Naughty Marietta (operetta)

For the 1935 film version, see Naughty Marietta (film). For the 1955 television operetta version, see Naughty Marietta (Max Liebman Presents).
Naughty Marietta
Sheet music cover
MusicVictor Herbert
LyricsRida Johnson Young
BookRida Johnson Young
Productions1910 Broadway
1935 Film
1955 Television

Naughty Marietta is an operetta in two acts, with libretto by Rida Johnson Young and music by Victor Herbert. Set in New Orleans in 1780, it tells how Captain Richard Warrington is commissioned to unmask and capture a notorious French pirate calling himself "Bras Pique" – and how he is helped and hindered by a high-spirited runaway, Contessa Marietta. The score includes many well-known songs, including "Ah! Sweet Mystery of Life".

Naughty Marietta had its first performance on October 24, 1910, in Syracuse, New York,[1] and opened on Broadway on November 7, 1910, playing for 136 performances at the New York Theatre. It enjoyed revivals in 1929 at Jolson's 59th Street Theatre and in 1931 at Erlanger's Theatre. The operetta became Victor Herbert's greatest success.

A film version of Naughty Marietta was released by MGM in 1935 starring Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy. A television version of the operetta was broadcast live in the United States on January 15, 1955, starring Patrice Munsel and Alfred Drake.

  1. ^ Engle, Sherry Darlene. New women dramatists in America, 1890-1920. p. 164, Macmillan (2007) ISBN 1-4039-7320-2, accessed April 25, 2010