Characters In Order of Appearance
MME CECILE, owner of a Parisian hat shop; Mezzo (Estelle Parsons)
FIFI, (Mlle Modiste) clerk in the hat shop; Soprano (Jane Thorngren)
ETIENNE de BOUVRAY, nephew of the Count; Tenor (Jon Garrison)
COUNT HENRI de BOUVRAY, uncle of Etienne; Baritone (Philip Cokorinos)
HIRAM BENT, American entrepreneur; Bass (Chester Ludgin)


Settings:
Act I - An obscure little hat shop in Paris on the Rue de la Paix
Act II - (One year later) Garden at the Chateau de St. Mar

Table of Contents for Musical Numbers

OVERTURE1
NO. 1 FURS AND FEATHERS-1
NO. 2 HATS MAKE THE WOMAN-2
No. 3 WHEN THE CAT'S AWAY-3
NO. 4 THE TIME AND THE PLACE AND THE GIRL-4
NO. 5 IF I WERE ON THE STAGE-11
NO. 6 THE DEAR LITTLE GIRL WHO IS GOOD-13
NO. 7 FINALE I-19
NO. 8 ROYAL SEC, A CHAMPAGNE GALOP-20
NO. 9 I WANT WHAT I WANT WHEN I WANT IT-21
NO. 10 LOVE ME, LOVE MY DOG-25
NO. 11 HERE AT THE BAZAAR-29
NO. 12 THE MASCOT OF THE TROOP-32
NO. 13 ZE ENGLISH LANGUAGE-34
NO. 14 THE NIGHTINGALE AND THE STAR-38
NO. 15 GRAND FINALE-41


MLLE MODISTE, An Operetta In One Act

ACT 1

OVERTURE

DA
Welcome to American operetta in all its glory, full of fluff, implausibility and great melodies. The setting is glamorous - Paris in 1905. The hero is a Viscount and the heroine, a shop girl with an uncle standing steadfastly between them. Victor Herbert remains America's king of operetta with this offering written especially for Metropolitan Opera Company Soprano, Fritzi Scheff. Our story begins in an elegant Parisienne shop.

MME CECILE
Bon soir mesdames et monsieurs! I am Madame Cecile, owner of the most enchanting boutique in this glowing City of Lights. This salon caters to royalty, nobility, the French chic as well as plain old American tourists. It is a must stop on any visitor's list, if they are seeking the perfect fashion Parisienne to top off the season. Everyday a cheerful bevy of workers dash about in a whirl of activity making my creations a la mode so that the shop can sell, sell, sell . . . hats!
NO. 1 - FURS AND FEATHERS (Ladies Chorus)
FURS AND FEATHERS, BUCKLES, BOWS!
SOME OF THESE! SOME OF THOSE!
REAL LACE WHERE IT SHOWS!
FLOWERS AND FURBELOWS!
FIRST A RIBBON, THEN A ROSE!
EACH ONE KNOWS, AS SHE SEWS,
WHAT'S THE MODE IN CLOTHES,
FASHIONS LATEST POSE.
WAITING ON THE CUSTOMERS,
WE'RE BUSY ALL THE WHILE.
BUSY ALL THE WHILE,
SHOWING THEM THE STYLE.
SHOWING EV'RY HAT WE'VE GOT,
PERHAPS THEY'RE NEW PERHAPS THEY'RE NOT,
BUT HOPING THAT WE'LL SELL THE LOT FOR CASH!
HA! HA! HA! HA!
STILL OUR WAGES ARE BUT SMALL.
WHEN WE ARE PAID WHAT WE HAVE MADE,
WE MUST QUICKLY SPEND IT ALL!
RENT FOR A TINY FLAT, THINK OF THAT!
HARD WORK, VERY LITTLE PAY,
TEN HOURS EV'RY DAY,
THAT'S DISTRESSING YOU'LL AGREE.
YET WE'RE AS HAPPY AS CAN BE.
AH! WHEN THE MOON IN HER SPLENDOR IS HIGH IN THE SKY,
AND HER BRIGHT SILV'RY LIGHT MAKES RADIANT THE NIGHT,
WHILE SOFT WINDS SIGH;
IT IS THEN WE FORGET THAT THE WORLD HAS A SNARE OR A CARE,
LIFE'S A DREAM THEN, LOVE'S SUPREME THEN,
"VIVE LA JOIE" IS THE WORD EV'RY WHERE.
WHEN AGAIN WE SELL,
FURS AND FEATHERS, BUCKLES, BOWS!
SOME OF THESE! SOME OF THOSE!
REAL LACE WHERE IT SHOWS!
FLOWERS AND FURBELOWS!
FIRST A RIBBON, THEN A ROSE!
EACH ONE KNOWS, AS SHE SEWS,
SOME OF THESE! SOME OF THOSE!
HERE A BOW! THERE A ROSE!
SHOWING EV'RY HAT WE'VE GOT,
PERHAPS THEY'RE NEW, PERHAPS THEY'RE NOT!
FOR WAITING ON OUR CUSTOMERS
WE'RE BUSY ALL THE WHILE,
WE SHOW THE STYLE! SELL THE LOT!
EV'RY HAT WE'VE GOT.

