LESLIE STUART 'S Florodora had a run of 455 performances when it was produced in 1899 at the Lyric Theatre in Shaftesbury Avenue, and it has been twice revived, in 1915 and in 1931. A great deal of the music still retains its freshness and charm-indeed, the tuneful ' Tell me, pretty maiden ' is something of a classic--and, though Stuart wrote other musical comedies, Florodora remains the best thing he ever did. The original cast was a distinguished one ; it included Evie Greene as Dolores, Ada Reeve as Lady Holyrood, Kate Cutler as Angela, Willie Edouin as Tweedlepunch, and Nina Sevening in a small part-great names and delightful memories to a now middle-aged generation. The book was by Owen Hall , Paul Rubens had a hand in the lyrics, and the conductor was a young man of great promise by the name of Landon Ronald.
The music of the late Leslie Stuart is chiefly remarkable for its engaging melodiousness. Few musical comedy composers could write tunes as haunting and as musically good as could Stuart at his best. He came to London after fourteen years as organist in Salford and Manchester, and quickly made hits with such songs as ' The Bandolero ', which he wrote for Signor Foli , ' Louisiana Lou ', which Ellaline Terriss popularised in The Shop Girl, ' The Soldiers of the Queen ', as good a tune now as it was nearly forty years ago, when it set the whole country singing, and the songs he wrote for Eugene Stratton—' Little Dolly Daydream ' and ' The Lily of Laguna '. But it is for Florodora that Leslie Stuart will be best remembered.
This musical comedy will be broadcast again by all Regional transmitters on Wednesday evening.
A short article on Florodora, by M. Willson Disher , appears on page 224.