26^th Festival Season - 2004

Robin Hood

By: Reginald De Koven

Premiere: June 9, 1890

Book By: Harry B. Smith

Comic Opera in three acts.

The Old English atmosphere and the elaborate ensemble work of De Koven's Robin Hood explains why it is regarded as one of the most successful comic operas of the 19th-century American musical theatre. Librettist, Harry Smith, uses the popular British folk tale of Robin Hood as a framework to create this comic opera though the use of stock characters, comedic turns, and classic comic opera plot elements. According to Richard Traubner's Operetta: A Theatrical History, Smith is one of the most prolific authors of operetta books and lyrics that ever lived.

In this story, Robert, the Earl of Huntington is stripped of his title and becomes Robin Hood. With the moral assistance of Maid Marian, he robs the rich to help the poor, until his title is restored. Will Scarlett, Little John, Friar Tuck and The Sheriff of Nottingham are all present just as they are in the traditional versions of the story.