doris Middleton Ela Q. May Winifred Winter Rita Leggiero
Ib Martin Harvey Holbrook Blinn Robert Evett Holbrook Blinn Ben Davies Sydney Blow Martin Harvey
John H. Nye Chart H. Nye Chart Powis Pinder Vincent Sternroyd Charles Bennett Edward Bonfield George Cooke
Christina Eva Moore Louie Pounds Louie Pounds Daisy Thimm Edna Thornton Dorothy Drake Amy Coleridge
Source: The London Stage, 1900−1909, The Era, and The Stage.[10]

Notes
  1. Wearing, p. 29
  2. "The Coronet Theatre", The Morning Post, 25 July 1900, p. 3
  3. Information about the Broadway production, Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved 30 November 2021
  4. Wearing, p. 271
  5. The Times, 28 November 1901, p. 8
  6. "Savoy Theatre", The Times, 15 November 1901, p. 9
  7. "Music in London", The Manchester Guardian, 13 January 1904, p. 4
  8. Wearing, p. 205; and The Times, 6 January 1904, p. 6; 8 February 1904, p. 8; and 5 March 1904, p. 10
  9. Walters, Michael and George Low. Ib and Little Christina homepage, Gilbert and Sullivan Archive (1996). Retrieved 30 November 2021
  10. Wearing, pp. 29, 129, 205, 268 and 271; "Triple Bill at the Coronet", The Era, 28 July 1900, p. 8; and "The Adelphi", The Stage, 24 September 1908, p. 18

Sources
  • Wearing, J. P. (1981). The London Stage, 1900–1909: A Calendar of Plays and Players. Metuchen: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 9780810814035. OCLC 1245534136.
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