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 Martins Bank
Operatic Society in Land of Smiles Limited by Franz Léhar
Staged: 10
to 15 April 1967 at the Crane Theatre Liverpool
 Geoffrey
Kelly is one of Martins Bank’s amazing all-rounders – a talented musician singer
and artist, by day he lends his own particular expertise to the Bank’s
Information Department, of which he becomes Assistant Manager in 1968. As we have seen with others, such as Beryl
Evans and Margaret Perks elsewhere in this Archive, having a broad knowledge
and set of interests both in and out of the world of Banking makes for very
valuable employees indeed, and Geoffrey Kelly too, embodies the family
spirit of the Bank that is still spoken of with fondness today.
Martins Bank Operatic Society has been
staging lavish productions since 1947, often to rave reviews from those who
simply cannot believe that this is an AMATEUR company. The amount of work that goes into every
aspect of the production is breath-taking to say the least. The result is always a colourful, dazzling
spectacle, and this is probably why the society continues under Barclays
until 1980. In 1967 the society chooses “Land of Smiles” by Franz Léhar, and
for this production, the musical director is Geoffrey Kelly. In the foreword
to the official programme (whose cover illustration is drawn by Geoffrey); he
explains why he feels it is time for “Land of Smiles” to be given a
long-awaited outing…
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 The Enthusiasm that greeted the Society's last production,
the long-neglected Savoy opera Utopia
Limited, encouraged us to seek another show whose revival in
Liverpool seemed long overdue. Our search led to Franz Lehar's Land of Smiles and, as with
Utopia Limited, the background
to this operetta is an interesting one.
A disciple of Johann
Strauss, Hungarian-born Lehar made the Viennese Waltz the dominant feature
of his operettas. And while Europe and England remained in the grip of the
Waltz Age his works achieved wide popularity. His most resounding success—and the most enduring—was the Merry Widow, first staged in
1905.
Then came the upheaval of the first world war
and in its wake, from across the Atlantic, came jazz and swing. England
took to the lively dances that accompanied this music and thus brought to a
close the long reign of the Waltz in this country. In this changed atmosphere four new Lehar
operettas appeared in London between 1924 and 1930. All failed. The old
Lehar formula could no longer draw the English public. Then in 1932, with a great fanfare of
publicity trumpets, Land of Smiles
opened in London. The show had been acclaimed in Germany and Austria
and its ingredients suggested that it might succeed in England. True, there
were some, waltzes, but they were confined mainly to the first act. The
succeeding acts were set in pre-war China, calling for music of both
Western and Oriental flavours—a refreshing challenge for Lehar. And
Land of Smiles had another
attraction. Its leading tenor was Richard Tauber. At that time Tauber was
unknown in England but he had appeared in several of Lehar's operettas in
Austria and elsewhere. The composer admired Tauber's interpretation of his
work, and for Land of Smiles he
composed one particular song with the tenor firmly in mind. It was that one
song—'You are my
heart's delight'—that, above everything else, captivated the European
audiences. With the offer of the Drury Lane Theatre for its run, Land of Smiles—and Tauber— moved to London. As
had been hoped, on the first night, 8th May 1932, the singer and the song
created a sensation. Countless encores were sung in English, German,
French and Italian. And the critics were well pleased with the show as a
whole.
Just what measure of success the operetta
justified we shall never know. That sensational first night was followed by
weeks of frustration. The cause: Tauber. Always temperamental, he was at
his most unreliable during his short first stay in England. He seemed
unmoved by his own and the show's success and persistently failed to turn
up for performances or, at the last moment, refused to go on stage.
Audiences, never knowing whether they would see the renowned Tauber or his
understudy, became angered, and ticket bookings fell. The show was taken
off after only 71 performances.
Perhaps because of its associations with one man or because its
success rested on the quality of performance of just four main characters,
Land of Smiles found only
passing favour with audiences when revived from time to time in the 1930's.
More recently the show has been adapted to include new characters, more
chorus work, more comedy: in short, to provide a more suitable vehicle for
an amateur society. This is the version we present for you tonight, its
first performance at a Liverpool theatre. We hope you enjoy it.
So to the performance itself, which runs from 10 to 15
April 1967 at Liverpool’s Crane Theatre, a popular venue for the
productions of the Operatic Society.
