Victoria and Merrie England
Encyclopedia
Victoria and Merrie England is an 1897 ballet by Arthur Sullivan
, written to commemorate Queen Victoria
's Diamond Jubilee
– a remarkable sixty years on the throne. The ballet became very popular and ran for nearly six months.
, asked Sullivan to compose a patriotic ballet. As the nation's preeminent composer, Sullivan was the natural choice to write the music. An alternate Jubilee composition, a poem submitted to Sullivan by the Poet Laureate
, Alfred Austin
, was never set.
Sullivan did most of the composing on the French Riviera
, where he alternated between the music desk and the casino. Nevertheless, he took the commission seriously and produced one of his few successes in the decade of the 1890s. Victoria and Merrie England opened on 25 May 1897 and ran for six months at the Alhambra Theatre – a generous run for this type of piece – during which members of the royal family were said to have attended no less than nineteen times.
The ballet does not have a plot per se. It consists, rather, of a series of seven historical vignettes in praise of Britain, such as "Ancient Britain", Christmas in the time of Charles II
, and two scenes devoted to Queen Victoria. The score is a potpourri of characteristically English music, although it is probably too much of a pièce d'occasion to enter the standard repertory.
In the score, Sullivan re-used material from his Imperial March (1893) and his only other ballet, L'Île Enchantée
(1864). The final scene depicting Victoria's coronation ends in a contemporary dance for soldiers from the various parts of Great Britain and its colonies and includes a counterpoint of characteristic tunes representing England, Scotland and Ireland.
s. Britannia
is discovered sleeping. "England's Guardian Genius" enters and greets her. A procession of Druids and Priestesses appear, and sacred dances and various Druidical rites are performed. The High Priest notices the sleeping Britannia and prophesies her future greatness: all kneel before her.
Scene II. May-day
festivities in the Elizabethan
period. Coming of age of the Duke's eldest son.
Scene III. May-day festivities continued. Procession of mummers
and dancers of various sorts. Historical quadrille
, Morris dancers
, Jack in the Green
, May-pole
dance.
Scenes IV and V. Legend of Herne the Hunter
. Forest: a storm is raging. Herne's huntsmen enter with their kills. Herne appears and commands the hunt to be resumed. They all leave. The weather becomes calmer as the sound of the horns dies off in the distance. Nymphs enter and dance. Arrival of the Yule-log procession, with musicians, mummers, and peasants. They all dance around the log, and finally drag it off homeward. The nymphs and huntsmen return and join in a dance before Herne returns and sends them scattering.
Scene VI. Hall in an old castle at the time of Charles II
. Christmas festivities. Servants arranging tables. Enter the Lord and Lady of the Manor. The cooks bring in the boar's head
and baron of beef
: dinner. Peasant
s and vassal
s enter, and the revels commence. Blind man's buff, jester's dance, etc. Father Christmas enters and distributes presents, and the scene closes with a dance under the mistletoe.
Scene VII. Tableau vivant of the Coronation
of Her Majesty Queen Victoria in Westminster Abbey.
Scene VIII. Time, 1897. Enter successively the English
, Irish
, and Scottish
troops, who afterwards manoeuvre together. Enter Volunteers
, followed by Colonials: various evolutions, sailor's hornpipe
. Entrance of Britannia and final tableau.
Arthur Sullivan
Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan MVO was an English composer of Irish and Italian ancestry. He is best known for his series of 14 operatic collaborations with the dramatist W. S. Gilbert, including such enduring works as H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado...
, written to commemorate Queen Victoria
Victoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
's Diamond Jubilee
Diamond Jubilee
A Diamond Jubilee is a celebration held to mark a 60th anniversary in the case of a person or a 75th anniversary in the case of an event.- Thailand :...
– a remarkable sixty years on the throne. The ballet became very popular and ran for nearly six months.
Background
In honour of the Jubilee, Alfred Maul, manager of the Alhambra TheatreAlhambra Theatre
The Alhambra was a popular theatre and music hall located on the east side of Leicester Square, in the West End of London. It was built originally as The Royal Panopticon of Science and Arts opening on 18 March 1854. It was closed after two years and reopened as the Alhambra. The building was...
, asked Sullivan to compose a patriotic ballet. As the nation's preeminent composer, Sullivan was the natural choice to write the music. An alternate Jubilee composition, a poem submitted to Sullivan by the Poet Laureate
Poet Laureate
A poet laureate is a poet officially appointed by a government and is often expected to compose poems for state occasions and other government events...
, Alfred Austin
Alfred Austin
Alfred Austin was an English poet who was appointed Poet Laureate in 1896 upon the death of Alfred, Lord Tennyson.-Life:...
, was never set.
Sullivan did most of the composing on the French Riviera
French Riviera
The Côte d'Azur, pronounced , often known in English as the French Riviera , is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France, also including the sovereign state of Monaco...
, where he alternated between the music desk and the casino. Nevertheless, he took the commission seriously and produced one of his few successes in the decade of the 1890s. Victoria and Merrie England opened on 25 May 1897 and ran for six months at the Alhambra Theatre – a generous run for this type of piece – during which members of the royal family were said to have attended no less than nineteen times.
Description of the ballet
The composer's autograph does not survive, but Roderick Spencer of the Sir Arthur Sullivan Society has reconstructed the score from a composite of various sources, including earlier scores from which Sullivan drew, the piano reduction, and other clues in letters and press reports. Sullivan extracted three orchestral suites from the ballet, but only one of these survives. Sullivan's assistant, Wilfred Bendall, prepared the published piano reduction of the ballet.The ballet does not have a plot per se. It consists, rather, of a series of seven historical vignettes in praise of Britain, such as "Ancient Britain", Christmas in the time of Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
, and two scenes devoted to Queen Victoria. The score is a potpourri of characteristically English music, although it is probably too much of a pièce d'occasion to enter the standard repertory.
