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Michael William Balfe was born in Dublin in 1808 and then moved to Wexford as a child. It is likely that he was taught to play the piano and violin by his father who, like his father before him, had strong musical leanings. His talent was spotted when aged only nine. He composed a ballad and appeared in Dublin playing a violin concerto. After his father's death Balfe moved to London when aged fourteen. There he was soon accepted as a violinist in the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane orchestra and was given lessons by C. F. Horn, organist at St. George's Chapel, Windsor. He later became leader of the Drury Lane theatre orchestra which, one day, would find itself playing his operas. |
Nowadays, Balfe is generally only remembered for his opera The Bohemian Girl and this is principally because it contains the aria “When e 'er I dreamt of marble halls”, made famous by leading sopranos, including Joan Sutherland. By 1950, the very existence of this composer had almost been forgotten, but when Sir Thomas Beecham was asked to present an opera to represent British sentiments for the Festival of Britain he looked no further than Balfe and The Bohemian Girl. This opera was performed for the 1951 season at Covent Garden and broadcast by the BBC.
The score of The Maid of Artois, we believe, is one of his finest since at the time he was still fresh with European colour, was youthfully inventive and inspired from the outstanding success of his previous opera, The Siege of Rochelle (1835) and his eagerness to impress Maria Malibran who was to appear in the new opera.
Amateur groups have staged a handful of Balfe's 28 operas since all Balfe's manuscripts are accessible. They were given to the British Library by his widow, Lina, and some of the original sets of opera band parts have found their way into the Carl Rosa Trust Archive and the Balfe Archive.
If you are interested in learning more about Balfe then please go to http://www.britishandirishworld.com/. Section 9.1 on that site includes a list of current and past recordings of Balfe's work. Basil Walsh who runs the site has also written a book, Michael W. Balfe, with a forward by Richard Bonynge, published by the Irish Academic Press. For more details see www.balfebiography.com . This biography is also available from Victorian Opera Northwest, as is Michael William Balfe, his life and his English operas by William Tyldesley, Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing, 2003. Contact us for details. A slightly older book is George Biddlecombe's English opera from 1834 to 1864 with particular reference to the works of Michael Balfe. New York: Garland Publishing, 1994.
More generally, The Romantic Age 1800-1914, edited by Nicholas Temperley, London: Athlone Press, 1981, reissued as The Blackwell History of Music in Britain, Vol.5, Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1988 includes a chapter by Michael Hurd on "Opera: 1830-1865".
Librettos for Balfe's The Maid of Artois, Satanella, The Siege of Rochelle and The Talisman (Il Talismano) are or will shortly be available from Raymond Walker, Chairman of Victorian Opera Northwest. Also available are a selection of Balfe arias included in the CD, The Power of Love, sung by Deborah Riedel with Richard Bonynge conducting (Melba Z-MR301082). Please contact Raymond at raymondwalker@talktalk.net.
A recording of Balfe's The Bohemian Girl , with the National Symphony of Ireland conducted by Richard Bonynge, is available on Decca 473 077-2. Joan Sutherland sings an aria from it on Decca 00289 425 0482. Excerpts are available on Classics for Pleasure, http://www.emiclassics.co.uk/release.php?id=12749. Also included are excerpts from Wallace's Maritana and Benedict's The Lily of Killarney .
© Victorian Opera Northwest, 2005 - 2008.