| Operas by Arthur Sullivan (not including those with W. S. Gilbert) |
|---|
 Cox and Box (1866) |
The Sapphire Necklace, or the False Heiress (completed by 1867, and at least mostly completed by 1864),[1] was the first opera composed by Arthur Sullivan. Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan MVO (13 May 1842 &ndash 22 November 1900 was an English composer of Irish and Italian descent best known for his operatic Sir William Schwenck Gilbert (18 November 1836 &ndash 29 May 1911 was an English Dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for his fourteen Cox and Box; or The Long-Lost Brothers, is a one-act Comic opera with a libretto by F The Contrabandista, or The Law of the Ladrones, is a two-act Comic opera by Arthur Sullivan and F This article is about the comic opera by Arthur Sullivan For other uses see The Zoo (disambiguation. Ivanhoe is a romantic Opera in three acts based on the novel by Sir Walter Scott, with Music by Sir Arthur Sullivan and Haddon Hall is an English light opera with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by Sydney Grundy. The Chieftain is a two-act comic opera by Arthur Sullivan and F The Beauty Stone is "an original romantic musical Opera " in three acts composed by Arthur Sullivan to a libretto by Arthur Wing Pinero The Rose of Persia; or The Story-Teller and the Slave, is a two-act Comic opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by Basil The Emerald Isle; or The Caves of Carrig-Cleena, is a two-act Comic opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and Edward German, and a Sir Edward German ( 17 February 1862 &ndash 11 November 1936) was an English musician and composer of Welsh descent best remembered Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan MVO (13 May 1842 &ndash 22 November 1900 was an English composer of Irish and Italian descent best known for his operatic It was never performed, and most of the music and libretto are now lost.
Contents |
Background
After his incidental music to The Tempest brought Arthur Sullivan early fame in 1862,[2] he began to experiment with a wide variety of musical compositions. The Tempest Incidental music is a set of movements for Shakespeare 's play composed by Arthur Sullivan in 1861-62 By 1864, he had written a ballet (L'Île Enchantée), several hymns, a few piano solos, and some parlour ballads. L'Île Enchantée (literally The Enchanted Island is an 1864 ballet by Arthur Sullivan written as a Divertissement at the end of Vincenzo Bellini 's Parlour music is a type of Popular music which as the name suggests is intended to be performed in the Parlours of Middle class homes by amateur singers [3] He had also set to work on The Sapphire Necklace. As with some of his other compositions at this time, the libretto was provided by his friend Henry F. Chorley. Henry Fothergill Chorley (15 December 1808 &ndash 16 February 1872 was an English literary art and Music critic and editor However, this libretto proved particularly difficult to set: Sullivan, later in life, would say that no other libretto had given him more difficulty, and contemporary sources suggest that he may have later decided to suppress the opera due to dislike of the libretto. [4]
Despite these difficulties, the young Sullivan worked diligently at the piece during 1863 and 1864 and had a finished, four-act opera by 1867. However, he was unable to find anyone willing to produce it, aside from some selections performed at The Crystal Palace. The Crystal Palace was a cast-iron and Glass building originally erected in Hyde Park, London, England, to house the Despite this, Sullivan would go on to write a cantata with Chorley (The Masque at Kenilworth, 1864), and a few stand-alone songs including "The Long Day Closes (1868). A cantata (derived from the Italian word 'cantare' meaning 'to sing' is a vocal composition with an instrumental Accompaniment and often Kenilworth A Masque of the Days of Queen Elizabeth (commonly referred to as "The Masque at Kenilworth" is a Cantata with music by Arthur Sullivan and The Long Day Closes is a Part song by Henry Fothergill Chorley and Arthur Sullivan published in 1868 "
Surviving and Known Music
On 13 April 1867 a selection of songs from the opera were performed at The Crystal Palace, arranged for military band by Charles Godfrey Jr. Events 1111 - Henry V is crowned Holy Roman Emperor. 1204 - The Fourth Crusade sacks Constantinople Year 1867 ( MDCCCLXVII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting The Crystal Palace was a cast-iron and Glass building originally erected in Hyde Park, London, England, to house the The overture proved popular and went on to appear in numerous further concerts. The overture, like many of Sullivan's early music, is in the style of Mendelssohn and suggests that The Sapphire Necklace would have been a more serious work than the comic operas for which Sullivan later became known. Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, born and generally known as Felix Mendelssohn (February 3 1809 &ndash November 4 1847 was a German Composer Comic opera, or light opera, denotes a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature usually with a happy ending
The two other songs, "Over the Roof" and a now-lost recitative and prayer, "Then come not yet," were less successful. Only the former went as far as publication, and neither would appear again at a major concert in Sullivan's lifetime. The madrigal, "When Love and Beauty to be Married," would be saved by the Victorian love of parlour ballads, but the rest of the score, as well as the libretto, was lost. Culture The Victorian fascination with novelty resulted in a deep interest in the relationship between modernity and cultural continuities Sullivan sold the score to Metzler in 1878, but bought it back again in 1880 and would mention, in an 1897 letter to his secretary, Wilfred Bendall, having part of the score in front of him when composing Victoria and Merrie England. Victoria and Merrie England is an 1897 ballet by Arthur Sullivan, written to commemorate Queen Victoria 's Diamond Jubilee &mdash a remarkable [5]
Surviving Lyrics
When Love and Beauty (Madrigal)
(With Sullivan's repeats eliminated)
- When Love and Beauty to be married go,
- Pheobus, without a cloud,
- Smiles on the pair.
