Naughty Marietta
Music Victor Herbert
Operetta in two acts by Rida Johnson Young
First production: Nww York Theatre on November 7, 1910

ACT ONE - Dawn breaks in the Place D’Armes in New Orleans (Opening Chorus). The watchman announces the hour, the sacristan unlocks the cathedral gate; vendors arrive selling flowers, parakeets, fruit, and sugar cane, followed by the street sweepers and then convent maids on the way to school. The square soon comes alive with excitement over the arrival of a new shipload of casquette girls – young women from poor families sent by the King of France to find husbands in the New World.

Etienne Grandet enters. A social butterfly, the son of the lieutenant governor, he also masquerades as the pirate Bras Priqué (“tattooed arm”.) Several girls greet Etienne and tell him of the mysterious voice they hear have heard singing from the direction of the great fountain in the Place (Mysterious Melody).

Captain Richard Warrington and his men arrive, accompanied by his companion Sir Harry Blake and Simon O’Hara (Tramp, tramp, tramp). This company of adventurers – Canadian woodsmen, Tennessee mountaineers, and Kentucky farmers – has received the king’s permission to capture Bras Priqué. Captain Dick, Sir Harry, and Simon introduce themselves to Etienne, who informs them the governor has been recalled to France, leaving Etienne’s father, Lieutenant Governor Grandet, in charge of the province. Sir Harry asks for news of an escaped casquette girl who had caught the eye of Captain Dick, but Captain Dick, a confirmed misogynist, denies any attraction.

The casquette girls enter and join Captain Dick’s men in a flirtation song and dance (Taisez-vous); then all depart for the convent, where the men are to select their brides.

In the empty Place D’Armes, a voice is heard singing the mysterious fragment of melody. Marietta enters (Naughty Marietta) and is soon discovered by Captain Dick, who recognizes her as the escaped casquette girl. She tells him that she seeks the man who can complete her dream melody – is he the one? Dick dismisses this notion as nonsense. Marietta accuses him of following her to New Orleans, which he indignantly denies. She flirts with him and begs him to hide her so that she will not be forced to marry. Reluctantly he agrees, and they conclude that they will never be lovers, merely friends (It never, never can be love.)

Captain Dick the encounters Rudolfo, the proprietor of a puppet theater, and persuades him to hide Marietta and pretend that she is his long-lost son.

Simon O’Hara, a man of great pretension, returns from the convent with Lizette, one of the casquette girls. She laments the fact that no one has been willing to marry her, and Simon assures her that he is willing. He impresses her with his boasting (If I were anybody else but me,) and the two join in a dance

Adah, the quadroon slave and mistress of Etienne, wanders alone in the Place, musing on her suspicion that his love for her is cooling (‘Neath the Southern Moon) and seeks her fortune in a deck of cards.

The puppeteers enter with Marietta, now dressed as Rudolfo’s “son”, and she sings for the gathering crowd (Italian Street Song). Etienne has returned to the Place in time to witness the scene, and his father’s secretary arrives with an announcement: the King of France offers a reward for the return of one Marietta, Countess D’Altena, who has escaped from her family in Italy disguised as a casquette girl. Marietta appears to be safe in her present disguise as a boy, until Sir Harry Blake enters and recognizes her as the run away casquette girl (Act I Finale.)

ACT TWO– Marietta has now abandoned her attempts to pose as Rudolfo’s son but is enjoying her life with the marionette troupe. Rudolfo tries to teach her to work the marionettes, but she refuses to be serious (Dance of the Marionettes).

Etienne attempts to persuade Marietta to confess that she is the escaped Countessa D’Altena, which she denies. He invites her to attend the Quadroon Ball with him, but she is reluctant, since Captain Dick has warned her that the infamous ball is no place for her. When Etienne informs her that Captain Dick plans to escort Adah to the ball, Marietta angrily declares that she, too, will go, but alone. She leaves to borrow appropriate clothing from Rudolfo’s daughters, and Etienne reflects on the ways of women (You Marry a Marionette.)

Hi reflections are soon interrupted by Adah, who expresses her jealousy of his attraction to Marietta. Etienne’s anger is aroused, and he threatens to sell Adah to the highest bidder .

The scene shifts to the Jeunesse Doree Club, where the Quadroon Ball is to take place. The men of Creole high society are playing dice and cards. Etienne and Lieutenant Governor Grandet arrive, attended by Simon. Dazzled by promises of wealth and position, he has become Grandet’s whipping boy and is now dressed in elegant new clothes. The quadroon women assemble and entertain with a series of colorful, flirtious dances (Loved of New Oeleans). Meanwhile, poor Lizette, rebuffed in her attempts to find a husband, perseveres in her search for Mr. Right (The Sweet by and by).

Marietta arrives at the ball in domino and mask, and is surprised to find a rowdy, drunken revelry. When one of the revelers snatches away her mask, Etienne offers to taker her home, but as they prepare to leave, she discovers Captain Dick talking with Adah. Furious at what she believes is his perfidious nature, Marietta decided to stay at the ball, declaring that she is free to enjoy life to its fullest (Live for today).

Etienne enlists his father’s aid in a scheme to marry Marietta, for he is sure that she is the missing Countessa D’Altena and that marriage will bring him wealth and alliance with a powerful family. When he proposes to Marietta, she asks, “But what of your Adah?” He vows to sell Adah that very evening, and Marietta is shocked by the reality of slavery and Etienne’s cruelty. She then finds Captain Dick, depressed, confused, and somewhat the worse for wine. He confesses that his manly resolve, vis-à-vis love, is dissolving (I’m falling in love with someone).

Etienne stops the dancing and declares that he will sell Adah to the highest bidder; her admirers come forward to bid. Fearful of her fate at the hands of a new owner, Adah whispers a plea to Captain Dick to save her. He outbids all others and becomes her owner. Marietta overcome with jealousy and anger, announces that she is indeed the Countessa D’Altena and she will accept Etienne’s proposal of marriage. Etienne insists that the wedding take place immediately and whisks Marietta away to find an appropriate bridal dress.

Simon steps forward, followed by a group of admiring girls, and entertains them with boasts of his new-found wealth (It’s pretty soft for Simon).

When Marietta returns for her hastily arranged wedding, she learns that Captain Dick has given Adah her freedom. In return for Dick’s kindness, Adah reveals that Etienne is the pirate, Bras Priqué, an accusation that can be proven by the tattoo on his arm, Dick demands Etienne’s arrest, but Lieutenant Governor Gaudet insists that the punishment will be borne by Simon, his whipping boy. Simon is lead off to prison, and Dick goes in search of his men to help with Entienne’s arrest.

Marietta, now realizing that she loves Dick and fearing that she has lost him, is in despair. She hears Dick singing her dream melody and runs to him. Etienne asserts his intention to proceed with the marriage, but Marietta rejects him.

Captain Dick’s men return. They have freed Simon from prison and are intent on Etienne’s arrest, but he escapes. Dick cried, “Let him go! I have won, won all that I want in the wide world!” (Finale Ultimo)