East Kilbride Light Opera Club - The Desert Song

The Desert Song - 1989

Index

History

The Desert Song - Synopsis

cover of programme In French Morocco the French are having trouble with the Riffs. Some years before, Pierre Birabeau, son of General Birabeau, was struck by a superior officer for protesting against the treatment of the natives. In revenge he organizes a band of Arabs to avenge the wrongs committed by his countrymen, and assuming a disguise, quickly becomes known as the Red Shadow. To the French army the Red Shadow is a mystery, for the simple reason that Pierre spends a fair part of his time in their midst posing as a simpleton with a passion for picking wild flowers. Naturally this sort of duplications leads to complications, and two are particularly awkward for Pierre. One is that his own father has recently been appointed the General in Command of the Army, with a special commission to root out the bandit chief, and the other is that the girl he loves, Margot, only knows him as a gentle, half-witted creature who brings her posies.

Margot's imagination has been taken captive by the deeds of the mysterious Red Shadow, and Pierre, in his capacity of the Riff Chieftain, gives her the desired surprise of being carried off by the desert warrior, on the eve of her betrothal to Captain Paul Fontaine, and conveyed to the harem of his Arab Chief Ali Ben Ali. Here he tries to win the affection of the romantic maiden, and Margot, while straining at her captivity, succumbs to the wooing of her desert lover. The Red Shadow then finds himself in trouble with his Riff associates, but he defies and cows them. When, however, his father the General appears on the scene, summoned by the jealous Azuri, past-lover of Paul, and bids him draw and fight, he submits to the ignominy of being branded a coward, and is driven forth into the desert without arms to defend himself or the wherewithal to nourish himself.

In the last scene General Birabeau learns from Azuri that his son is the Red Shadow—but only after the soldiers have gone out with orders not to spare his life if he is found. They return with the news that the bandit is no more—the famous Red Shadow having been killed off by Pierre. The final curtain falls on Margot in the arms of the Sheik-like lover, Pierre having adopted his disguise for the last time.

Some Pictures

The Desert Song - 1989
by arrangement with Samuel French Ltd.

Music by Sigmund Romberg
Book and Lyrics by Otto Harbach, Oscar Hammerstein II and Frank Mandel

Production Team
Producer - Jack Tait, assisted by S. Gordon Lang
Musical Director - S. Gordon Lang
Choreographer - Margaret Hay

Cast
Mohammed - Robert McDermott
Sid el Kar - Robbie Crawford
Mindar - Bill Ginn
Najali - Betty MacAulay
Hassi - Eric Schwab
Neri - Aileen Finlay
Pierre Birabeau (The Red Shadow) - Colin Thomas
Benjamin Kidd - Tom Johnston
Captain Paul Fontaine - Mark Devine
Lieutenant La Vergne - lan Conroy
Sergeant De Boussac - John Cannon
Azuri - Cheryl Walker
Edith - Rona MacGregor
Susan - Claire Johnston
Margot Bonvalet - Kate Schwab
General Birabeau - Jim Mooney
Ali Ben Ali - Peter King
Clementina - Barbara McElroy

Ladies of the Chorus
Elaine Anderson, Hazel Armstrong, Alison Bennet, Elizabeth Conroy, Isabel Davidson, Frances Doyle, Carol Edison, Norma Fingland, Aileen Finlay, Anneliese Gannon, Wendy Hayes, Shona Jenkins, Betty MacAulay, Rona MacGregor, Marylin Maxwell, Eileen Montgomery, Pauline Moscardini, Betty Roberts, Gillian Smith, Elizabeth Sorbie, Emma Walker, Linda Watson.

Gentlemen of the Chorus
Bruce Arthur, John Cannon, lan Conroy, Bill Crudge, David Fisher, Bill Ginn, Robert McDermott, Jim Maxwell, Jason Munro, Edward Peirce, Eric Schwab, Harry Sheridan, Bill Struthers, Nigel Tantrum, Bill Walker, Gilbert Wedgwood.

Dancers
Morag Arthur, Dorothy Bedford, Kim Crawford, Lori McElroy, Sandra Mooney, Anne Serafini.

Stage Manager - Graham McFadyen
Club Accompanist - Nan McKechnie
Lighting - Carrick McGhie
Property Mistress - Susan Struthers
Wardrobe Mistresses - Anna McGillivray, Margaret McFadyen
Leader of Orchestra - Andrew Wilson
Prompter - Frances Baird

Synopsis of Scenes

Act I
Scene 1 - Mountain Hideout of The Red Shadow (Evening)
Scene 2 - Outside General Birabeau's House (Same Evening)
Scene 3 - A Room in the General's House (A Little Later)

Act II
Scene 1 - The Harem of Ali Ben Ali (The Following Afternoon)
Scene 2 - A Corridor in the Harem (A Little Later)
Scene 3 - The room of the Silken Couch (That Evening)
Scene 4 - The Edge of the Desert (Next Day Just Before Dawn)
Scene 5 - Courtyard of General Birabeau's House (Two Days Later)

Synopsis of Music

Act I
Prelude Opening Chorus - Mohammed and Riffs
Riff Song - Red Shadow and Riffs
"O Pretty Maid of France" - Paul and Soldiers
"I'll be a Buoyant Girl" - Susan
"Why Did we Marry Soldiers?" - Girls
French Marching Song - Margot, Chorus and Dancers
"Romance" - Margot and Girls
"Then You Will Know" - Pierre, Margot and Chorus
"I Want a Kiss" - Margot, Paul, Chorus and Dancers
"It" - Bennie, Susan and Dancers
The Desert Song - Red Shadow and Margot
Finale Act I - Ensemble

Act II
Entr'acte
"My Little Castagnette" - Clementina and Girls
Song of the Brass Key - Clementina, Girls and Dancers
"One Good Boy Gone Wrong" - Bennie and Clementina
"Eastern and Western Love"
"Let Love Come" - Ali Ben Ali
"One Flower" - Mohammed
"One Alone" - Red Shadow and Riffs
The Sabre Song - Margot
"Farewell" - Red Shadow and Riffs
"All Hail to the General" - Girls
Dance of Triumph - Azuri
Finale - Ensemble