Ruddigore

Ruddigore; or, The Witch's Curse is a two-act operetta by Gilbert and Sullivan. It was premiered by the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company on 22 January 1887 at the Savoy Theatre in London, England. It ran for 288 performances over 8 months. It is the tenth of the fourteen operettas written by Gilbert and Sullivan. 

Roles
 Sir Ruthven Murgatroyd (comic baritone), disguised as a young farmer named Robin Oakapple 
 Richard Dauntless (tenor), his foster-brother and a man-o'-war's-man
 Sir Despard Murgatroyd (bass-baritone or baritone), a wicked baronet 
 Old Adam Goodheart (bass), Robin's faithful servant 
 Rose Maybud (soprano), a village maiden 
 Mad Margaret (mezzo-soprano)
 Dame Hannah (contralto), Rose's aunt
 Zorah (soprano), a professional bridesmaid
 Ruth (speaking/chorus), a professional bridesmaid 
 Sir Roderic Murgatroyd (bass-baritone), a ghost

 Story 
The baronets of Ruddigore are compelled to commit a crime every day under a witch's curse. Robin Oakapple is a baronet of Ruddigore who has fled the curse. He and his love, Rose Maybud, are about to marry when Robin's identity is exposed. 

In Ruddigore Castle, Robin cannot commit himself to a life of crime. The portraits of his ancestors come to life to punish him. He outwits them and frees himself from the curse for all time. He is reunited with Rose.

Musical numbers
 Overture
Act I
1. "Fair is Rose" (Chorus of Bridesmaids)
2. "Sir Rupert Murgatroyd" (Hannah and Chorus)
3. "If somebody there chanced to be" (Rose)
4. "I know a youth" (Rose and Robin)
5. "From the briny sea" (Chorus of Bridesmaids)
6. "I shipp'd, d'ye see, in a revenue sloop" (Richard and Chorus)
6a. Hornpipe
7. "My boy, you may take it from me" (Robin and Richard)
8. "The battle's roar is over" (Rose and Richard)
9. "If well his suit has sped" (Chorus of Bridesmaids)
10. "In sailing o'er life's ocean wide" (Rose, Richard, and Robin)
11. "Cheerily carols the lark" (Margaret)
12. "Welcome, gentry" (Double Chorus)
13. "Oh, why am I moody and sad?" (Sir Despard and Chorus)
14. "You understand?  I think I do" (Richard and Sir Despard)
15. Finale Act I
"Hail the bride of seventeen summers" (Ensemble)
Madrigal, "When the buds are blossoming" (Ensemble)
"When I'm a bad Bart, I will tell taradiddles!" (Robin and Chorus)
"Oh, happy the lily" (Ensemble)

Act II
16. "I once was as meek" (Sir Ruthven and Adam)
17. "Happily coupled are we" (Rose and Richard)
18. "In bygone days" (Rose with Chorus of Bridesmaids)
19. "Painted emblems of a race" (Sir Ruthven, Sir Roderic, and Chorus of Ancestors)
20. "When the night wind howls" (Sir Roderic and Chorus)
21. "He yields, he yields" (Chorus)
21a. (original) "Away, remorse!" ... "For thirty-five years I've been sober and wary" (Robin)
21a. (replaced) "Away, remorse!" ... "Henceforth all the crimes" (Robin) (The original song was replaced about a week into the original run. 
22. "I once was a very abandoned person" (Margaret and Despard)
23. "My eyes are fully open" (Margaret, Sir Ruthven, and Despard)
24. "Melodrame"
25. "There grew a little flower" (Hannah with Sir Roderic)
26. Finale Act II (Ensemble)
 "When a man has been a naughty baronet"
 "For happy the lily" (reprise) (Ensemble)

 References 
 Brahms, Caryl. 1975. Gilbert and Sullivan: lost chords and discords. Little, Brown. pp. 159-170.

Category:Operettas by Gilbert and Sullivan
Category:1880s operas