The Rose of Algeria is a musical in two acts with music by Victor Herbert and both book and lyrics by Glen McDonough. The work features two songs which have become a part of the classical canon of concert repertoire, "Rose of the World" and "Twilight of Barakeesh". The work is set in the country of Algeria at an oasis in the Sahara desert and at a palace in the nation's capital, Algiers. First staged on Broadway under the title Algeria in 1908, the work was a critical failure in its original version. Believing the work was a strong one, Herbert made numerous revisions to the work after the original Broadway production closed. The revised version, now titled The Rose of Algeria, was mounted at Broadway's Herald Square Theatre in 1909 with a completely different cast and a new director. This second version was more successful with critics and audiences.
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Bibliography
- Bloom, Ken (1996). American Song: A-S. Schirmer Books. ISBN 9780028645735.
- Bordman, Gerald Martin; Norton, Richard (2010). American Musical Theatre: A Chronicle. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199729708.
- Dietz, Dan (2022). The Complete Book of 1900s Broadway Musicals. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. ISBN 9781538168943.
- Gould, Neil (2009). Victor Herbert: A Theatrical Life. Fordham University Press. ISBN 9780823228737.
- Mordden, Ethan (2015). The Happiest Corpse I've Ever Seen: The Last Twenty-Five Years of the Broadway Musical. St. Martin's Publishing Group. ISBN 9781466893443.