As ever, Martins Bank Magazine is on hand to record the individual
performances of the players, and to gauge the audience reaction…
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Land of Smiles…
 although everyone
knows the famous Tauber song 'You are my heart's delight' the operetta from
which it comes is not so familiar. After hearing this, the first amateur
performance in Liverpool, one is puzzled to know why more of the delightful
and tuneful songs are not better known. One certainly feels they deserve
to be after hearing them sung by the Bank Operatic Society at the Crane
Theatre. This was an ambitious and taxing production
which took courage to introduce to a part of the country more used to a
diet of old favourites staged by amateur societies year after year. Eileen
Bonner (producer) and Geoffrey Kelly (musical director) had good reason to
feel proud of themselves for being able to cap last year's highly successful
'Utopia Limited' with a show which general opinion—G & S fans possibly excepted—rated even more
entertaining. The quality of acting and dancing equalled that of the
singing, which was excellent indeed, and the orchestra gave pleasure even
to those who went primarily to hear the singing or to see friends or loved
ones on the stage.
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Land of Smiles: In full swing – (AND full colour) - at Liverpool’s Crane Theatre
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The story opens in Vienna in 1912
at the birthday party of Lisa, played by Pat Carrier with great feeling,
whose singing of a charming love song That's when the nightingales sing'
which she had learned in Peking introduced the Chinese theme on which the operetta
is based. The entry of Clive Jones as Prince Sou-Chong gave us an
opportunity to enjoy 'Patiently smiling' in which he told us he had
emotions too, although they were not displayed on the surface. This part
was a great triumph for Clive and we agree with the press report that 'he
carried all before him'. We met Phyllis Ritchie as an ageing battle-axe
after her man (we never discovered if she was successful): in a spirited
song and dance she and Harold Dixon showed us that the older generation had
plenty of exuberance, while a glimpse of Phyllis's garters in an extempore
can-can brought the house down. Jim Roberts provided comedy with slapstick
overtones as Rudi, the lieutenant who couldn't do anything right: one could
imagine him as a natural comedian in real life, so well did the part fit
him.
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Pat Carrier and
John Bowen
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The secretary to the Chinese
embassy (Harold Carefull), bringing news of Sou-Chong's appointment as
governor and his imminent departure, precipitated a confession from Lisa
of her unwillingness to bid her lover goodbye for ever. They forthwith
announced their engagement, to the despair of her rejected suitor, Gustl.
John Bowen took this part with such sincerity that, even allowing for the
commendable British habit of sympathising with the under-dog, the audience
was wholly on his side. Act 2 took
us to the Land of Smiles six months later, dancers and chorus having
changed from Austrians into Chinese in only fifteen minutes—quite a feat with about forty people's costumes and make-up
involved. Lisa, unable to accept the subservient role of a wife in China,
was not happy although she loved her husband. The appearance of Gustl with
the ever-clowning Rudi in tow, explained by their posting as attaches to
the Austrian embassy, showed that Gustl had not given up hope of winning
Lisa's love. His encounter with Sou-Chong's sister Mi, played with great
charm and conviction by Jill Kelly, led to the awakening of her love for
him, resulting in a
touching scene when she discovered his feelings for her sister-in-law.
Jill's acting here caused many a tightened throat among the audience. when
Marshall Hesketh as Sou-Chong's uncle and head of the family, with
enigmatic expression, three-inch long finger nails and grey beard,
prevailed upon Sou-Chong to marry four Chinese maidens in accordance with
custom, we began to have doubts about a happy ending.
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In
spite of her husband's insistence that the new wives would mean nothing to
him, Lisa determined to leave him and return home. He, revealing the
Chinese autocrat beneath his superficial veneer of Western culture,
declared 'You are only a thing, a worthless toy' and kept her prisoner.
Gustl, however, planned her escape with the aid of Chi-Fu, major domo of
the women's quarters, played hilariously by Kenneth Jones, abetted by
Harold Dixon in another comic role as his attendant.
Mention must be made of
a very effective episode on the darkened stage with the company wearing
fluorescent gloves so that only hands, weaving patterns, were visible. This
led to the final scene with a heartbroken Sou-Chong agreeing to let Lisa
go, evoking more lumps in throats and even several handkerchiefs applied to
damp eyes. This was a most
successful show, appealing to a wide cross-section of people, and marred
only by the rather unimaginative scenery. However, the Chinese atmosphere
came over very effectively and as everything ran so smoothly one can only
hope the audience appreciated the tremendous amount of hard work and talent
involved.
