I disagree about Hammerstein’s lyrics: they’re offensive if you sit and read them out, but when you soften the pronunciation, what you get are quite possibly the finest English translation of an opera libretto ever. Hammerstein’s lyrics are witty and clever, and often thrilling: Carmen’s part in the Card Song is a thing of beauty, as is “Dere’s a Cafe on de Corner.”
The Pancho number, which, I believe, is the smugglers’ chorus following the card song is cut. |
