The Firefly

During a performance he was conducting of Naughty Marietta, Victor Herbert had a disagreement with the star, Emma Trentini, and stormed off the podium. He also refused to have anything to do with her next vehicle, The Firefly, for which he had been contracted. The composer’s decision opened the way for Rudolf Friml, who had never written a Broadway score before, to become a leading creator of American operettas. It also began his partnership with librettist-lyricist Otto Harbach, with whom he would be associated on ten musicals. In the Cinderella tale, cut from a similar bolt of cloth as the one used for Mlle. Modiste, Nina Corelli, an Italian street singer in New York, disguises herself as a cabin boy to be near Jack Travers, a guest on a yacht sailing for Bermuda. After hearing her sing, a music teacher offers to give her lessons, and within three years she becomes both a renowned prima donna and Mrs. Jack Travers.

Music

Rudolf Friml

Lyrics

Otto Harbach

Book

Otto Harbach