The
Penguin Concise Guide to Opera claims
on the back cover to "explore the
operatic careers of all the great composers".
Yet it appears that three of the most
prominent British composers of the early
twentieth century are not classed as
"great composers" – namely
Vaughan Williams, Delius and Walton,
all of whom wrote a number of operas,
that have received – and continue to
receive – a number of performances.
For example, recent performances include
Delius’s Fennimore and Gerda
at the English National Opera and The
Magic Fountain at Scottish opera;
Walton’s Troilus and Cressida
at Covent Garden and Opera North as
well as a concert performance at the
Royal Festival Hall to mark his centenary
year, and concert performances of The
Bear at the Queen Elizabeth Hall
and the Aldeburgh Festival; performances
of Vaughan Williams’ Riders To The
Sea in Cambridge, and semi-staged
performances by the Royal Opera House
at the Barbican of his Pilgrim’s
Progress, and Sir John in Love
- the latter soon to be performed again
at the English National Opera. Delius’s
A Village Romeo and Juliet is
described in Groves as "an operatic
masterpiece, with drama and music marvellously
integrated" – this has received
about a dozen performances abroad recently,
as well as one at Leeds. Furthermore,
there have been numerous amateur and
semi-professional performances of these,
as well as of Delius’s opera Koanga
and no doubt many more that I cannot
recall at this precise moment in time!
These operas are not works by minor
composers that have rarely or never
received performances – these are works
that are in the repertoire, and should
be recognised as such. I will not quibble
over other British composers, such as
Alwyn, Boughton, Mackenzie, German,
Lord Berners, MacCunn and Holbrooke,
all of whom wrote operas of which currently-available
recordings have been made – but who
are admittedly less well recognised
as opera composers. However leaving
out Vaughan Williams, Delius and Walton
is unforgivable! Given their omission,
however, I was, on the other hand, delighted
to see the inclusion of Holst in the
book, although resignedly unsurprised
that there is no entry for The Perfect
Fool, Wandering Scholar or
At The Boar’s Head – (all of
which have been recorded) – only Savitri.
Similarly, there is – typically – no
mention of Sullivan’s serious opera
– Ivanhoe – only of the operettas.
This is otherwise a
nicely produced guide – the new concise
edition includes composer biographies,
synopses and musical analyses of the
operas, and recommended recordings.
The composer biographies are satisfyingly
thorough, and the opera synopses gratifyingly
clear. Whilst I would by no means call
this book comprehensive, it is fairly
authoritative, with contributions from
top experts – both on the scholarly
and practical sides of music - such
as Michael Kennedy, Robin Holloway,
David Lloyd-Jones and the late Felix
Aprahamian. This book is not a dictionary,
and the operas are therefore under the
name of the composer, rather than having
their own separate entries. The operas
covered are only those that the contributors
feel are the better known works – so,
for example, you will not find Parthenope
under Handel, but you will find Giulio
Cesare. Operas of all times are
covered, from Monteverdi through to
Adès. I feel that the balance
is too heavily skewed towards contemporary
music; others may disagree. A handy
guide, but only to be relied upon for
popular works.
Em Marshall
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