Erminie

Erminie is a comic opera in two acts composed by Edward Jakobowski with a libretto by Claxson Bellamy and Harry Paulton, based loosely on Charles Selby's 1834 English translation of the French melodrama, Robert Macaire. The piece first played in Birmingham, England, and then in London in 1885, and enjoyed unusual international success that endured well into the twentieth century.

Erminie opened at the Grand Theatre, Birmingham, England, on 26 October 1885. It transferred to the Comedy Theatre in London, then under the management of Violet Melnotte, opening on 9 November 1885 and playing for a total original run of 154 performances. It starred Florence St. John who, being pregnant, ceded the role to a young Marie Tempest in December; Melnotte took the role of Cerise. On 18 February 1886, the piece moved to the Gaiety Theatre, London, and by the end of 1885 another cast had begun touring the piece in the British provinces. It soon toured throughout the world, reaching Australia by 1889.

The Broadway, New York production was extraordinarily successful, opening at the Casino Theatre on 10 May 1886 and running for 571 performances. It starred Pauline Hall as the title character and Francis Wilson as Cadeaux. DeWolf Hopper and Sylvia Gerrish later joined the cast. Erminie enjoyed many UK, US and foreign productions and was revived on Broadway in 1893, 1899, 1903 and in 1921 with Wilson and Hopper again assuming their 1886 roles.

Amateur productions were also mounted between 1895 and 1921.Erminie was performed as a staged concert production in July 2008 by the Lyric Theatre of San Jose in Mountain View, California.

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