Arc de Triomphe 1943 Selection - Ivor Novello

Dr. Pitt-Payne in London UK - 02 Oct 2002

Arc de Triomphe
Music by Ivor Novello
Lyrics by Christopher Hassall
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The show follows the lead character,
the French opera singer Marie Forêt,
through twenty years of professional
and private life with all its trials,
tribulations and triumphs.
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Marie Forêt, a rising opera singer,
turns her back on the love offered
by cabaret vocalist Pierre Bachelet
for the sake of her career. She also
refuses the advances of the impresario
Adhémar Janze as she rises to stardom
and to the point when she might
safely marry Pierre. He has now become
a famous cabaret star. But, the
First World War arrives and Pierre
is killed. Marie hides her sorrow
by turning wholeheartedly to
her singing, first in entertaining
the troops and then as a prima donna
in the world of opera. Finally
we see her ready to retire from
the world of the stage but Adhémar
tries to rob her of her farewell
performance in the role of Joan of Arc.
Adhémar has given this role to his niece,
Giselle. However, Giselle develops
a sore throat and Marie gives her
farewell performance.
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Apart from the now largely forgotten
'Arc de Triomphe,' Ivor Novello did not
produce a full length musical between
'The Dancing Years'
and
'Perchance to Dream,'
first produced just after the end of
the war in Europe in
Nineteen FortyFive.
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His last show, 'Gay's The Word'
(lyrics by Alan Melville), in which
Cicely Courtneidge introduced
"It's Bound To Be Right On The Night"
and "Vitality", opened in London in
NineteenFiftyone, three weeks before
Novello died. In a way, it lampooned
the kind of lavish, brilliantly staged
productions with which Novello had
captured the imagination of London
theatre audiences, and successfully
challenged the everpresent American
invasion. By customarily taking the
nonsinging romantic lead in several
of his own productions, Novello also
built an immense following with the
female audience, despite the fact
that in his private life he was homosexual.
Apart from Hassall, who was the
lyricist for six of his shows,
Novello's other collaborators included
P.G. Wodehouse, Clifford Grey,
Harry Graham,
Ronald Jeans, Howard Talbot,
Dion Titheradge (especially for
the song "And Her Mother Came Too"),
Adrian Ross, and Douglas Furber.
In NineteenNinetythree, the
centenary of his birth was marked
by several celebratory shows around
the UK, including one at the Players
Theatre in London, and the tribute
album, Marilyn Hill Smith Sings
Ivor Novello, which contained twenty
of his loveliest melodies.
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Soft karaoke
Words
treble clef 1
treble clef 2
lyric line
bass
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Sequence and Info by Dr. Pitt-Payne in London UK
on Wednesday 02 October 2002 at 23.30
in association with Doug Grierson
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Presented by Tom Arnold and Ivor Novello at the Phoenix
November 9th 1943
222 performances
Lyrics by Christopher Hassall
Music by Ivor Novello
Directed by Leontine Sagan
Designed by Joseph Carl
Mary Ellis's costumes by Cecil Beaton
Dances by Keith Lester
Musical Director: Harry Acres
Cast: Mary Ellis (Marie Foret), Peter Graves (Pierre Bachelet)
Raymond Lovell (Adhemar de Jonze), Elisabeth Welch (Josephine)
Harcourt Williams, Gwen Floyd, Netta Westcott
Hilary Allen, Nesta Ross, Edgar Elmes, Harry Fergusson
Renee Crewe (Olive Gilbert sang the role of
Agnes Sorel in the opera sequence for part of the run).
Further Info: http://www.nodanw.com/shows_a/arc_de_triomphe.htm

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Arc De Triomphe Piano Selection 1943
Music by Ivor Novello
Arranged by Chris Landon
copyright MCMXLIII by Chappell and Co. Ltd.
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Allegretto Maestoso
'Paris Reminds Me Of You'
Andantino
'Dark Music'
'Easy To Live With'
Religioso
'Shepherd'
Andante Moderato
'Waking Or Sleeping'
Poco Piu Mosso
'Man Of My Heart'
Refrain - Valse Lente
Andante Con Moto
'France Will Rise Again'
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