Michael William Balfe: His Life and His English Operas
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Michael William Balfe To my friends and colleagues of the Worsley Opera Group who undertook performances of The Bohemian Girl with me Worsley, 1960 Blackpool, 1961 (at the Long Playing Record Conference, and with the orchestra of the Royal Manchester College of Music) Michael William Balfe His Life and His English Operas WILLIAM TYLDESLEY First published 2003 by Ashgate Publishing Published 2016 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017, USA Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business Copyright © William Tyldesley, 2003 William Tyldesley has asserted his moral right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the author of this work. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter in vented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retriev al system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Tyldesley, William Michael William Balfe: His Life and His English Operas. - (Music in Nineteenth-Century Britain) 1. Balfe, Michael William, 1808-1870.2. Composers-Ireland Biography I. Title 780.9'2 US Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Tyldesley, William, 1927- Michael William Balfe: His Life and His English Operas / William Tyldesley. p. cm. - (Music in Nineteenth-Century Britain) Includes bibliographical references. 1. Balfe, M. W. (Michael William), 1808-1870. 2. Composers-Ireland Biography. 3. Balfe, M. W. (Michael William), 1808-1870. Operas. I. Title. II. Series. ML410.B18 T95 2002 782.1 '092-dc21 [B] 2002019635 ISBN 13: 978-0-7546-0558-4 (hbk) Contents List of music examples vii List of plates ix General editor’s foreword xi Preface xiii Acknowledgements xv General notes and definitions xvii Introduction 1 1 1807–34: Early years and travels 9 2 1834: Back in London – the English opera 20 Constructional units and related matters 24 3 1835: The Siege of Rochelle 44 4 1836–43: The Maid of Artois, Catherine Grey, Diadeste, Joan of Arc, Këolanthe 61 The Maid of Artois 61 Catherine Grey 70 Diadeste 73 Joan of Arc 75 Këolanthe 80 5 1843: The Bohemian Girl 88 6 1844–46: The Daughter of St Mark, The Enchantress, The Bondman 116 The Daughter of St Mark 116 The Enchantress 124 The Bondman 133 7 1847–57: The Maid of Honour, The Sicilian Bride, The Devil’s In It! (Letty) 150 The Maid of Honour 150 The Sicilian Bride 156 The Devil’s In It! (Letty) 162 vi CONTENTS 8 1857–58: The Rose of Castille, Satanella 170 The Rose of Castille 170 Satanella 187 9 1860–63: Bianca, the Bravo’s Bride, The Puritan’s Daughter, The Armourer of Nantes, Blanche de Nevers 197 Bianca, the Bravo’s Bride 197 The Puritan’s Daughter 200 The Armourer of Nantes 206 Blanche de Nevers 209 10 Balfe after the English operas: 1860–70 and later 217 11 An overview 231 The life of Balfe 231 Unanswered questions 234 Balfe’s English operas 237 Bibliography 245 Previously unpublished material 250 Index 251 List of music examples 2.1 From the ballad ‘When all around’ 30 3.1 The Siege of Rochelle: episode B from Fig. 3.3 53 3.2 The Siege of Rochelle: part of the buffo section of Michel’s song 54 3.3 The Siege of Rochelle: chorus – ‘Vive le Roi’ 55 3.4 The Siege of Rochelle: exit music, Act 1 56 3.5 The Siege of Rochelle: the beginning of Michel’s solo ‘When I beheld the anchor weigh’d’ 57 3.6 The Siege of Rochelle: the beginning of the finale 58 4.1 The Maid of Artois: cornet obligato in introduction to baritone solo ‘The light of other days’ 64 4.2 The Maid of Artois: passage for Malibran quoted by the Morning Post critic 67 4.3 The Maid of Artois: waltz finale theme ‘L’air de Balfe’ 69 4.4 Diadeste: the introductory theme from Act 1 (Vc., Cb., Fag.) 74 4.5 Diadeste: the main theme of the overture (Vln 1) 75 4.6 Joan of Arc: beginning of overture 77 4.7 Joan of Arc: final chorus with solo for Joan 78 4.8 Këolanthe: introduction to solo for Ombrasto 83 5.1 The Bohemian Girl: introduction to overture A 94 5.2 The Bohemian Girl: ‘Hungarian’ theme in overtures A and B 95 5.3 The Bohemian Girl: introduction to overture B 96 5.4 The Bohemian Girl: the Gipsy chorus, opening section 99 5.5 The Bohemian Girl: examples of melodramatic music from Act 1 101 5.6 The Bohemian Girl: introduction to Act 2 102 5.7 The Bohemian Girl: vocal version of ‘The dream’ 103 5.8 The Bohemian Girl: an extract from the duet for Arline and Thaddeus 104 5.9 The Bohemian Girl: appendix aria, customarily sung by the Queen 106 5.10 The Bohemian Girl: finale, originally in Db 107 5.11 The Bohemian Girl: melody of Queen’s finale aria (Paris version) 110 6.1 The Daughter of St Mark: beginning of recitative in Act 1 118 viii LIST OF MUSIC EXAMPLES 6.2 The Daughter of St Mark: excerpt from Canon trio in Act 3 122 6.3 The Enchantress: excerpt from Stella’s song ‘Who has not heard’ 128 6.4 The Enchantress: fortissimo single diminished seventh chord 129 6.5 The Enchantress: the whole of the choral finale as shown in the vocal score 130 6.6 The Enchantress: Stella’s contribution to the finale 131 6.7 The Bondman: introduction to the ‘Duel Scene’ 136 6.8 The Bondman: start of the overture 137 6.9 The Bondman: beginning of Corrinne’s ballad ‘The child of the sun’ 138 7.1 The Sicilian Bride: introduction to Bianca’s ballad, Act 1 160 7.2 The Sicilian Bride: Sirena’s ‘Sicilienne’ in Act 2 161 7.3 The Devil’s In It!: from the central section of the overture, quoting the ‘Yawning song’ 165 8.1 The Rose of Castille: start of the overture 176 8.2 The Rose of Castille: Tierce de Picardie overture ending 177 8.3 The Rose of Castille: start of Pablo’s solo at the beginning of Act 1 178 8.4 The Rose of Castille: ‘Majore’ of verse 1 and the introduction and first bars of verse 2 179 8.5 The Rose of Castille: theme (above) and first coloratura variation in ‘Rondeau Mauresque’ 180 8.6a The Rose of Castille: ending of the opening chorus of Act 2 181 8.6b The Rose of Castille: beginning of the ballad immediately following Ex. 8.6a 181 8.6c The Rose of Castille: original follow-up to Ex. 8.6a 181 8.7 The Rose of Castille: excerpt from the ensemble ‘We are alone’ 182 8.8 The Rose of Castille: theme B in Elvira’s Aria di Bravura 183 8.9 Satanella: harp solo passage, finale, Act 1 189 8.10 Satanella: first appearance of ‘The power of love’ in finale, Act 1 193 9.1 The Puritan’s Daughter: cor anglais solo in finale, Act 1 202 9.2 The Puritan’s Daughter: cadential phrase from Clifford’s Act 1 ballad ‘Bliss for ever past’ 204 9.3 The Puritan’s Daughter: ‘Rossinian’ theme from overture 205 9.4 Blanche de Nevers: introduction to the opening chorus, used in several later numbers 214 9.5 Blanche de Nevers: Blanche’s entrance in Act 1 215 10.1 The Talisman: opening cornet fanfares 226 List of plates 1 Photograph of Balfe, probably 1850–60. This is a print from the original negative (first-generation print) 140 2 Photograph of Balfe, mounted on card, with imprint of Court Photographer L. Haase, Berlin on reverse. Probably December 1849/January 1850 when Balfe was in Berlin and accepted in the court circles 141 3 Photograph of Balfe, mounted on card, with typeset label ‘BALFE’. It is a second-generation image using relatively modern materials, possibly early twentieth century. Possibly one of a multiple issue for advertising or publicity purposes 142 4 Autograph quote of ‘When other lips’ (The Bohemian Girl) in Balfe’s handwriting 143 5 Title page of the programme/libretto of the first run of The Bohemian Girl 144 6 Title page of the programme/libretto of Balfe’s only ‘comic opera’ The Devil’s In It! 145 7 Title page of the programme/libretto of the ‘Melodramma Giocoso’ in which Lina Balfe made her debut in Milan in 1834 146 8 Playbill for The Siege of Rochelle at Drury Lane Theatre, with Weber’s Der Freischütz as a ‘filler’! 147 9 Playbill for Satanella at Covent Garden with Little Red Riding Hood to follow 148 10 List of subscribers to the Balfe statue fund with written additions in an unknown hand 149 General editor’s foreword Balfe – arguably Britain’s most popular composer of English opera in the middle part of the nineteenth century – is one of those figures whom history might have left behind. Indeed, although William Tyldesley mentions a number of currently available recordings, Balfe’s music is hardly heard today. The last major operatic performance was given in 1951 with Thomas Beecham’s heavily revised Covent Garden revival of The Bohemian Girl. This was followed ten years later by the Worsley Opera Group’s Blackpool performance of the same opera with the orchestra of the Royal Manchester College of Music, and the last professional performance of Balfe (again The Bohemian Girl) was given in 1978 at the Central City Opera Festival.