AustLit

Comic opera.

'The plot commences after the defeat of Charles II at the battle of Worcester, whence the King and Rochester escape under the assumed names of Jacob Tompkins and Peregrine Samson. The first act exhibited their "Merry Freaks" at the seat of Sir Henry Milford in which they are assisted by that indispensable hero of Comic Opera, a mischievous page who becomes instrumental in the King's safe escape to the continent. The second act takes the narrative several years hence, opening with Charles' small court of exiled Royalists in Holland. An under-current of that "course of true love which never does run smooth," flows in sinuous windings through the piece which, in its denouement, terminates at Milord Hall, whither the King and his faithful adherents return previous to the Restoration' (Australian Journal 29 May 1843, p2).

The opera is also said to have humorously portrayed and contrasted the characteristics of the Cavaliers and Puritans of that age.

Burletta (in one act).

Advertised as an 'original, laughable, comical, operatical, tragical [and] melodramatical burletta' and described as a 'musical extravaganza', Shakespericonglommorofunnidogammoniae takes several of Shakespeare's characters and presents them in what is essentially a satirical exposé on the economic state of New South Wales, particularly the effects of the 1843 depression. The characters include those from some of Shakespeare's best-known plays: Hamlet, Macbeth, The Merchant of Venice, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Othello, and Richard III. Written in verse, it also included many comic re-writes of popular songs. Margaret Williams, in Australia on the Popular Stage, notes that 'the local allusions are charmingly woven into a fantasy world where Ophelia is a dairy-maid, and Hamlet's duel with Falstaff over Anne Page is prevented by an Irish ghost named Pat Carey' (p.22).

The musical content comprised dances and popular airs of the day. The lyrics to these songs were either wholly or partly rewritten by Charles Nagel.

Burletta (in one act).

The plot revolves around William (a music teacher) and Captain O'Leary (commander of the troops at Little Puddleton), who are both competing for the hand of the mayor's daughter, Fanny Dobbs. Against her father's preference, Fanny chooses William. The mayor and Captain O'Leary pledge that they will accept the situation only if it should happen that one day they both go down on their knees and kiss William's hand. A short time later, the mayor receives a letter informing him of the imminent visit to the town of Catalini, an Italian prima donna. Upon her arrival, the diva is naturally greeted in a most flattering manner, two of the most respectful being (naturally) Mayor Dobbs and Captain O'Leary, who both salute the diva's extended hand on their bended knees. At this point, Catalini throws off her wig and clothing to reveal herself as William. He and Fanny are forthwith married and 'so we conclude, at least live happily for the rest of their lives'. A theatre critic writing for the New South Wales Examiner proposed in his review that not only was the burletta's story 'its least recommendation', but also that the plot device concerning the pledge was 'most improbable' (11 May 1842, p.3).