MME CECILE
Unfortunately, despite their whirl of activity my girls do not sell, sell, sell. A customer selecting a hat can be trs difficle (tre difisl) but just look at this wonderful creation. (SHE PULLS OUT THE UGLY HAT) I am particularly proud of this little number personally designed by Madame Cecile. Notice the shape, the grace, the style charmant (sharmawn)! Trs chic, non? It would add elegance to any woman's pompadour. But alas, no one buys it. That is until I hired ma cheri, Fifi, an orphan whose mother was French and father Austrian. She lived for a time in England, and so speaks three languages.

FIFI
Merci, danke and thank you, Madame. I sell Madame's hats to the husbands, the fathers, uncles, boyfriends, and lovers. It is not difficult.

MME Cecile
Ever since I hired Fifi, my business is c'est fantastique (se fantastek)!

FIFI
Hats fly in and out the doors along with the husbands, fathers, lovers who bring their wives, daughters, paramours. I think you get the picture. After all, it is a fact hats do make the woman!
NO. 2 HATS MAKE THE WOMAN - (Fifi and Ladies)
A HAT'S A BARE NECESSITE
NO MATTER WHAT THE YOUNG MAY SAY,
IT TOPS EACH OUTFIT LIKE A CROWN
WITH RIBBON, LACE AND VEIL ABOUND.
LARGE HATS, SMALL HATS,
FLAT AND VERY TALL HATS,
PLAY A PART IN HISTORY FOR GOOD OR ILL.
CLOTHES PERHAPS MAY MAKE THE MAN,
HATS HAVE MADE THE WOMAN,
AND THEY ALWAYS WILL.

LARGE HATS, SMALL HATS,
FLAT AND VERY TALL HATS,
CLOTHES PERHAPS MAY MAKE THE MAN,
BUT SINCE FIRST THE WORLD BEGAN,
HATS HAVE MADE THE WOMAN,
AND THEY ALWAYS WILL.

THE BRIM, THE CROWN, THE SHAPE, THE SIZE
EACH ONE COMBINES TO MESMERIZE
IT DRAWS THE EYE WITH SUBTLE GLANCE
ENDOWS MADAME WITH ELEGANCE!
LARGE HATS, SMALL HATS,
FLAT AND VERY TALL HATS,
PLAY A PART IN HISTORY FOR GOOD OR ILL.
CLOTHES PERHAPS MAY MAKE THE MAN,
BUT SINCE FIRST THE WORLD BEGAN,
HATS HAVE MADE THE WOMAN,
AND THEY ALWAYS WILL.

LARGE HATS, SMALL HATS, LADIES
FLAT AND VERY TALL HATS,
PLAY A PART IN HISTORY FOR GOOD OR ILL.
CLOTHES PERHAPS MAY MAKE THE MAN,
BUT SINCE FIRST THE WORLD BEGAN,
HATS HAVE MADE THE WOMAN,
AND THEY ALWAYS WILL.

YOU GIVE THE BRIM A RAKISH TILT,FIFI
ADD TO YOUR VOICE A HAUNTING LILT,
A VEIL A HINT MYSTERIOUS
WILL DRIVE A MAN DELIRIOUS.
LARGE HATS, SMALL HATS,
FLAT AND VERY TALL HATS,
PLAY A PART IN HISTORY FOR GOOD OR ILL.
CLOTHES PERHAPS MAY MAKE THE MAN,
BUT SINCE FIRST THE WORLD BEGAN,
HATS HAVE MADE THE WOMAN,
AND THEY ALWAYS WILL.

LARGE HATS, SMALL HATS, LADIES
FLAT AND VERY TALL HATS,
PLAY A PART IN HISTORY FOR GOOD OR ILL.
CLOTHES PERHAPS MAY MAKE THE MAN,
BUT SINCE FIRST THE WORLD BEGAN,
HATS HAVE MADE THE WOMAN,
AND THEY ALWAYS WILL.

MME CECILE
Ah, ma cheri, Fifi if she only knew! She could go to any of my rivals and get three times the wages I pay her! This morning I sent her to deliver some hats to the Baroness d'Avray and she seems to be taking a very long time to return. Most likely she is loitering around the opera house, watching rehearsals, as she is apt to do. The poor girl has such delusions of grandeur - dreams of singing great arias! Ah well. Meanwhile, customers have been dashing in and out mostly out as soon as they discover that Fifi is not "ici". An empty cash box is quelle domage. If Fifi were here she would have sold a dozen hats by now and at a good price. Where is that baggge! But, if I go looking for her "when the cat's away, the mice will play!"

