Burlesque Opera of Tabasco

Originally performed in 1894, the Burlesque Opera of Tabasco (also sometimes rendered Burlesque Opera Tabasco) is a musical comedy composed by George W. Chadwick with a libretto by R. A. Barnet. At first titled Tabasco, the opera was created without the knowledge of McIlhenny Company, maker of Tabasco brand pepper sauce since 1868. The company, however, subsequently approved its performance. The opera went on to tour the U.S. to critical acclaim, but disagreements between Chadwick and the musical's producer eventually derailed its success.

A Boston volunteer militia, the First Corps of Cadets, commissioned Chadwick and Barnet to create the opera as a fundraiser for a new armory. The cadets themselves performed the musical for this charitable purpose. Soon, however, showman Thomas Q. Seabrooke — impressed by the opera's popularity — purchased the rights and renamed it the Burlesque Opera of Tabasco ("burlesque" in that era meaning "comedic")

Because Seabrooke intended to perform the opera commercially, he required, and obtained, the permission of McIlhenny Company to use its proprietary trademark. As part of its approval, however, McIlhenny Company required Seabrooke to pass out samples of Tabasco sauce during his productions. A giant papier-mâché Tabasco sauce bottle appeared on stage during the performance, and an image of the bottle showed up on the opera's published sheet music. So popular was Seabrooke's commercial production of the opera that “The Tabasco March,” the main theme composed by Chadwick, was issued in the form of a mechanical music box disk.

The opera centered on a Middle Eastern pasha who craved spicy food. Enraged by the blandness of fare provided by his royal kitchen, the pasha threatened to chop off the head of his French chef (actually a masquerading Irishman). The chef frantically searched the city for seasonings and ran into a blind beggar who gave him a mysterious potion. The concoction turned out to be Tabasco brand pepper sauce. Its piquant flavor satisfied the pasha and saved the day.

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