Show History

History

Inspiration

Edwin Lester, founder and director of the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera, conceived of a musical based on the 1911 play, Kismet by Edward Knoblock. Having previously produced Song of Norway with the composing team of Wright and Forrester, Lester commissioned them to adapt Knoblock’s work. For Kismet, the writers seized upon the melodies of Alexander Borodin, which they felt had a suitable exotic flavor and lush melodies.  Quick ears will identify  "Stranger in Paradise" as Borodin's "Polovtsian Dances" and hear strains of the “D-Major String Quartet” in Kismet's "And This Is My Beloved" and "Baubles, Bangles and Beads.”