No. 3 WHEN THE CAT'S AWAY (Mme Cecile and Ladies)
THERE'S A PROVERB THAT IS TRITE BUT TRUE!
IT DESCRIBES US NEATLY FULLY AND COMPLETELY.
TELLS US WHAT A LOT OF GIRLS WILL DO,
WHEN THE ONE IN CHARGE OF THEM IS NOT IN VIEW.
NOW WE'LL TELL YOU WHAT THE WISE MEN SAY:
"WHEN THE CAT'S AWAY, THEN THE MICE WILL PLAY."
WE DON'T LIKE TO THINK OF MICE LIKE THAT!

I DON'T LIKE TO THINK THAT I'M THE CAT!

BUT THO' THERE ARE A FEW PERHAPS WHO DOUBT IT FLOUT IT!
OTHERS FIND IT TRUE FROM DAY TO DAY!
AND OFTEN THOSE WHO DO NOT BEAR IN MIND THAT FIND THAT
"WHEN THE CAT'S AWAY; THE MICE WILL PLAY."

ETIENNE
(ETIENNE ENTERS WITH BOUQUET. CHORUS MEN STAND) Fifi! Fifi! Where are you hiding, you little coquette? Fifi!! Oh pardn, Madame! I am Etienne de Bouvray, the Viscount de St. Mar and Captaine in the glorious French army, at your service. Can you tell me, where is my sweet little bon bon, Fifi? Not sick, I hope?

MME CECILE
Non, non! She has gone out with--

ETIENNE
With whom?

MME CECILE
With some hats! She will be back soon. Perhaps I can assist you. A hat for the girlfriend, non?

ETIENNE
Mais, non, duty is first with a soldier of France.

MEN
Vive la France!

ETIENNE
I must put a lot of stupid men through a tedious drill! (MEN SIT) These few poor flowers I will leave for her. The red ones are not as red as her lips. The white ones are not as fair as her skin but she is not here. Alas, how seldom it is we find the time, the place and the girl together!
NO. 4 THE TIME AND THE PLACE AND THE GIRL (Etienne and Chorus)
I WONDER IF CUPID IS SILLY OR STUPID,
OR IF THE LITTLE RASCAL CANNOT SEE.
FOR LOVING AND WOOING ARE ALL OF HIS DOING,
AND YET HE MAKES IT PAINFUL AS CAN BE.
HE MIXES THE STATIONS, HE CHANGES RELATIONS,
FOR ALL YOU LITTLE SCHEMES HE SETS A SNARE.
AND THOUGH YOU HAVE PLANNED IT, AND BOTH UNDERSTAND IT,
HE'LL FIX IT SO YOUR SWEETHEART IS NOT THERE.
FOR THE TIME MAY BE MORNING OR EVENING;
THE PLACE MAY BE DISTANT OR NEAR;
AND THE MAIDEN DEMURE MAY HAVE MADE YOU FEEL SURE
THAT SHE'LL BE THERE WITHOUT ANY FEAR.
BUT THERE'S ALWAYS A HITCH IN IT SOMEWHERE,
AND THE THOUGHT SETS YOUR BRAIN IN A WHIRL;
FOR SELDOM IF EVER, YOU FIND THEM TOGETHER,
THE TIME AND THE PLACE AND THE GIRL.
THERE'S ALWAYS A HITCH IN IT SOMEWHERE,
AND THE THOUGHT SETS YOUR BRAIN IN A WHIRL;
FOR SELDOM IF EVER, YOU FIND THEM TOGETHER,
THE TIME AND THE PLACE AND THE GIRL.

ETIENNE
Madame, may I ask you to give these to Mademoiselle Fifi and say that each red rose is a heartthrob?

MME CECILE
Oui, and the white--?

ETIENNE
My soul's desire.

MME CECILE
Ah, Monsieur le Captain, you are an outrageous flirt!

ETIENNE
Non, Madame --

MME CECILE
Oui, you officers are all alike! I was fooled when I was young--I mean I might have been.

ETIENNE
Madame, I am sure you have had many a gallant love and may still have in the future! Were it not that Fifi has won me--well, who can say?

MME CECILE
Stop your nonsense!

ETIENNE
Of course as you say, I have had my little affairs--as who has not--? But they were all your passez les temps! With Fifi however, it is different. This is une grande passion! I will tell you a secret. I love Fifi and shall take her away from this life as soon as I can afford it!

MME CECILE
Away from this shop?

ETIENNE
Oui, Madame.

MME CECILE
I knew you were as bad as the rest. Fifi is an innocent girl and you should respect her.

ETIENNE
I do, Madame! Just as soon as I can, I mean to . . . (DA TRUMPET CALL HERE??) the drill! I must go! You will not forget the bouquet and the message?

MME CECILE
Non, Monsieur.

ETIENNE
I shall return as soon as duty permits. Au revoir, Madame. (HE EXITS)

MME CECILE
Mon Dieu! Take away my Fifi, would you! I am not a moment too early in my plan to marry her to my son Gaston, an artste who paints the portraits of Parisienne society. Although lately it is always Madame Cecile who supplies the money to lure la creme de la creme to sittings, Humph! If I can get Fifi to agree to marry Gaston, then she becomes a member of the family. No more wages and the hats continue to fly out the door. Just contented, profitable family harmony.