 THE ROSE OF PERSIA
or The Story-Teller and the Slave
A comic opera in two acts; libretto by Basil Hood; inspired by the tale
of Abu Hassan, or The Sleeper Awakened from the Arabian Nights.
Music by Arthur Sullivan. Produced at the Savoy Theatre, London, 29 November
1899: Produced at Daly's Theatre, New York, 6 September 1900 (25 perfs)
Story
ACT I
Abu-el-Hassan has a fine house in the best part of
town, apparently unlimited cash resources, and everything such resources
can buy as well as a respectable complement of mostly attractive wives,
yet he shuns the friendship of fashionable persons and prefers to spend
time and money with and on the professional have-nots of the town
Some of the less wholly loyal of his wives are starting
to express a doubt or two on his sanity, but Hassan has no such doubts.
After all, although he could afford twice as many wives as he has, he
has purposely limited himself to twenty-five: twice as many would just
be twice the trouble. His chief wife, the dragonistic Dancing Sunbeam,
is in no doubt as to her husband's feeble-mindedness. The very fact that
he will not use his riches to win himself - and her - an exalted social
position is proof enough of madness. For his own reasons Abdallah is
planning, with tacit state support, to exorcise the madness from the
wealthy philanthropist with the aid of some religiously approved and
grotesque physical tortures. Abdallah's intentions reverse when Hassan
announces that he has made his will in Abdallah's favour. If Hassan is
proved mad the will would, of course, be invalid.
The priest is now interested in arranging a sudden
demise for Hassan rather than a simple committal, a solution which certainly
wouldn't displease Dancing Sunbeam who sees her husband's fortune as
'The Golden Key' to high society.. Blush-of-Morning, an altogether more
sympathetic wife, is quite depressed by the talk of impending widowhood
but Abdallah and Dancing Sunbeam assure her that it is a condition which
soon passes.
This evening Yussuf, a travelling story-teller, brings
to Hassan's home a group of veiled ladies who claim to be a displaced
group of dancing girls. The street-wise Yussuf suspects they are really
royal slaves who have sneaked out in disguise for a night on the town.
He assures them that Hassan will give them hospitality until the Sultan
and his guards are safely off-guard and they can return to the Palace.
The truth, however, is that one of the company is actually the Sultana,
Rose-in-Bloom, herself making a most improper and indeed illegal foray
outside the harem.
Having committed herself to this rash adventure, she
is now not at all sure that her daring was a good idea. Back in the Palace
the world outside seemed so tempting. Her impatience to escape into the
real world felt to her like the yearnings of a girl waiting for her love
Hassan returns to his home, bringing with him the beggars
and fake cripples who profit from his open-handedness. He explains how
he won his fortunes by dint of some very Victorian confidence tricks.
The evening's revelry begins with wine all round. The visiting 'dancing
girls' are then prevailed upon to contribute an exhibition of their talents
to the entertainment, but consternation reigns when Abdallah arrives
with a party of bribed policemen. The beggars escape with practised speed
and Abdallah, claiming a royal warrant, arrests instead the 'dancing
girls'.
The intrepid slave girl Heart's-Desire attempts to
draw attention from her mistress by displaying the royal signet ring
before the priest and claiming to be the Sultana, but the plan backfires.
Abdallah gleefully informs Hassan that the penalty for consorting with
the Sultana is some kind of execution. Dancing Sunbeam, hearing of this
alienation of what she considers her wordly goods, is livid.
Hassan accepts his fate with an amazing equanimity
which is not shared by the girls. He then tells them his secret. His
happy-go-lucky nature is due to a life of confirmed drug-taking. He is
a bhang addict, floating through life on rosy, drug-induced cloud of
unreality.
Rose-in-Bloom, however, is not the only member of the
royal family out doing a little slumming. The Sultan, his Vizier, his
Physician and his Executioner arrive at Hassan's home dressed as dervishes.
Hassan, by now under the influence of drugs, claims himself to be not
only the Sultan's equal but the Sultan himself. The real monarch resolves
to play a trick on him, and orders that he be transported to the royal
palace.
ACT 2
Next morning in the audience hall of the Sultan's palace
Heart's-Desire is swapping sweet somethings with Yussuf. The lovesick
story-teller announces his intention to ask the Sultan for the slave-girl's
hand, but the other girls point out that he cannot. If it is found out
how the two of them met, it would render them all liable to one of the
Executioner's more terminal forms of punishment.
The Sultan enters and tells his entourage that he has
decided to put Hassan to a test. Hassan shall be led to believe that
he really is Sultan and that his life to date has been nothing but a
dream.
The Vizier, the Physician and the Executioner are ordered to transfer
their grovelling and prostrating to the 'new' Sultan. In his new persona
as non-Sultan he takes the opportunity to flirt democratically with the
infuriated Executioner's lady friend.
Dancing Sunbeam arrives, indignantly claiming that
if her husband is Sultan then she - it goes without saying-is Sultana.
The real Sultan is amused by this new extension to his joke, but when
the news gets to Rose-in-Bloom that there is another lady in the palace
calling herself Sultana she assumes ruse has been discovered and that
she has been deposed. She is in the middle of begging effusive pardon
when she discovers the truth and she has to do some fast backtracking
to cover her error.
In accordance with the Sultan's decree, Hassan set
on the throne. He wakes incredulously to find the whole court greeting
him with royal honours. The day's petitioners are brought before him.
The first is Yussuf who asks for the hand of a royal handmaiden. Then
comes Abdallah who discloses the injudicious visit of the Sultana to
Hassan's house. At this disclosure the real Sultan drops his masquerade.
If the Sultana favours low company then let her be married off to this
story-teller who seems to be anxious to have a wife. As for the rest
of the miscreants, behead them!
Yussuf is distraught; he has no wish to wed Rose-in-Bloom
and Heart's-Desire is upset at such an unforeseen turn of events. Fate
takes another turn, and the instrument of fate is Dancing Sunbeam. She
has impeccable hearing and wants to know what ceremony the Sultana is
to attend? She and she alone is the Sultana. So, heavily veiled, Dancing
Sunbeam goes to the divorce ceremony and is divorced from her husband
and wed to Yussuf.
Heart's-Desire finally manages to speak to the Sultan
and explains that all this business is an awful mistake. It was she,
she claims, wearing the Sultana's ring who was seen at Hassan's house;
she was hearing from him a wonderful story which she was retelling to
her mistress. The Sultan demands to know if the story has a happy ending.
If so, he will hear it himself - but it must have a happy ending. Everyone
tries frantically to think of a story fascinating enough to beguile the
Sultan but nothing they can come up with seems to have the necessary
ingredients.
Time is getting short but, as the Sultan positions
himself for the recital inspiration strikes Hassan and he confidently
begins his story. It is the story of his life and, since it has been
royally decreed that it must have a happy ending, he submits, the Sultan
is obliged to rescind the execution orders. The Sultan confesses himself
tricked and agrees that everyone must be pardoned, but he wins the last
word for, as the curtain falls, he restores Hassan not only to his former
wealth and position but also to the perpetual care of his number one
wife, Dancing Sunbeam.
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