In the score, Sullivan re-used material from his Imperial March (1893) and his only other ballet, L'Île Enchantée
L'Île Enchantée
L'Île Enchantée is an 1864 ballet by Arthur Sullivan written as a divertissement at the end of Vincenzo Bellini's La Sonnambula at Covent Garden. It was choreographed by H...
(1864). The final scene depicting Victoria's coronation ends in a contemporary dance for soldiers from the various parts of Great Britain and its colonies and includes a counterpoint of characteristic tunes representing England, Scotland and Ireland.
Description of scenes
Scene I. (Prologue) represents a forest of oaks in the period of the DruidDruid
A druid was a member of the priestly class in Britain, Ireland, and Gaul, and possibly other parts of Celtic western Europe, during the Iron Age....
s. Britannia
Britannia
Britannia is an ancient term for Great Britain, and also a female personification of the island. The name is Latin, and derives from the Greek form Prettanike or Brettaniai, which originally designated a collection of islands with individual names, including Albion or Great Britain. However, by the...
is discovered sleeping. "England's Guardian Genius" enters and greets her. A procession of Druids and Priestesses appear, and sacred dances and various Druidical rites are performed. The High Priest notices the sleeping Britannia and prophesies her future greatness: all kneel before her.
Scene II. May-day
May Day
May Day on May 1 is an ancient northern hemisphere spring festival and usually a public holiday; it is also a traditional spring holiday in many cultures....
festivities in the Elizabethan
Elizabethan era
The Elizabethan era was the epoch in English history of Queen Elizabeth I's reign . Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history...
period. Coming of age of the Duke's eldest son.
Scene III. May-day festivities continued. Procession of mummers
Mummers Play
Mummers Plays are seasonal folk plays performed by troupes of actors known as mummers or guisers , originally from England , but later in other parts of the world...
and dancers of various sorts. Historical quadrille
Quadrille
Quadrille is a historic dance performed by four couples in a square formation, a precursor to traditional square dancing. It is also a style of music...
, Morris dancers
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...
, Jack in the Green
Jack in the green
A Jack in the Green is a participant in traditional English May Day parades and other May celebrations, who wears a large, foliage-covered, garland-like framework, usually pyramidal or conical in shape, which covers his body from head to foot...
, May-pole
Maypole
A maypole is a tall wooden pole erected as a part of various European folk festivals, particularly on May Day, or Pentecost although in some countries it is instead erected at Midsummer...
dance.
Scenes IV and V. Legend of Herne the Hunter
Herne the Hunter
In English folklore, Herne the Hunter is a ghost associated with Windsor Forest and Great Park in the English county of Berkshire. His appearance is notable in the fact that he has antlers upon his head....
. Forest: a storm is raging. Herne's huntsmen enter with their kills. Herne appears and commands the hunt to be resumed. They all leave. The weather becomes calmer as the sound of the horns dies off in the distance. Nymphs enter and dance. Arrival of the Yule-log procession, with musicians, mummers, and peasants. They all dance around the log, and finally drag it off homeward. The nymphs and huntsmen return and join in a dance before Herne returns and sends them scattering.
Scene VI. Hall in an old castle at the time of Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
. Christmas festivities. Servants arranging tables. Enter the Lord and Lady of the Manor. The cooks bring in the boar's head
Boar
Wild boar, also wild pig, is a species of the pig genus Sus, part of the biological family Suidae. The species includes many subspecies. It is the wild ancestor of the domestic pig, an animal with which it freely hybridises...
and baron of beef
Baron (disambiguation)
Baron is a title of nobility.Baron, The Baron or Barons may also refer to:-Geography:* Baron, Gironde, France* Baron, Gard, France* Baron, Oise, France* Baron, Saône-et-Loire, France* Baron-sur-Odon, France...
: dinner. Peasant
Peasant
A peasant is an agricultural worker who generally tend to be poor and homeless-Etymology:The word is derived from 15th century French païsant meaning one from the pays, or countryside, ultimately from the Latin pagus, or outlying administrative district.- Position in society :Peasants typically...
s and vassal
Vassal
A vassal or feudatory is a person who has entered into a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. The obligations often included military support and mutual protection, in exchange for certain privileges, usually including the grant of land held...
s enter, and the revels commence. Blind man's buff, jester's dance, etc. Father Christmas enters and distributes presents, and the scene closes with a dance under the mistletoe.
Scene VII. Tableau vivant of the Coronation
Coronation
A coronation is a ceremony marking the formal investiture of a monarch and/or their consort with regal power, usually involving the placement of a crown upon their head and the presentation of other items of regalia...
of Her Majesty Queen Victoria in Westminster Abbey.
Scene VIII. Time, 1897. Enter successively the English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
, Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
, and Scottish
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
troops, who afterwards manoeuvre together. Enter Volunteers
Volunteer Army
The Volunteer Army was an anti-Bolshevik army in South Russia during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1920....
, followed by Colonials: various evolutions, sailor's hornpipe
Hornpipe
The term hornpipe refers to any of several dance forms played and danced in Britain and elsewhere from the late 17th century until the present day. It is said that hornpipe as a dance began around the 16th century on English sailing vessels...
. Entrance of Britannia and final tableau.
External links
- Detailed description of the ballet
- Background of the piece and discography
- Summary of the ballet
- Review in The Times, 26 May 1897
- 1897 Programme and illustrations. This also provides the synopsis of scenes and stage directions.
- Piano reduction by Wilfred Bendall at Wikimedia Commons