Fanny (musical)
| Musical dates | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Fanny |
| Original title: | Fanny |
| Original language: | English |
| Music: | Harold Rome |
| Book: | Samuel Nathaniel Behrman and Joshua Logan |
| Lyrics: | Harold Rome |
| Literary source: | Drama trilogy "Marius, César et Fanny" by Marcel Pagnol |
| Premiere: | 4th November 1954 |
| Place of premiere: | New York City |
| Place and time of the action: | At the port of Marseille in the early 1950s |
| Roles / people | |
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Fanny is an American musical in two acts (18 images) by Harold Rome . The libretto was written jointly by Samuel Nathaniel Behrman and Joshua Logan . It is based on the dramatic trilogy “Marius, César et Fanny” by Marcel Pagnol . The lyrics come from the composer. The work had its world premiere on November 4, 1954 at the Majestic Theater in New York City under the direction of Joshua Logan. There were 888 performances. The German adaptation comes from Günther Schwenn and Michael Freytag. The German-language premiere took place in Munich in 1955.
orchestra
Three flutes, an oboe, four clarinets, a bassoon, two horns, three trumpets, two trombones, a harp, a mandolin, percussion and strings
Stage sets
First act: Image 1: At the harbor, houses of César, Honorine and Panisse; Image 2: Sailors' bar; Photo 3: Césars Bar; Image 4: At the dock, sailing ship departing; Photo 5: Césars Bar; Image 6: Honorines fish shop; Photo 7: Panisses sailing business; Picture 8: wedding party; Photo 9: At the harbor
Second act: Image 10: Children's room; Image 11: living room; Image 12: pram picture ; Image 13: fish shop; Image 14: cityscape; Image 15: Children's room; Image 16: birthday party; Picture 17: garage; Photo 18: Bedroom in Panisse's house
action
first act
César runs a bar in the port of Marseilles. The 19-year-old Marius, his only son, has dreamed of hiring a sailor on a ship and traveling to distant countries since he was a child. The fact that he has not yet put his wish into practice is solely due to his girlfriend, the fish seller Fanny. One day, however, Marius has a fateful encounter with a man who is only called "The Admiral" by everyone. He tells him that if he wants, he can get on a research ship tomorrow. Marius becomes weak and accepts. All of his girlfriend's requests are unable to change his mind.
Several weeks have passed without Fanny having heard from her lover. César has still not received any news from his son either. Fanny is sad because she is expecting a child from Marius and fears that it will have to grow up without a father. Then Fanny receives advice from her mother Honorine to marry the rich sailmaker Panisse, because he has been a widower for six months and has kept an eye on her since the death of his wife. The marriage is engineered; Panisse is happy about his pretty young wife and is not at all bothered by the fact that she is pregnant by another man. He genuinely loves her and believes that she will soon forget Marius.
When Fanny gives birth to her son, he is given the name Césario.
Marius has received an order from the expedition to bring a device to France for repair. His path also takes him via Marseille. Suddenly he discovers Fanny with the child. Then he notices how a fire starts to blaze again inside him. He begs his former lover to forgive him for his earlier abrupt departure. When Panisse joins, the two men get into an argument. Marius realizes that it is better for Fanny and their son if they stay with Panisse. He says goodbye quickly and goes back to sea. Fanny realizes that she still loves Marius as much as she did in her youth.
Second act
Ten years later. Césario is now twelve years old and in his whole being keeps reminding his mother of Marius; for the child also dreams of seafaring and foreign countries.
It is not entirely by chance that the "Admiral" appears again. He knows that Marius has since given up the sea and has settled in a neighboring town. He really wants to bring the boy together with his father. In a night and fog action he "kidnaps" Césario. The boy likes to let everything happen to him because he welcomes this change.
It won't be long before Marius will bring Césario back to his mother. Arriving in front of Panisse's house, father and son hear sobs from the bedroom. The grief over the loss of his stepson has so taken old Panisse that he passed away. Before that, however, he wrote a letter to Marius asking him to marry his wife after his death. He knew that in the end Fanny could only be happy with Marius. And so it happens.
music
Fanny was the first musical in the history of this genre that is closely related to opera. This is particularly evident in the dramatic scenes and the ballet interludes. The main roles at the premiere were also cast by people who had received their training in opera: Ezio Pinza , Walter Slezak , Florence Henderson and Mohammed El-Bakkar . Of the songs, the following are highlighted as musical highlights (in the German version):
- I see a ship, then I say hopefully: take me with you into the world
- Love never comes, never too late!
- Does he suspect whether he knows since when I've loved him so much?
- Don't be afraid of the dance!
- Greetings, says the house, come in and take a rest!
- I have to tell you, I love you dearly!
- Oysters, clams and lobsters
- Having a child is not easy
- I thought of you day and night
- When I see my child's eyes ...
- Be nice to parents who often don't deserve it
filming
Joshua Logan, the director of the premiere on Broadway, filmed the musical in 1961 without singing, but used Harold Rome's music as the soundtrack. Charles Boyer , Maurice Chevalier , Leslie Caron and Horst Buchholz played the leading roles under his direction . The lexicon of international films judges: "Marcel Pagnol's comedy trilogy 'Zum Goldenen Anker' in a slightly changed, somewhat superficial American film version with excellent actors."