Song Character Analysis Worksheet - The University of North ...

During the 1890s, the imported waltz-driven works of Johann Strauss Jr. and the
effusive satires of Gilbert and Sullivan were guaranteed successful runs and large grosses
in American cities. 4 In that decade, several so-called “American” composers also made
important contributions to this wildly popular form of highbrow entertainment. Reginald
de Koven’s Robin Hood (1890) is best known for the sentimental song, “Oh Promise
Me”. John Phillip Sousa wrote nineteen operettas that culminated in El Capitan (1896),
and Victor Herbert, described by Julian Mates as the man who “made the American
operetta famous,” had his first success with The Fortune Teller (1898). 5
A new invasion of Viennese-style operetta in New York City was initiated by the
music of Franz Léhar’s Die lustige Witwe (The Merry Widow) in 1907. 6 The twentieth-
century European style was more romantic than satirical, exploited exotic settings, and
reflected contemporary taste with topical references. This style culminated in the works
of Rudolf Friml and Sigmund Romberg in the 1920s. 7
The general characteristics of American operetta, derived from the European
model, include a plot that revolves around a traditional romantic couple and the forces
that impede the ultimate consummation of their relationship. The heroine is typically cast
4 New York audiences could not get enough of Gilbert and Sullivan’s works. In the 1890 season
alone, five different shows were presented in New York City: Patience, Iolanthe, H. M. S. Pinafore, and
multiple bookings of The Mikado and The Pirates of Penzance.
5 Mates, 73. I use the phrase so-called “American” because Sousa was the only native-born
American. Herbert’s most famous operettas are Babes in Toyland (1903) and Naughty Marietta (1910).
6 The Merry Widow caused an enormous social frenzy in New York City. The original cast
members were instant celebrities, the waltzes became bestsellers as sheet music, and an entire fashion craze
of “widow” hats was launched. The show enjoyed a long era of influence in New York City and through
six national touring companies.
7 Rudolf Friml, originally from Prague, had his greatest successes with Rose Marie (1924) and The
Vagabond King (1925). Sigmund Romberg, from a small Hungarian town, is best known for The Student
Prince (1924) and The Desert Song (1926).
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