Hugh the Drover
Encyclopedia
Hugh the Drover is an opera
in two acts by Ralph Vaughan Williams
to an original English libretto
by Harold Child. According to Michael Kennedy, the composer took first inspiration for the opera from this question to Bruce Richmond, editor of The Times Literary Supplement, around 1909–1910:
Vaughan Williams worked on the opera for a number of years, before and after World War I
. The work did not receive its first performance until 4 July 1924 at the Royal College of Music
, London
, in performances described as "private dress rehearsals". The "professional premiere" was at His Majesty's Theatre on 14 July 1924. The opera's first performance in the United States took place on 21 February 1928 under the auspices of the Washington National Opera
, a semi-professional company not related to its present namesake
. Tudor Davies
created the role of Hugh in both these productions. Vaughan Williams continued to revise the libretto and the opera over the remainder of his life. The final version was performed in 1956 and published in 1959.
The opera has set numbers with recitative
. It has been described a modern example of a ballad opera
. Contemporary comment noted the use of humour and the role of the chorus in the work, in the context of developing English opera.
in 1812.
Act I
Setting: The outskirts of the town
A fair is taking place; the people of the town have turned out; vendors hawk their wares. A showman presents an effigy of Napoleon Bonaparte and rouses the crowd to a fever-pitch of patriotic zeal.
Mary, the daughter of the local constable, appears with her aunt. Her father wants to marry her to John the butcher, a crass, overbearing man whom she does not love. When John roughly takes Mary’s arm to walk through the fairgrounds with her, she resists. He threatens her in turn, but when a troop of morris
men passes through, the crowd follows along and John is pulled along with them, leaving Mary alone with her aunt.
As Mary sings of her dreams of freedom, a young man appears and tells her of his life on the open road. He is Hugh the Drover, a driver of animals, who makes his living by providing horses for the army. Mary is fascinated by his words, and Hugh tells her that he was fated to love her. The two declare their love for each other and embrace.
The crowd returns and the showman organizes a prizefight, inviting all the men to challenge John the butcher. Hugh agrees to box, but only if the prize is Mary herself. He beats John in the match, only to have John spitefully accuse him of being a French spy. The crowd turns against Hugh and he is led off to the stocks
.
Act II
Setting: The town square
It is early morning. A troop of soldiers has been sent for, to take Hugh into custody. Meanwhile, he remains a prisoner in the stocks.
Mary stealthily comes to rescue him, having stolen the key to the stocks from her father. She frees him, but before they can escape, they hear John and his comrades approaching. Each refuses to leave without the other, and they both get into the stocks (which are large enough to hold two), draping Hugh’s cloak over their bodies. When they are exposed, Mary’s father disowns her and John refuses to marry her.
The soldiers arrive, and their sergeant recognizes Hugh as an old friend who once saved his life. Instead of arresting him, they acclaim him as a loyal Briton – but take John the butcher for a soldier and march off with him.
Hugh and Mary reaffirm their love. Hugh asks Mary to join him, and she at first is hesitant, as is Aunt Jane to lose her. However, Mary finally says 'yes', and she and Hugh bid the town farewell to begin their life together.
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
in two acts by Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams OM was an English composer of symphonies, chamber music, opera, choral music, and film scores. He was also a collector of English folk music and song: this activity both influenced his editorial approach to the English Hymnal, beginning in 1904, in which he included many...
to an original English libretto
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
by Harold Child. According to Michael Kennedy, the composer took first inspiration for the opera from this question to Bruce Richmond, editor of The Times Literary Supplement, around 1909–1910:
"I want to set a prize fight to music. Can you find someone to make a libretto for me?"
Vaughan Williams worked on the opera for a number of years, before and after 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...
