Picture of the day

The Duchess of Dantzic is a comic opera, set in Paris, with music by Ivan Caryll and a book and lyrics by Henry Hamilton, based on the play Madame Sans-Gêne by Victorien Sardou and Émile Moreau. Additional lyrics are by Adrian Ross. The story concerns Napoleon and a laundress, Catherine Üpscher, who marries Marshal Lefebvre and becomes a duchess. The opera was first produced in London at the Lyric Theatre in 1903 and ran for 236 performances. Subsequently, it enjoyed a successful New York production at Daly's Theatre and other productions around the world, and it was revived in London and performed regularly by amateur theatre groups, particularly in Britain, until the 1950s. This 1903 poster for the opera's original production was designed by the show's costume designer, Percy Anderson.Poster credit: Percy Anderson; restored by Adam Cuerden