ENGLISH OPERA.

Auckland Star, Volume LXI, Issue 39, 15 February 1930, Page 13 (Supplement)

ENGLISH OPERA.

FEW COMPOSERS.

A NATIONAL WEAKNESS,

little of outstanding merit.

(By RALPH HAMILTON.)

'Any reference to English opera must necessarily include the wonderful series of operas composed by Sir Arthur Sullivan in collaboration with Sir William Gilbert, but a detailed account of these evergreen successes is not tne purpose of these notes. The writing of opera has never been a strong feature of England's musical life, and only the riches resulting from the great Gilbert and Sullivan partnership save England from a charge of poverty as far as opera is concerned. Purcell Entertains "Young Gentlewomen." The first English opera of which I know is "Dido and Aeneas," by Henry Purcell, based on libretto by Nahum Tate. Written somewhere between 1680 and 1659, it had continuous scenes and yecitative instead of dialogue. It was first produced at Chelsea at a "boarding school for young gentlewomen," kept by one Josias Priest, a friend of Purcell, for whom it was written. The scene was Carthage, Dido the Queen and Aeneas, her accepted suitor. A sorceress plots to separate the lovers. As Mercury, she appears to Aeneas, telling him Jupiter demands his return to restore ruined Troy. Between love.and duty Aeneas, reproached by Dido for thinking of leaving her,-'chooses to remain. Incensed by his reluctance, Dido finally spurns him. He returns to Troy, and Dido, after singin" a farewell song (a real operatic touch, this), dies of grief. , "Gay Rich and Rich Gay." In 1728 was first produced a work that still- remains one of the most, successful efforts in the English tongue. "The Beggar's Opera," by John Gay, dealt romantically with the love of Polly Peachem, daughter of a ; '-fence," with' Captain Macheath, a gallant, highwayman.. All the characters are easy-going rascals-. The opera was immediately successful, its fascination' being largely due to the music which consisted"chiefly of popular songs of the day, English, Scottish and Irish, arranged by Gay's collaborator, Dr. Pepusch who, by,the way, drew on Purcell for some of his tunes. The nature of the music accounts for the description of this work as a ballad opera. It played for sixty-two nights, not a lengthy "run" by present Standards, but unusual then. Produced under the management of one, Rich, its success soon led some wag to remark that it made Rich gay and Gay rich. It is interesting to know that Lavinia Fehton, creator of the' role of Polly, later became Duchess of Bolton, so that the raising of actresses to the peerage had early precedent. Its most serious rival was "Rinaldo/' written by Handel while living in England in 1711, but in Italian, so that it cannot be deemed an English opera. "The Beggar's Opera" was given a very successful revival at the Lyric Theatre, London, in 1920. Gay wrote "Polly," a sequel to "The Beggar's Opera," but his stinging wit having offended the Court and Government, the Lord Chamberlain refused to sanction its production. Gay then published it in book form, copies being eagerly sought after. It was produced for the:first time "in 1777 and was successfully revived in London at the Kingsway Theatre in 1922.- . "The Bohemian Girl." Nothing of any worth seems'to have been written between the time of the Beggar's success and 1843, when Michael Balfe scored an immediate success with "The Bohemian Girl." Balfe was an Irishman who studied in Italy and elsewhere. ' Meefing Rossini, one of the operatic; giants of the day, he was advised to adopt the profession of opera singer. The experience was helpful but later he turned composer in earnest. After producing three highly successful Operas in Italy, he returned to England, at the age of 25, in 1833. His first opera in English was "The Siege , of Rochelle," produced in 1835, running for three months without a break. Many successes followed, Balfe writing thirty-one operas in all, but "The, Bohemian Girl," produced in . 1843, is the only one that has Survived in popular esteem. The success f' Handel's "Rinaldo," already menoned, had permanently established the $»gue of opera in Italian, and it is interesting to know that "The Bohemian Girl" was revived for English audiences fifteen years later in Italian under the •sitle "La Zingara." The Popular "Maritana." Two years after the production of "The Bohemian Girl" there followed its only serious rival, Wallace's "Maritana.". Wallace,' the son of a Scottish bandmaster, was born in Ireland and showed early talent as a musician. He came out to New South Wales .in' 1835. Back in England ten years later he confessed to a friend that he wondered whether he could write'an opera. ' This chance remark brought about his introduction to a popular poet-dramatist of the day, Fitzball. Fitzball gave Wallace a libretto which he quickly set to music. Produced at Drury Lane, "Maritana" was iimmediately successful and has remained popular. Wallace wrote half a dozen operas but" "Maritana" is the ope with which his name will always be associated. . A Scottish Romance. Si/ Arthur Sullivan's name and reputation are so intimately connected with the name and fame of Gilbert, his great partner, that many may not "know i he composed an opera on a libretto . by Julian Sturgis from Sir Walter Scott's "Ivanhoe." Sullivan, strangely enough, was never quite happy in his. work with Gilbert, always feeling that he was fitted for more serious composition. The English Opera House was built in 1890 for Mr. D'Oyly Carte, the genius happily chosen by a propitious fate for th 6 production of the Gilbert and Sullivan operas at the Savoy Theatre. For the opening of his English Opera House he commissioned Sullivan to write grand opera, a task willingly undertaken. Sullivan himself chose the heroic subject of "Ivanhoe." The opera had a genuine success, as Sullivan's score contains some of his most beautiful music, several numbers being now well-known on the concert' platform. A Tale of Ireland. In 1596 the Opera Comique in London witnessed the premiere of a romantic comic opera, "Shamus O'Brien," by Sir Charles Stanford, based on a libretto by George H. Jessop, founded on the j poem of Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, Madame Kirkby Lunn playing the part of NoPa O'Brien, wife of Shamus. It is a "folk opera," dealing with life in an Irish village immediately after the suppression of the 1798 rebellion. One of the characters is Father O'Flynn, |he well-known song of that name being a setting of an old Irish air arranged by Stanford for this opera* <

