Day’s final show in her time as “The Queen of Drury Lane” was Rio Rita, penned by the team of McCarthy and Tierney. In contrast to the 494 performances of Ziegfeld’s production in New York, its London season ran for only 59 performances after opening on 3 April 1930. This short run could be explained by the three year hiatus between the show’s debut on Broadway and its opening in London, but it is more likely the 1929 release of the film version (also produced by Ziegfeld) was the main reason for the lukewarm reception. Even the critic from The Daily Telegraph, despite having not seen the film version, found it “easy to imagine that on the screen its plot was more effective – as drama – than Messers. Guy Bolton and Fred Thomson have made it in their
play.”165
Rio Rita has the lowest point tessitura of all Day’s recorded shows, and one of the most striking differences between this and her work in previous productions is the similarity of many of her songs. There is a preponderance of gentle waltzes (the songs in duple time include triplets that imply triple time), the tempo is slow and languid, and brighter songs are reserved for the male chorus of American rangers and the orchestra.166 There are no rapid, tongue twisting songs where Day can exercise her vocal agility, or fervent marching songs to demonstrate her melodramatic flair, and the fact she was not singing
164 James Agate, The Sunday Times, 6 May 1928. 165
The Daily Telegraph, 4 April 1930.
166
With music and lyrics by Harry Tierney and Joseph McCarthy, Rio Rita tells the tale of the love between Texan Ranger Captain Jim Stewart and English-Irish-Mexican girl Rita Fergusson against the backdrop of Mexico and the Rio Grande. Considered to be the last of the 1920s operettas (Traubner 2003, 391), the show provided bright, Mexican dancing girls in contrast to the sturdy Texan Rangers.
at her best was noted by reviewers.167
“If You’re In Love You’ll Waltz” is low in her register, the waltz melody made up of rocking arpeggios that mostly remain between C4 and C5. A short bridge section sees Day singing briefly up to G5, but she sings the lower option at the gentle final cadence. This final sustained F5 shows more tension that would be expected from Day: with a fast vibrato of 6.7 Hz and a narrow extent of only 30 cents. A slight “raggedness”, not apparent in her earlier recordings, also becomes evident (Figure 3—7).
This is even more marked on the final note of “Rio Rita”, where her vibrato does not start until several cycles into the note. In the lower pitches of the first refrain in “You’re Always in My Arms”, Day’s vocal control is limited (Figure 3—8). Her vibrato is slow, uneven and jagged as she struggles to produce the low B3, making her sound strangled and uncomfortable. In the second refrain, a solo violin plays the melody and Day sings a higher countermelody, up to a G5 rather than an occasional E5. The final two sustained notes (G5 and E5) exhibit the smooth and regular vibrato found in her earlier performances, but lacking the brightness apparent in earlier years.
Day retired from the stage after Rio Rita, making only a few appearances between 1930 and her death in 1971. These included Hammerstein and Romberg’s final but short- lived operetta Sunny River (1943), Noël Coward’s play Waiting in the Wings (1960) and his 1963 musical Sail Away. In 1934, Day recorded a medley of three songs for
Decca—“Romance” from The Desert Song, “Alice Blue Gown” from Irene, and “Why
Figure 3—7: The increase in the raggedness of Day’s vibrato during the final cadences of “If You’re in Love You’ll Waltz” and “Rio Rita”. See also CD tracks 3—7 and 3—8.
167 Ibid.
Figure 3—8: Ragged and uneven vibrato showing the lack of vocal control in Day’s lower register (see also CD Track 3—9).
Do I Love You” from Show Boat. Accompanied by strings and piano, Day sang in a small voice, adding swoops and slides with breathy anticipation, all of which combined to give the uncomfortable impression of a restricted singer trying too hard. Her vibrato is irregular, fast and narrow enough to be almost non-existent, and her swoops and slides appear uncontrolled, falling well below/above the target notes and taking some time to settle to the pitch. Intended as a soft, intimate recording, it was a failure, and was not released until its inclusion on a 1964 Decca compilation of obscure 1930s recordings entitled the Great Stars of Musical Comedy.
A complex web of associations brought Edith Day to Broadway and the West End, but it was her talent, voice and personality that made her a star. After Irene, Day combined opera and musical comedy, making a successful career in operetta until its decline in popularity from the early 1930s. In the early 1920s, as a beautiful soubrette, Day’s light, agile voice allowed her to sing in a wide variety of song styles: fast and light, gentle and flowing, fervent and dramatic. However, as Day grew older her voice became heavier and less agile and her tone became increasingly unconvincing as the young romantic lead. Remaining identifiably Edith Day, rather than taking on the character of the part she was playing contributed to her inability to engage more age- appropriate roles. Edith Day was undoubtedly the most popular female performer in London, but she was unable and unprepared to relinquish the role she had built for herself on the stage. As a result, her career effectively ended before the age of forty.