Sheet music for The Black Crook, as performed at the Royal Alhambra Theatre, arranged by Charles Coote. Illustrated cover

Illustrated cover of the sheet music for the Valse in The Black Crook at the Royal Alhambra Theatre, arranged by Charles Coote. The illustration by Alfred Concanon shows a fantastical woodland scene. To left, a man in theatrical 'historical' dress confronts a figure wearing a yellow ruff shaped like petals, a black tunic and yellow and green striped tights. A young woman kneels on a path, holding a white deer, centre right. The path leads through the wood to upper right where another figure is standing. In the foreground, on the path to left, the word 'Valse' is spelt out in foliage, the letters topped with white flowers.

This is an illustrated music sheet for 'The Black Crook, with music by Frederic Clay and Georges Jacobi, and book by Harry Poulton. The Black Crook was first performed at the Alhambra, London, in 1872. It was advertised as a ‘New Grand Spectacular Opera Bouffe Féerie’. Adapted from a French production, and including new ballets composed by Georges Jacobi, it united a fantasy story with music, songs and dance. Reworked in many stagings, the New York production of 1866 is often considered the first American musical.

S.27-2008