Dearest Enemy

Dearest Enemy

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The composer perhaps most influenced by Victor Herbert and Jerome Kern was <b>Richard Rodgers</b> (1902-1979), who acknowledged his affection for Kern's shows with Bolton and Wodehouse. His score for <i>Dearest Enemy</i>, his first Broadway success, is clearly influenced by Kern's graceful way with a good melody. <i>Dearest Enemy</i>, written with lyricist Lorenz Hart (1895 1943) and book writer Herbert Fields (1897-1958) opened on September 18, 1925. It displays the young composer's synthesis of Victor Herbert, Rudolf Friml, Sigmund Romberg and other writers of the day. Rodgers' work with Lorenz Hart covered a wide range, from the sophisticated innocence of <i>Babes in Arms</i> (1937) to adaptations of Mark Twain, Shakespeare and the sleazy showbiz world of John O'Hara's <i>Pal Joey</i> (1940). <i>Dearest Enemy</i> is a romantic score by the composer who would write <i>Carousel</i> twenty years later and shows how the third generation of composers for Broadway helped to make the transition from operetta to musical theater.