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Pamela Rooke and Jim Roberts
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Clive Jones and the Ladies of the
Chorus
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Underneath the Greasepaint…
Our coverage of the many wonderful productions by the six
amateur operatic and dramatic societies of Martins Bank, nearly always
shows the cast in costume, striking a pose that re-creates a scene from the
stage. But what do these people, who
give their time on top of their Bank duties to provide this entertainment,
look like? The Programme for “Land
of Smiles” includes two photographs, one showing The Chorus, the other The
Principals, from which we see the faces behind the characters…
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THE
GENTLEMEN
Philip
Brayshaw
Richard J. Bretherton
Bob Goudie
Peter Greenwood
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Jack Holroyd
Alan
Lancaster
Casson Levis
Keith Pounder
Bill Roberts
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Kieran
Roebuck
Keith Smith
John Wilde
Ian Wilson
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THE
LADIES
Doreen
Anson
Mary
Barnwell
Judy Clague
Angela
Costain
Beryl
Davies
Lynne Exton
Ann
Flanagan
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Julie Griffiths
Rebe Howarth
Glenda Jolly
Isabel Levis
Jill Martindale
Phyllis M. Ritchie
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Jean Robinson
Pamela Rooke
Netta Watters
Heather Weston
Pat White
Jean Wilson
Sheila Wilson
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THE
DANCERS
Joyce Burnie
Patsy Fetherston
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Brenda
Graves
Audrey
Johnson
June Kitchen
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Lesley Payne
Jacqueline
Smith
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Back row
(left to right): Harold Dixon Marshall Hesketh Geoffrey Kelly Jim Roberts
Philip Brayshaw) Kenneth Jones
Middle row:
Clive S. Jones Phyllis Ritchie Susan Thomas Jean Wilson Jean Robinson John
Bowen
Seated: Pat
Carrier Dorothy Ashworth Eileen M. Banner June Kitchen Jill Kelly
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What the Papers Say…
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Liverpool Echo 10 April 1967
The Martins Bank Operatic Society’s
production of Franz Léhar’s musical “Land of Smiles” opens tonight at the
Crane Theatre. Our picture shows, back row (left to right): Lieutenant Rudi
von Westoff (Jim Roberts), Prince Tschang (Marshall Hesketh), Mi (Jill
Kelly), Gustl von Ploetz (John Bowen). In front, Sou-Chong (Clive S. Jones)
and Countess Lisa (Pat Carrier).
Image (above) ©
Liverpool Echo – Martins Bank Archive Collections
Image (right) ©
Liverpool Daily Post – Martins Bank Archive Collections
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Liverpool Daily Post April
1967
 Undeterred by
the Budget, Martins Bank Operatic Society this week at the Crane Theatre,
Liverpool, give us the local amateur premiere of Franz Léhar’s “The Land
of Smiles,” a costly but worthwhile undertaking. This marks a breakaway
from Gilbert and Sullivan, after many years. A costumed cast of sixty,
drawn from every section of Merseyside, is directed neatly by Eileen M.
Bonner. The action shifts from Vienna to Peking. A livelier new version
of the original book is used. An adequate orchestra is judiciously
conducted by Geoffrey Kelly. The lovely Lisa (“When the nightingales
sing”) is in melodious voice with Pat Carrier in that role. But chief
honours go to Clive S. Jones as the Chinese prince she too impetuously
marries — the part made famous by Richard Tauber. Mr Jones carries all
before him with The Lonely Serenade and “You are my heart’s delight”. His
charmingly Oriental sister is Jill Kelly. Lisa’s troubles begin when the
dynastic head (Marshall Hesketh) refuses to recognise the prince's
marriage, and forces him, by custom, to marry four Manchu maidens. Thus,
we come to the prince's brokenhearted renunciation of Lisa, and her
reunion with Captain Gustl, a gallant and resonant portrait by John
Bowen. Comedy comes from Jim Roberts as the tactless Rudi, and from
Phyllis M. Ritchie and Harold Dixon as Countess and Colonel. The
attempted palace – escape could be slicker but the music is all, and
never falters. S.J.
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 M
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