Rudolf Friml was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia, on December 7, 1879. He
received his musical training at the Prague Conservatory, after which he
toured Europe and America as assisting artist and accompanist for Jan
Kubelik, the noted violin virtuoso. In 1906, Friml established permanent
residence in the United States, making several appearances as concert
pianist, twice in the performance of his own Concerto in B-flat. He now
published piano pieces, instrumental numbers, and songs which attracted
the interest of two publishers, Gus Schirmer and Max Dreyfus. When, in
1912, Victor Herbert stepped out of an assignment to write the music for
the operetta _The Firefly_, both Schirmer and Dreyfus recommended Friml
as his replacement. _The Firefly_ made Friml famous. Until 1934 he
continued writing music for the Broadway stage, achieving further
triumphs with _Rose Marie_ in 1924, _The Vagabond King_ in 1925, and
_The Three Musketeers_ in 1928. After 1934, Friml concentrated his
activity on motion pictures in Hollywood.
Friml belongs with those Broadway composers of the early 20th century
whose domain was the operetta modelled after German and Austrian
patterns. As long as the operetta was popular on the Broadway stage,
Friml remained a favorite, for his ingratiating melodies, pleasing
sentimentality, winning charm, and strong romantic flair were in the
best traditions of the operetta theater. But when the vogue for
operettas died down and the call came for American musicals with native
settings and characterizations, realistic approaches, and a greater
cohesion between text and music, Friml’s day was over. He has produced
nothing of significance since the middle 1930’s, and very little of
anything else. But the music he wrote for his best operettas has never
lost its appeal.
_The Firefly_, book and lyrics by Otto Harbach, was introduced in New
York on December 2, 1912. The plot concerned a little Italian street
singer by the name of Nina (enchantingly played by Emma Trentini). She
disguises herself as a boy to get a job aboard a yacht bound for
Bermuda, and is first accused and then cleared of the charge of being a
pickpocket. Many years later she reappears as a famous prima donna when
she is finally able to win the wealthy young man with whom she had
fallen in love while working on the yacht.
Orchestral potpourris from _The Firefly_ always include three of the
songs Emma Trentini helped to make famous: “Giannina Mia,” “The Dawn of
Love” and “Love is Like a Firefly.” The melodious duet, “Sympathy,” is
also popular.
_The Donkey Serenade_, now regarded as one of the favorites from _The
Firefly_ score, was not in the original operetta when it was produced on
Broadway. Friml wrote it in collaboration with Herbert Stothart for the
motion picture adaptation of the operetta released in 1937 and starring
Jeanette MacDonald and Allan Jones. This appealing Spanish-type melody
is set against an intriguing rhythm suggesting the jogging movement of a
donkey; this rhythm precedes and closes the number, which has become as
celebrated in an instrumental version as it is as a song with lyrics by
Chet Forrest and Bob White.
_Rose Marie_, book and lyrics by Otto Harbach and Oscar Hammerstein II,
came to Broadway on September 2, 1924 where it remained for more than a
year. The rest of the country became acquainted with this lovable
operetta at that time by means of four road companies. The setting is
the Canadian Rockies, and the love interest involves Rose Marie and Jim,
the latter falsely accused of murder. The Canadian Mounted Police,
headed by Sergeant Malone, help to clear Jim and to bring the love
affair of Rose Marie and Jim to a happy resolution. Selections in
orchestral adaptations most often heard from this operetta include two
of Friml’s most famous songs, the title number and “Indian Love Call”; a
third delightful song was found in “Totem Tom Tom.” _Rose Marie_ was
adapted for motion pictures three times, once in a silent version.
_The Vagabond King_ had for its central character the French vagabond
poet of the 15th century, François Villon, who is made king for a day.
This musical was based on the romance of J. H. McCarthy, _If I Were
King_, adapted by Brian Hooker. _The Vagabond King_, which opened on
September 21, 1925, was one of Friml’s greatest successes, mainly
because of such rousing numbers as “The Song of the Vagabonds,” the
caressing waltz melody “Waltz Huguette,” and the love song “Only a
Rose,” all often heard in orchestral adaptations. _The Vagabond King_
was made into motion pictures twice, most recently in 1956 starring
Kathryn Grayson and Oreste.