- Though rose-buds pant and blow,
- The birds all sing aloud,
- Tumultuous Boreas, whom the cedars bowed,
- Tamed, like wane of gentle song doth flow,
- Saying, till Echo doth repeat the sound,
- "May all who wed in truth with happiness be crown'd. "
- It is not wealth and state that smooth the way,
- Nor bid the desert bloom,
- The ploughman at his furrow can be gay,
- The weaver at his loom.
- Where Honour's Lord content his wife hath room,
- And hearts keep light if heads are gray,
- Singing, till Echo doth repeat the sound,
- "May all who wed in truth with happiness be crown'd. "
Over the Roof
- Over the roof and over the wall,
- Grow, grow, the jessamine grow.
- For ever and ever more white and tall
- (No matter the dwelling be high or low!)
- For yet palace be lofty and moat be wide
- And mailed the bridge and lordly the towers,
- There love can prevail over pomp and pride
- Like the cherished beauty of those sweet flowers!
- Love, love, love.
- Love will not alter under the sun
- While the woods grow and the waters run!
- Down by the meadow, down to the sea
- (Flow, flow, the river will flow)
- The turf may be green, or wither'd the tree
- (But the heat is the same on the cobble below. )
- For whatever the season around that deep stream,
- Be it snow-white winter or summer hot,
- There is love, tho' a wand'rer as some might dream
- Who passes and passes, yet changes not.
- Ah! Love, love, love.
- Love will be master under the sun
- While the wood grows and the waters run!
The Royal English Opera production
On July 29, 2000, the only known performance of the opera was given, with a new libretto by Scott Farrell, in Rockford, Illinois, by The Royal English Opera Company, an amateur ensemble formed in 1999 to perform rare English opera pieces. Events 1014 - Byzantine-Bulgarian Wars: Battle of Kleidion: Byzantine emperor Basil II inflicts a decisive defeat 2000 ( MM) was a Leap year that started on Saturday of the Common Era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. Rockford is a mid-sized city located on both banks of the Rock River in far northern Illinois [6] The plot of the libretto used in this performance concerns a peasant girl who inherits a sapphire necklace and becomes queen for a day under the terms of a legend. The surviving original Chorley and Sullivan pieces were incorporated into the text, and the rest of the score was filled out by Farrell using Sullivan music for some of the pieces (including "The Long Day Closes"), and Farrell's original music for others. The Long Day Closes is a 1992 British Film directed and written by Terence Davies. The libretto attempts to simulate the style of Sullivan's later collaborator, W. S. Gilbert. Sir William Schwenck Gilbert (18 November 1836 &ndash 29 May 1911 was an English Dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for his fourteen [7]
Recordings
- 1972 – Fulham Light Operatic Society recorded the two surviving vocal numbers, "When love and beauty" and "Over the roof", as bonus tracks on their world premiere recording of Sullivan's The Zoo. This article is about the comic opera by Arthur Sullivan For other uses see The Zoo (disambiguation.
- 1992 – RTÉ Concert Orchestra of Dublin (Andrew Penny, conductor), recorded a reconstruction of the overture by Sullivan scholar Roderick Spencer.
- 1993 – Gregg Smith Singers recorded "When love and beauty," a CD called Madrigals — and All That Jazz on the Newport Classics label, NPD 85524. The Gregg Smith Singers is a mixed chorus from the United States directed by Gregg Smith (b The disc also includes a doo-wop version of the number.
- 2000 – Alderley Singers & Festival Orchestra (Peter England, conductor) recorded both of the surviving vocal numbers together with other "forgotten" items by Sullivan and Michael William Balfe. Michael William Balfe ( May 15, 1808 - October 20, 1870) was an Irish Composer, best known today for his Opera
Notes
- ^ Bond, Ian; Farron, Jim; and Howarth, Paul (2003). The Sapphire Necklace. The Gilbert and Sullivan Archive. Retrieved on 2007-10-26. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 740 - An Earthquake strikes Constantinople, causing much damage and death
- ^ Howarth, Paul (2004). Sullivan's Incidental Music to Shakespeare's The Tempest. The Gilbert and Sullivan Archive. Retrieved on 2007-10-26. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 740 - An Earthquake strikes Constantinople, causing much damage and death
- ^ Sir Arthur Sullivan's Songs and Parlour Ballads. The Gilbert and Sullivan Archive (2004). Retrieved on 2007-10-26. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 740 - An Earthquake strikes Constantinople, causing much damage and death
Sullivan's Instrumental and Chamber Music. The Gilbert and Sullivan Archive (2004). Retrieved on 2007-10-26. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 740 - An Earthquake strikes Constantinople, causing much damage and death - ^ Article on Sullivan in Scribner's Monthly, vol. XVIII, 1879, p. 906
- ^ Shepherd, Marc (2005). The Sapphire Necklace. The Gilbert and Sullivan Discography. Retrieved on 2007-10-26. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 740 - An Earthquake strikes Constantinople, causing much damage and death
- ^ Homepage of The Royal English Opera Company
- ^ The Farrell libretto and score are available from Chris Browne's catalogue.
References
- The Sapphire Necklace at The Gilbert and Sullivan Archive (includes Midi files and lyrics of surviving songs)
- The Sapphire Necklace at The Gilbert and Sullivan Discography
External links
- Information about the new score and libretto, including a cast list, review of the 2000 performance and other links
- Chris Browne's catalogue including availability of the new score and libretto
Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic