A Welsh Sunset
Encyclopedia
A Welsh Sunset is a one-act comic opera
composed by Philip Michael Faraday
, with a libretto by Frederick Fenn. It was produced at the Savoy Theatre
from 15 July 1908 and played with revivals of H.M.S. Pinafore
and The Pirates of Penzance
until 17 October 1908, and from 2 December 1908 until 24 February 1909, a total of 85 performances. A copy of the vocal score (published in 1908 by Metzler), but no printed libretto, is found in the British Library. The score contains all the dialogue.
A lawyer, Faraday composed songs and musical theatre pieces and managed English operetta companies in the years immediately prior to World War I
. Two years earlier, he had composed the successful comic opera Amasis (1906) Fenn later adapted into English, with much success, The Girl in the Taxi
(1912; produced by Faraday).
A review of A Welsh Sunset in The Times
found the piece overly sentimental, especially the ending, but liked Jenny's opening song and the overture. It thought that the rest of the music had "no character". The Manchester Guardian also disliked the piece.
The fashion in the late Victorian era
and Edwardian era was to present long evenings in the theatre, and so producer Richard D'Oyly Carte
preceded his Savoy opera
s with curtain raisers
, like A Welsh Sunset. W. J. MacQueen-Pope
commented, concerning such curtain raisers:
voice and has been singing an audition for Covent Garden
opera. It is evening, Jenny and her mother are waiting outside Mrs. Jones's Cottage on a Welsh hillside for the boys to come home from Bala. They are joined by the other village girls.
Griffith has been successful, and when he arrives he tells Jenny of the wonderful rich and famous life that awaits her in London. Jenny asks her lover to sing to her before he goes home. She says, "I feel tonight as though tomorrow wouldn't come for years and years." Griffith sings to her, saying that it is she in his heart that makes him sing. When the song is over, she appears to be asleep, and he takes her hand, but it is lifeless. He exclaims, "What's the good of fame and money now? It was for her, and now I can give her nothing!"
Village girls:
Griffith's companions:
Comic opera
Comic opera denotes a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending.Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a new operatic genre, opera buffa, emerged as an alternative to opera seria...
composed by Philip Michael Faraday
Philip Michael Faraday
Philip Michael Faraday was an English lawyer, surveyor, composer, organist and theatrical producer. He composed one of the last Savoy operas, staged several long-running shows in the West End of London, and wrote a book about local taxation that was for many years the standard work on the subject...
, with a libretto by Frederick Fenn. It was produced at the Savoy Theatre
Savoy Theatre
The Savoy Theatre is a West End theatre located in the Strand in the City of Westminster, London, England. The theatre opened on 10 October 1881 and was built by Richard D'Oyly Carte on the site of the old Savoy Palace as a showcase for the popular series of comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan,...
from 15 July 1908 and played with revivals of H.M.S. Pinafore
H.M.S. Pinafore
H.M.S. Pinafore; or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It opened at the Opera Comique in London, England, on 25 May 1878 and ran for 571 performances, which was the second-longest run of any musical...
and The Pirates of Penzance
The Pirates of Penzance
The Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. The opera's official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on 31 December 1879, where the show was well received by both audiences...
until 17 October 1908, and from 2 December 1908 until 24 February 1909, a total of 85 performances. A copy of the vocal score (published in 1908 by Metzler), but no printed libretto, is found in the British Library. The score contains all the dialogue.
A lawyer, Faraday composed songs and musical theatre pieces and managed English operetta companies in the years immediately prior to World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. Two years earlier, he had composed the successful comic opera Amasis (1906) Fenn later adapted into English, with much success, The Girl in the Taxi
The Girl in the Taxi
The Girl in the Taxi is the English-language adaptation by Frederick Fenn and Arthur Wimperis of the operetta Die keusche Susanne , with music by Jean Gilbert. The German original had a libretto by Georg Okonkowski...
(1912; produced by Faraday).
A review of A Welsh Sunset in The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
found the piece overly sentimental, especially the ending, but liked Jenny's opening song and the overture. It thought that the rest of the music had "no character". The Manchester Guardian also disliked the piece.
The fashion in the late Victorian era
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
and Edwardian era was to present long evenings in the theatre, and so producer Richard D'Oyly Carte
Richard D'Oyly Carte
Richard D'Oyly Carte was an English talent agent, theatrical impresario, composer and hotelier during the latter half of the Victorian era...
preceded his Savoy opera
Savoy opera
The Savoy Operas denote a style of comic opera that developed in Victorian England in the late 19th century, with W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan as the original and most successful practitioners. The name is derived from the Savoy Theatre, which impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte built to house...
s with curtain raisers
Curtain raiser (drama)
A curtain raiser is a performance, stage act, show, actor or performer that opens a show for the main attraction. The term is derived from the act of raising the stage curtain...
, like A Welsh Sunset. W. J. MacQueen-Pope
W. J. MacQueen-Pope
Walter James MacQueen-Pope was an English theatre historian and publicist. From a theatrical family which could be traced back to contemporaries of Shakespeare, he was in management for the first part of his career, but switched to publicity, in which field he became well-known...
commented, concerning such curtain raisers:
- This was a one-act play, seen only by the early comers. It would play to empty boxes, half-empty upper circle, to a gradually filling stalls and dress circle, but to an attentive, grateful and appreciative pit and gallery. Often these plays were little gems. They deserved much better treatment than they got, but those who saw them delighted in them. ... [They] served to give young actors and actresses a chance to win their spurs ... the stalls and the boxes lost much by missing the curtain-raiser, but to them dinner was more important.
Synopsis
Jenny and Griffith are in love. Griffith has a great tenorTenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
voice and has been singing an audition for Covent Garden
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
opera. It is evening, Jenny and her mother are waiting outside Mrs. Jones's Cottage on a Welsh hillside for the boys to come home from Bala. They are joined by the other village girls.
Griffith has been successful, and when he arrives he tells Jenny of the wonderful rich and famous life that awaits her in London. Jenny asks her lover to sing to her before he goes home. She says, "I feel tonight as though tomorrow wouldn't come for years and years." Griffith sings to her, saying that it is she in his heart that makes him sing. When the song is over, she appears to be asleep, and he takes her hand, but it is lifeless. He exclaims, "What's the good of fame and money now? It was for her, and now I can give her nothing!"
Musical numbers
- No. 1. Solo for Jenny -- "Come my love, for I am crying"
- No. 2. Solo for Griffith with chorus -- "Heart of my soul"
- No. 3. Men's trio with chorus -- "In London he will be all the rage"
- No. 4. Solo for Griffith -- "Hush't lies the land"
- No. 5. Chorus -- "Westward where the sunlight dies"
Cast information
The original cast was:- Jenny Jones (A girl in weak health, betrothed to Griffith David). Beatrice Meredith
- Griffith David (A young Welshman). Strafford Moss
- Mrs. Jones (Jenny's mother). Ethel Morrison
Village girls:
- Mary Fewlass} Mabel Graham
- Nancy Raine} Beatrice Boarer
- Gwenny Davis} Bertha LewisBertha LewisBertha Lewis was an English opera singer and actress primarily known for her work as principal contralto in the Gilbert & Sullivan comic operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company.-Early life and career:...
Griffith's companions:
- Owen Rhys} Leo SheffieldLeo SheffieldLeo Sheffield was an English singer and actor best known for his performances in baritone roles of the Savoy Operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company....
- John Lloyd} Sydney GranvilleSydney GranvilleSydney Granville was an English singer and actor, best known for his performances in the Savoy Operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company....
- Morgan Llewellyn} Allen Morris
External links
- http://math.boisestate.edu/gas/companions/index.htmlList of Savoy operaSavoy operaThe Savoy Operas denote a style of comic opera that developed in Victorian England in the late 19th century, with W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan as the original and most successful practitioners. The name is derived from the Savoy Theatre, which impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte built to house...
companion pieces] - Article on Savoy curtain raisers
- Site devoted to the piece, including links to the libretto, original cast list and Midi files.
- Information about Faraday