. The work did not receive its first performance until 4 July 1924 at the Royal College of Music
Royal College of Music
The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire founded by Royal Charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, England.-Background:The first director was Sir George Grove and he was followed by Sir Hubert Parry...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, in performances described as "private dress rehearsals". The "professional premiere" was at His Majesty's Theatre on 14 July 1924. The opera's first performance in the United States took place on 21 February 1928 under the auspices of the Washington National Opera
Washington National Opera (1919–1936)
For the present company of the same name, see Washington National Opera.The Washington National Opera Association, founded in 1919 as "Washington Community Opera", was a low-budget opera company, comprising professional principals supported by amateurs, active in Washington, DC until 1936; it was...
, a semi-professional company not related to its present namesake
Washington National Opera
The Washington National Opera is an opera company in Washington, D.C., USA. Formerly the Opera Society of Washington and the Washington Opera, the company received Congressional designation as the National Opera Company in 2000. Performances are now given in the Opera House of the John F...
. Tudor Davies
Tudor Davies
-Biography:Tudor Davies was born in Cymmer, near Porth, South Wales, on 12 November 1892. He studied in Cardiff and at the Royal College of Music in London. He served as an engineer in the Royal Navy during World War I...
created the role of Hugh in both these productions. Vaughan Williams continued to revise the libretto and the opera over the remainder of his life. The final version was performed in 1956 and published in 1959.
The opera has set numbers with recitative
Recitative
Recitative , also known by its Italian name "recitativo" , is a style of delivery in which a singer is allowed to adopt the rhythms of ordinary speech...
. It has been described a modern example of a ballad opera
Ballad opera
The term ballad opera is used to refer to a genre of English stage entertainment originating in the 18th century and continuing to develop in the following century and later. There are many types of ballad opera...
. Contemporary comment noted the use of humour and the role of the chorus in the work, in the context of developing English opera.
Roles
- Mary, (sopranoSopranoA soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
) - Aunt Jane, (mezzo-sopranoMezzo-sopranoA mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above...
) - Hugh the drover, (tenorTenorThe 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...
) - John the butcher, (baritoneBaritoneBaritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
) - Sergeant, (baritone)
- Constable, (bass)
- A cheap-jack, (tenor)
- Shellfish seller, (bass)
- Primrose seller, (soprano)
- Showman, (baritone)
- Ballad seller, (tenor)
- Susan, (soprano)
- Nancy, (mezzo-soprano)
- William, (tenor)
- Robert, (baritone)
- Turnkey, (tenor)
- Fool, (tenor)
- Innkeeper, (baritone)
Synopsis
The opera takes place in the CotswoldsCotswolds
The Cotswolds are a range of hills in west-central England, sometimes called the Heart of England, an area across and long. The area has been designated as the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty...
in 1812.
Act I
Setting: The outskirts of the town
A fair is taking place; the people of the town have turned out; vendors hawk their wares. A showman presents an effigy of Napoleon Bonaparte and rouses the crowd to a fever-pitch of patriotic zeal.
Mary, the daughter of the local constable, appears with her aunt. Her father wants to marry her to John the butcher, a crass, overbearing man whom she does not love. When John roughly takes Mary’s arm to walk through the fairgrounds with her, she resists. He threatens her in turn, but when a troop of morris
Morris dance
Morris dance is a form of English folk dance usually accompanied by music. It is based on rhythmic stepping and the execution of choreographed figures by a group of dancers. Implements such as sticks, swords, handkerchiefs and bells may also be wielded by the dancers...
men passes through, the crowd follows along and John is pulled along with them, leaving Mary alone with her aunt.
As Mary sings of her dreams of freedom, a young man appears and tells her of his life on the open road. He is Hugh the Drover, a driver of animals, who makes his living by providing horses for the army. Mary is fascinated by his words, and Hugh tells her that he was fated to love her. The two declare their love for each other and embrace.
The crowd returns and the showman organizes a prizefight, inviting all the men to challenge John the butcher. Hugh agrees to box, but only if the prize is Mary herself. He beats John in the match, only to have John spitefully accuse him of being a French spy. The crowd turns against Hugh and he is led off to the stocks
Stocks
Stocks are devices used in the medieval and colonial American times as a form of physical punishment involving public humiliation. The stocks partially immobilized its victims and they were often exposed in a public place such as the site of a market to the scorn of those who passed by...
