Sullivan's
Ivanhoe (1891)
Some
background to the opera that has just been
recorded by Chandos (CHAN
10578(3)).
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Ivanhoe, perhaps Sir Walter Scott's most popular novel, was
Sullivan's choice to establish himself as a serious opera composer, in
distinction to his immensely popular comic operas and operettas, particularly
those in partnership with William S. Gilbert. The commission was from Richard
D'Oyly Carte, who was ambitious to expand his opera business beyond the Savoy theatre by building the Royal
English Opera House (now the Palace Theatre) as a home for serious English opera.
Sullivan's opera launched the enterprise with Ivanhoe, when it opened on January
31, 1891. The opera ran with a double cast, on
consecutive nights, for 155 performances, a tremendous success at the time.
Unfortunately, D'Oyly Carte was unable to build on this with further operas and
the Royal English Opera House eventually foundered.
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Act
2, scene 1: The glade at Copmanhurst
with Friar Tuck and King
Richard
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Gilbert refused to have
any involvement in the new venture
and Julian Sturgis, who had written
the text for Goring Thomas's Nadeshda,
was chosen to write the libretto,
which was reasonably faithful
to the main flow
of the novel. Sullivan was at the height of his
powers when he wrote the opera with his typical fluency in word-setting and mastery of orchestration
and it breathes his natural empathy and humanity.
Scott's Ivanhoe
had several operatic incarnations
in the 19th
century, beginning with a Rossini
pasticcio in 1826, but none
has held the stage. Despite
its initial success, Sullivan's
Ivanhoe has had few revivals,
the best known being by Sir Thomas
Beecham in 1910.
The Sir Arthur Sullivan
Society has published (2007) a collection
of articles on Ivanhoe, edited
by David Eden, entitled Sullivan's
Ivanhoe (ISBN 9780955715402). The Gilbert
and Sullivan archive
has a number of articles and
links to aspects of the opera,
including the libretto and vocal score.
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This Chandos CD (CHAN
10578(3)) is the first fully professional commercial recording of Ivanhoe and
features a fine cast including Janice Watson, Toby Spence, Catherine Wyn-Rogers
and Geraldine McGreevy. The BBC National Orchestra of Wales is conducted by
Sullivan expert David Lloyd-Jones. The recording is dedicated to the memory of
Richard Hickox, who was instrumental in getting the project off the ground.
A review of the CD can be found here.
The cast:
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Neal
Davies -
Stephen Gadd -
James Rutherford -
Peter Wedd -
Peter Rose -
Toby Spence -
Matthew Brook -
Leigh Melrose -
Andrew Staples -
Janice Watson -
Catherine Wyn-Rogers -
Geraldine McGreevy -
Knights
& Ladies, Attendants, Saxons,
Youths etc. -
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Richard Coeur-de-Lion
Prince John
Sir
Brian de Bois-Guilbert
Maurice de Bracy
Cedric the Saxon
Wilfred, Knight of
Ivanhoe
Friar
Tuck
Isaac, the Jew
of York
Locksley/The
Squire
The Lady Rowena
Ulrica
Rebecca
Adrian Partington Singers
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