The Mountebanks - Critical Reception

Critical Reception

At the first night, the audience's response was enthusiastic. The producer, Horace Sedger, came before the curtain at the end to explain that Gilbert preferred, because of the death of Cellier, not to take a curtain call. Reviews for the libretto were consistently excellent. Cellier's music received mixed reviews. The Times noted with approval that Gilbert had returned to his favourite device of a magic potion, already seen in The Palace of Truth and The Sorcerer, and found the dialogue "crammed with quips of the true Gilbertian ring." The reviewer was more cautious about the score, attempting to balance respect for the recently-dead Cellier with a clear conclusion that the music was derivative of the composer's earlier works and also of the Savoy operas. The Pall Mall Gazette thought the libretto so good that it "places Mr Gilbert so very far in advance of any living English librettist." The paper's critic was more emphatic than his Times colleague, saying, "Mr Cellier's portion of the work is disappointing," adding that the composer never rose in this piece "to within measurable distance of his predecessor.... If we judge the late Alfred Cellier's score by a somewhat high standard it is all Sir Arthur Sullivan's fault." The Era also noted Gilbert's reuse of old ideas, but asked, "who would wish Mr Gilbert to adopt a new style?" The paper thought equally well of the score, rating it as highly as Cellier's best-known piece, Dorothy. The Daily Telegraph called the music "accompaniment merely" but found it "completely satisfactory" as such. The Manchester Guardian considered the music "a triumph." All the reviewers singled out for particular praise the duet for the automata, "Put a penny in the slot".

A later critic, Hesketh Pearson, rated the libretto of The Mountebanks "as good as any but the best Savoy pieces".