Life, 1917-02-01 · page 8 of 40
Life — February 1, 1917 — page 8: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a satirical opera parody by Friedfish von Flotow, presented at the Five and Ten Century Theatre. The piece mocks high operatic conventions through absurdist humor—featuring characters like "Lady Haricot" (a massacring Italian soprano), "Nancy" (a German contralto), and various performers speaking in exaggerated pseudo-foreign gibberish mixed with English. The satire targets pretentious opera culture: overwrought emotion, incomprehensible foreign languages, and elaborate staging. References to characters suffering from "nostalgia" and "pneumonia" mock operatic melodrama. The nonsensical dialogue and stage directions ("Kosher motzas jakey einstein") suggest that much operatic performance is meaningless spectacle designed to confound rather than move audiences.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
pilleEeE Grand Opera in Anguish Presented under the direction of the Highborn Brothers, Militant and Insurgent, at the Five and Ten Century Theatre MARTHA By Friedfish von Flotow, with the original English words. Lapy Haricot, massacreing as Martha, an Italian so- prano. Nancy, short for Malignancy, a German contralto. Lie.ixet, a French tenor. Punky, a Russian basso. ° Lorp Transaction, a Spanish baritone. Tue Snoworr, a Yiddish bass. Chorus of Bulgarians, Damnatians, Great Danes. Pomeranians and ACT I Scene I: Lapy Haricot’s boardwalk. Lavy H. and Nancy are eating from a tca-wagon, or autocart of the breakfast table. Lavy H. (who has been kept awake all night by nova scotia): Alumni pneumonia nervura, culpeppa virginia. Nan. (with mulligatawni) : stuttgart nuremburg. (Enter Lorp Transaction from a bowery.) Lorp T. (with forty-twode; just about that): Torreador banderillo manana. Alhambra granada. Lavy H. (petuniasly): Encyclopedia britannica gorilla. Fishi sympathi. (She turns away with a look of alimony.) Scene 2: Richmond Fair, with a sprinkling of fat and forty, Enter Tue Suoworr, followed by housemaids and homemaids, pheasants and mantillas of the soil. SuoworF (bassly): Kosher motzas jakey einstein. Ish ka bibble. Cuorus (cosmopolitely) : Higgledy piggledy bogolowox, Federal leaguers and redanwhite sox. (Which, translated, means, “They're expelling men from golf links for Wearing Off the Green.” Enter Lavy H., Nav. and Lorn T., disguised as labor onionists.) Lavy H. (syruptitiously): Solo proviso halo. Jimonelo montecristo. Nay. (with cattychism) : der kaiser. (Enter Livtrxen and Punxy. Tue SHoworr auctions off the help, who are sold for a song.) Lie, (looking at the gals with gallicism) : S'il vous plait biennaisance, meringue glacé. Pun. (farmersuitically; he has on his working clothes) : Nijni novgorod moscow vodka. Paderewski ryewhiski. Lie. (with veuve): Louvre Tuileries place de la con- corde. Lapy H. (with chicory, or rather “ chicly”): Dolce far niente est pro patria mori. Ltr. and Pun. bid in Lapy H. and Nan. The other bidders go off with their biddies. Unter den linden Lohengrin tannhauser hoch ACT II Scene: Punxy’s summer kitchen and autumn attic. Lavy H., Nan., Lie. and Pun. enter in silemn solence. Lavy H. (who has been suffering from nostalgia, or nosebleed): Sarsaparilla peculia woodpecka. Cantomata. NAN. (with pungitude): Mit a stein on der ta-a-a-bul und a gootsong ringling qveer. Lie. (confectionately): Qui vive, sans peur et sans re- proche. Pun. (guffly): Czarevitch sandvitch acoustix. Toofriski, (Lr. and Pun. excuntski. Enter Lorn T. disguised as a pharmacistant.) Lorp T. (hispanically): Llano sierra matador, pueblo padre. (Lavy H. sings “’Tis the Last Run of Shad,” and they escape by the portorico.) ACT III Scene: A forest in Muddlesex, At the left is a tavern whose sign is a fiddle, showing that it isa vile inn, Pun. is singsing.) Pun. (g-lowriously): Droshki moujik ro- manoff. Huski hoopenkorf. (NaN. enters from the gooseberry patch, looking tart.) Nan. (with an attempt at passementeric—in other words, trying to “get by”): Saxe coburg schleswig holstein. Heinie gabubeler. (Lie. comes timberously out of the wood.) Lie. (with every appearance of ensilage): Gaby delys vive I’empereur, calais main. (Enter Lapy H., who has been suffering from bucolic.) Lapy H. (her voice showing haughty culture): Ravioli moxie delmonico. Che sara sara. (She has been reading Sara Bernhard Pshaw.) Lorp T. (leading his horse out of the horstelrie): Hi- dalgo chile con carne, hot tamale. (He starts to draw his sword, but changes his mind and goes out and draws his salary, The innkeeper pulls down the nightshades. Exeunt omelet.) Koray Scene: Lapy Haricot’s Garden at Richmond Straight Cut. Lavy H., Nan., Lie. and Pun. dancing a tourniquet. Nan, (giving her hand to Pun.; it’s a wonder it wasn't her foot): Wein, weibe und gesang. Johnny schmoker cannst du spielen. Pun. (kissing her): Blindmansbuffski standorf spon- dulix. Marrymeski? Hurryupski. Lavy H. (who has been suffering for herologeric) ; Mia grata bigga blooi babi. (Feints in Lre.’s arms.) Lie. (who turns out to be the lost Earl of Hotstuff): Garcon ordinaire grand manan. Ma chinerie! (He mar- ries her for her dot—pronounced “ dough.”) Tue Exp Quincy Kilby. comicbooks.com