Edward German's "Merrie England," produced at the Savoy Theatre, London, in 1902, is a very English affair. Its characters include Queen Elizabeth, Sir Walter Raleigh, the Earl tif Essex and "a player in company." There are May Day revels, a Queen of the May, a hunt in Windsor Forest, and the wedding of Sir Walter to Bessie Throckmorton, maid of honour to the queen. German also wrote an opera, "Tom Jones," based on Fielding's novel of the same name, which was first produced at the Princess Theatre, Manchester, in 1907. The chief charm of Edward German's work is probably the delightful English folk tunes he introduces as dances. W. W* Jacobs' Humour. Dame Ethel Smyth,- one of the bestknown of living British composers, took a' story by W. W. Jacobs, arranged a libretto from it, and set it to music as a "comedy opera, "The Boatswain's Mate," it being produced at the Shaftesbury Theatre in 1916. Dame Ethel has also composed the following operas: "Fantasio" (1898), "Der Wald" (1902), "The Wreckers',' (1909), and "Fete Galante" (1923). Operatic Burlesque. Gustave Hoist's "The Perfect Fool" is described as "a most dojicious little burlesque." It was first produced at Covent Garden in 1923, and seems to be based to some extent on parodies of Verdi's "II Trovatore" and "The Ring." Apparently it cannot be considered a serious effort. "Hugh the Drover." Dr. R. Vaughan Williams, working to a text by Harold Child, has made of 'Hugh the Drover" an opera thoroughly English, tuneful and interesting. A noted student of English folk music, he has employed many traditional tunes in his score, while his choral writing is a prominent feature. The opera was produced privately,at the Royal College of Music, London, in 1924, its first public performance following a fortnight later at His Majesty's Theatre. The action takes place in the Cotswold Hills, the period being 1812, the time of the Napoleonic threat of invasion and the press-gang. Hugh the Drover and John the Butcher are rivals for the hand of Mary, daughter of the village constable. Her father favours the prosperous tradesman, while Mary has a.romantic preference, for the care-free young drover.. At the fair John challenges all-comers to -fight. Hugh offers to accept the challenge if John will fight not for the suggested purse of £20, but for. Mary. Hugh defeats John, and the constable, piqued, denounces him (a stranger in the village) as a Bonapartist spy. Hugh is placed in the stocks to await the arrival of the military. The sergeant knows him, and, wishing to leave him a fair field to win Mary, has John "pressed" for service and so removed. Hugh claims his bride, and they fare forth to face the world together. I have heard the music of "Hugh the Drover" on the gramophone, and found it thoroughly charming in its tunefulness and variety. English and Foreign. Of the "English" operas mentioned above it is apparent that all are not truly national. Some deal with scenes and stories that are not English, by "English" meaning the British Isles, of course. Still, un-English as they are, they must be considered as English opera, being the work of national. composers writing in the common tongue. On the other hand, quite a list might be compiled of operas by foreigners written in their own language, dealing with English scenes and stories. Such -a - list would include many of Shakespeare's plays, "Merry Wives of Windsor," by Nicolai, for instance. This is as English a tale as one might wish, but Nicolai tells the story in German. Flotow-s "Martha" is another interesting case, as this story of the court of Queen Anne is here told in operatic form by a German in his native tongue, while under the- title "Maid of Honour" the same story has been set to music for English ears by Balfe, the composer of "The Bohemian Girl." ' This brief review will, I think, 6erve to indicate that (always excepting the wonderful Gilbert and Sullivan operas) English composers cannot be said to have achieved any notable success in the field of opera. One wonders whether the Italian tradition has become so firmly established that composers who might attempt opera in English fear to enter into competition. It seems more likely that English musical genius, of which there is ample evidence in other-branches of the art, does not find opera a congenial medium for its expression.