.
Act II
Setting: The town square
It is early morning. A troop of soldiers has been sent for, to take Hugh into custody. Meanwhile, he remains a prisoner in the stocks.
Mary stealthily comes to rescue him, having stolen the key to the stocks from her father. She frees him, but before they can escape, they hear John and his comrades approaching. Each refuses to leave without the other, and they both get into the stocks (which are large enough to hold two), draping Hugh’s cloak over their bodies. When they are exposed, Mary’s father disowns her and John refuses to marry her.
The soldiers arrive, and their sergeant recognizes Hugh as an old friend who once saved his life. Instead of arresting him, they acclaim him as a loyal Briton – but take John the butcher for a soldier and march off with him.
Hugh and Mary reaffirm their love. Hugh asks Mary to join him, and she at first is hesitant, as is Aunt Jane to lose her. However, Mary finally says 'yes', and she and Hugh bid the town farewell to begin their life together.
Selected recordings
- HMV SLS 5162: Sheila ArmstrongSheila Armstrong (singer)Dr. Sheila Armstrong is an English soprano, equally noted for opera, oratorio, symphonic music and lieder.Educated at the Royal Academy of Music, she was co-winner of the Kathleen Ferrier Award in 1965, and as of 2011 was a trustee of the award fund.She was active in English opera and oratorio...
, Robert TearRobert TearRobert Tear, CBE was a Welsh tenor and conductor.Tear was born in Barry, Glamorgan, Wales, UK, the son of Thomas and Edith Tear. He attended Barry Boys' Grammar School and during this period sang in the chorus of the first Welsh National Opera's production of 'Cavalleria Rusticana' in April 1946...
, Helen WattsHelen WattsHelen Watts CBE was a Welsh contralto. She was born at Wales in Milford Haven and educated at the School of S. Mary and S. Anne, Abbots Bromley and the Royal Academy of Music. She began her career with the Glyndebourne Festival Chorus, and was a regular broadcaster on the Welsh Home Service...
, Michael Rippon; Ambrosian Opera Chorus; Royal Philharmonic OrchestraRoyal Philharmonic OrchestraThe Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London. It tours widely, and is sometimes referred to as "Britain's national orchestra"...
; Sir Charles GrovesCharles GrovesSir Charles Barnard Groves CBE was an English conductor. He was known for the breadth of his repertoire and for encouraging contemporary composers and young conductors....
, conductor (first recording) - Hyperion (original code CDA66901/2, reissue code CDD22049): Rebecca Evans, Bonaventura BottoneBonaventura BottoneBonaventura Bottone is an operatic tenor who has performed at many of the world's leading opera houses. He trained at the Royal Academy of Music in London. The Academy awarded him a Fellowship in 1998...
, Sarah Walker, Richard Van AllanRichard Van AllanRichard Van Allan CBE was a versatile British operatic bass singer who had a lengthy career.He sang varied repertoire at Covent Garden and English National Opera, as well as at numerous important houses worldwide...
, Alan OpieAlan OpieAlan Opie is a Cornish baritone, primarily known as an opera singer.He attended Truro School and studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and the London Opera Centre before joining the Sadler's Wells Opera...
, Neil Jenkins, Harry Nicoll, Karl Morgan Daymond, Adrian Hutton, Julia Gooding, Wynford Evans, Jenny Saunders, Alice CooteAlice CooteAlice Coote is a British lyric mezzo-soprano.The daughter of the painter Mark Coote, she was educated at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London , the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester and the National Opera Studio...
, Lynton Atkinson, Paul Robinson, John Pearce, Paul Im Thurm, Robert Poulton; Corydon Singers; The New London Children's Choir; Corydon Orchestra; Matthew Best, conductor