As before, these are pop versions of the operettas, such as audiences might have heard from MacRae's weekly Railroad Hour on radio. Most of the song selections are quite brief, allowing more of the numbers to be included on each side of a 12-inch LP (or separately on 10-inch albums).
My transfer comes from a 12-inch disc, although I believe I have at least Naughty Marietta in yet another format - a double EP.
This post also includes a bonus - a 10-inch LP of selections from Naughty Marietta and Herbert's 1905 operetta Mlle. Modiste, from the RCA "Show Time" Series of the early 1950s, featuring Doretta Morrow.
The Red Mill
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| Still from the 1906 production |
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| The photo of Norman and MacRae that inspired the cover art |
The arranger and conductor for The Red Mill was Carmen Dragon, making his only appearance in this series. He was a Capitol mainstay for many years - as was George Greeley, who filled the same roles for Naughty Marietta. Neither use Herbert's own charts, even though the composer was famed for his orchestrations. For those, you can look to several more modern recordings.
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| Carmen Dragon and George Greeley |
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| From the 1906 production |
Naughty Marietta
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| Victor Herbert |
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| Marguerite Piazza and Katherine Hilgenberg |
Capitol decided to cast the title role with Marguerite Piazza, a talented singer with the required temperament but who also had a tendency to be squally and whose diction was not the clearest. She does match well with MacRae, however. Los Angeles contralto Katherine Hilgenberg joined the cast for "'Neath the Southern Moon," a good performance.
No matter who sings, Herbert's melodic profusion wins out. This particular work include both my own favorite Herbert melody ("I'm Falling in Love with Someone") and his most parodied piece ("Ah! Sweet Mystery of Life"). Capitol saved them both for the grand close of this quick and pleasant spin through Herbert's most enduring legacy. It and its disc mate are very well recorded, with the impact enhanced by ambient stereo.
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| Film still with Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald |
Unlike The Red Mill, I found no stills from the first production of Naughty Marietta, so we'll have to make do with a publicity photo from the famous 1935 film, with Jeanette MacDonald as Marietta and Nelson Eddy as the hero, Captain Richard Warrington.
Bonus - Songs from Mlle. Modiste and Naughty Marietta
These materials (and all the "Show Time" Series entries) have appeared on the blog once before, but this is a new ambient stereo mastering based on the Internet Archive's 10-inch LP, rather than the EPs I presented years ago.
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| Felix Knight and Doretta Morrow |
The leading lights of these Herbert operettas were Doretta Morrow and Felix Knight, both veterans of stage and film productions. Morrow introduced many famous songs as an original cast member of Where's Charley ("My Darling, My Darling"), The King and I ("I Have Dreamed" and "We Kiss in Shadow") and Kismet ("Baubles, Bangles and Beads"). Knight was a regular in the operetta and musical recordings of this era, having taken part in productions of The Merry Widow, The Desert Song, The Red Mill, Can-Can, Kiss Me Kate and others.
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| Edward Roecker |
The "Show Time" presentations were even more abbreviated than the Capitol series - four songs from each of the two shows on a 10-inch LP. But the selections here are appropriate, and the performances and sound are excellent. Morrow in particular is an exciting performer. RCA sensibly leads Mlle. Modiste with her gorgeous performance of "Kiss Me Again," one of Herbert's best songs.