Opera
Opera Vaughan Williams 26 The Bridal Day Vocal and instrumental scores on hire 9780193388338 picc, fl, pno, str; or fl, pno The Bridal Day is a masque founded on Edmund Spenser’s Epithalamion, an ode to his bride on their wedding day. The poem was suggested to Vaughan Williams by Ursula Wood, later fhis wife. The masque comprises a combination of dances, choruses, solo singing and spoken word, with the music reflecting the joyful, untroubled nature of the words. Vaughan Williams later used the work as the basis for the cantata Epithalamion. 45 minutes Ralph Vaughan Williams The First Nowell Orchestral version Vocal and instrumental scores on hire 9780193389533 2 fl, ob, 2 cl, bsn, 2 hn, 2 tpt, 2 tbn, timp, hp, str soprano and baritone soloists; satb chorus Vaughan Williams composed this musical ‘nativity play’ in the final year of his life, yet it is full of vitality and Christmas spirit, recalling his earlier folk-song settings in its musical style and lightness of mood. The libretto, written by Simona Pakenham, is based on various medieval pageants, and the music is founded on traditional Christmas tunes. Vaughan Williams’s recasting of these familiar melodies are beautifully crafted, ranging from gentle expressivity to stirring grandeur in tone. The final portion of the work was not finished at the composer’s death, so his amanuensis Roy Douglas completed the work, based on the existing sketches. A reduced forces version, edited by Roy Douglas, is also available for piano, organ and strings. 50 minutes The Pilgrim’s Progress Vocal and instrumental scores on hire 9780193392298 2 fl (II+picc), 2 ob (II+ca), 2 cl, 2 bsn, cbn (opt), 4 hn, 2 tpt, 2 tpt onstage (opt), 3 tbn, tba, euph (opt), timp, perc (sd, td, bd, cym, gong, tri, xylo, glock, bell), hp, cel (opt), str Pilgrim baritone John Bunyan bass The Interpreter/ A Celestial Messenger tenor Watchful, the porter baritone Evangelist bass Apollyon bass A Woodcutter’s Boy soprano Mister By-Ends tenor Madam By-Ends soprano A Heavenly Being contralto John Bunyan’s 1678 allegory The Pilgrim’s Progress fascinated Vaughan Williams throughout his career. He seems to have composed the first sketches and ideas for this Morality, as the composer referred to it, as early as 1906. He returned to the text several times in different forms, but it wasn’t until 1951 that this stage work was finally completed. Reflecting its long gestation, it encompasses the whole of the composer’s stylistic gamut: there is serene lyricism, mystical exoticism, turbulence and violence, and noble grandeur. It tells the story of Pilgrim, who sets out from his home on his journey to the Celestial City. On his way he fights the monster Apollyon in the Valley of Humiliation, passes through Vanity Fair, meets the Shepherds of the Delectable Mountains, and at last crosses the River of Death to reach his goal. A German translation of the text by Müller-Hartmann, with additions by Genia Horstein is also available. 120 minutes The Pilgrim's Progress - Royal Northern College of Music, 2019 Robert Workman
The Poisoned Kiss Vocal and instrumental scores on hire 9780193393004 2 fl (II+picc), ob, ca, 2 cl, bsn, 2 hn, 2 tpt, tbn, timp, 2 perc (bd, sd, gong, clash cym, tamb, sus cym, tri, xylo), hp or pno, str Angelica, Tormentilla’s maid and companion soprano Gallanthus, the Prince’s attendant baritone Hob, Gob and Lob, the Magician’s hobgoblins tenor, baritone, bass Dipsacus, a Professional Magician bass Amaryllus the Prince, son of the Empress tenor Tormentilla, the Magician’s daughter soprano First, Second and Third Mediums, the Empress’s assistants soprano, mezzo-soprano, contralto Attendant speaking part Empress Persicaria, Sovereign in Golden Town and Amateur Magician contralto Physician speaking part Chorus of Day and Night Voices, Hobgoblins, Witches and Forest Creatures, Milliners and Message Boys, Flower Girls, Lovers Also Guards, Attendants, etc. Based on the story The Poison Maid by Richard Garnett, this fairy-tale romantic extravaganza tells the story of a revenge-seeking magician who raises his daughter on poisons in order that the first man she kisses will die. Unknown to him, the Empress has raised her son – the target of the Magician’s plan – on poison antidotes so that when the two young people meet and (inevitably) fall in love, the kiss is harmless. With lyrics by Evelyn Sharp and dialogue by Ursula Vaughan Williams, the whimsical story has an ultimately happy ending for everyone. 120 minutes "Nowhere else has the composer written lovelier songs or soaked the whole texture of his scores in more lyrical rhapsody" - The Times - Riders to the Sea Vocal and instrumental scores on hire 9780193393349 2 fl (II+picc), ob, ca, bcl (or cl and bcl), bsn, 2 hn, tpt, timp, bd, sea machine, str Bartley baritone Cathleen soprano Maurya contralto Nora soprano A Woman mezzo-soprano This tragic one-act opera, setting J. M. Synge's play almost word for word, tells the story of a mother's lament for her husband and eventually four sons lost to the sea off the Donegal coast. When her last son, Bartley, is drowned taking the horses to Galway Fair, Maurya finds that, instead of grief, a great peace is found - 'They are all gone now, and there isn't anything more the sea can do to me'. It is notable for the orchestral portraits of the sea and the wind, which ultimately led to the Sinfonia Antartica, and many think it Vaughan Williams’s finest theatrical work. 42 minutes "An extremely evocative study in half-tones, leading up with perfect judgement to a great ritualized outburst of sorrow, followed by a final scene of calm acceptance." - New Statesmen - Opera Vaughan Williams 27
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