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To Opera in Last Learn of It KOANGA the 1935production of Frederick Delius's opera in the context of its performance history documentation and sources Part Two by Lewis Foreman The Delius SocietvSociety 1995I 99s CONTENTS This issue completes the two-partfwo-part survey, begun with Journal 113,ll3, of the performanceperfonnancehistory of De1ius'sDelius'sopera Koanga. KoangaKoanga:: The 1935 Tour Introduction . 31 Birmingham 5 LiverpoolLiveqpool.... ...77 Manchester ...................................... .1313 Bradford.Bradford ......................................t717 Extracts from Herbert Thompson's Diaries . .2424 Leeds . .2525 Performances after Beecham . .2929 1958 BBC Broadcast (Stanford Robinson) . ..3030 The American Premiere (Paul Callaway) ...3232 1972 Camden Festival (Charles Groves) . .3939 Louisiana and Leeds (John Shenaut and Michael Williamson)Williamson). 43 Leeds Youth Opera .43 2 KOANGA:KOAIVGA:THE TOUR 'fheatre) Birmingham (Prince(Prince of Wales Theatre) 1212October 19351935 Liverpool (Empire(Empire Theatre) 18lS and 21 2l November ManchesterManchesfer(Opera (Opera House) 28 October andand2 November (matinee)(natin6e) Bradford (Alhambra Theatre) III I November Leeds (Grand Theatre) 23 November ItIt isis apparent that the touring orchestrawas not of the quality of the London PhilhannonicPhilharmonic Orchestra which was in the pit at Covent Garden. Tony Benson states* thatthat'for 'for the tour, an orchestrawas built around the nucleus of a dozen LPO players, with Anthony Pini leading the cellos, John Denison the horns, and John CroftCruft as first oboe.' It It is not clear what the LPO did in the interim or whether, like Beecham, some of the key players attempted to commute between engagements of the LPO and the opera tour. Nevertheless, the opera orchestraorchesffa received some good notices during the tour which suggests that it retnainedremained more or less consistent throughout and cameciune to know the repertoire well. During this time, Sir Thomas Beecham's own schedule was unremitting. Between the Liverpool opening (with Der Freischiltz)ltreisch*u) andand KKoanga,oanga, he conducted a Liverpool PhilhannonicPhilharmonic concert and, in London, a Royal PhilhannonicPhilharmonic Society concert (15th and 17th),lTth), and after the Liverpool performances,perforrnances,two HalleHall6 concerts on consecutive days, and on 27 OctoberOctober a Beecham Sunday concert at London's Queen's Hall.Hatl. He returned to Manchester for Koanga the next day. After Koanga, he conducted concerts in Liverpool (29th), Sheffield (30th), and London (31st), before taking Der Freischiltz in Manchester on 1 November. This pattern continued, and after a matineematinde of Koanga in Manchester the following day, he returned to London for a Queen's Hall concert,concert. was back in Manchester for Der F-reischiltzFreischutz on 5 November, and was at Queen's Hall on 7th to present the Gold Medal of the Royal PhilhannonicPhilharmonicSociety to Sibelius on whose behalf it was received by the FinnisltFinnish Ambassador.The concert he conducted on that occasionincluded not only Sibelius's Sixth Symphony but also the first performance of the Monn/Schoenberg Cello Concerto. Perhaps the most pertinent of Beecham's other activities during the opera towtour took place the day before the Bradford performance of Koanga when he was at Queen'sHall with a programme that included 3 Delius's other scoreto to celebratethethe soundsof Negroessinging on the St Johns River inin FloridaFlorida, Appalachia. Between Beecham's performancesperfonnances of Der Freischiltz inin Bradford and Leeds on 13 and 20 November, he had visited Berlin for twotwo concerts with thethe Berlin Philharmonic, on 17 and 18 November. The finalfmal performanceperfonnance of Koanga culmecame at Leeds on 23 NovemberNovember.. (Koanga had been first announced for 18 November, but was presumably changed to allow Beecham to visit Berlin.) Two days later he was in the recording studio, recording the fourth act of LoLa BohimeBoheme with his Koanga, John Brownlee, in the cast. Thus Koanga was briefly an active part of a living repertoire, before being forgotten again until it was revived by StanfordRobinson in 1958. Lewis Foreman * SirSir Thomas Beecham Bart, CH.C.H. : A Calendar of his Concert and Theatrical PerformancesPet:formances compiled by Maurice Parker, with a Supplement compiledcompiled by Tony Benson (private publications, 1985 and 1990)le90) OPERA HOUSE ... MANCHESTER ProprlelorsProprietors -. Howard and Wyndham Lld.Ltd. ManagingManagrng DireclorDirecror - A. 5lewarrStewart Cruikshank ManagerManagcr- -- Sydney PonerPorrer AssisranrAssistantManagerManaqer T. D. Conacher PublicilYPubliciryManager Manaicr . Thos. B. Woodward Thelht Manltnratmol••,ment ,..ernraatrrt theaha r'ahlrrthl tolo rl'''''aaas admiraln[aton...,on. DOlDcr a.etOaca 10t0 I.m,r.m. totc •I p.m.t.n. T.";T.l,; BLAck',iarsatlclr.a.rl un.ttlt. MONDAY, 28th28rh OCTOBER toro 9thgrh NOVEMBER, 1935 FOR TWO WEEKS EVERY EVENING. Malin~~:Matinee:EACH SATURDAY at 2 fI;I~A\~GIP,A,NIDI[) fV|DlplElp,A,/V /1: ll?A\ 1r=1~~lrIIVtFtEslt|tvAlLA\IL 4 KOANGAKOANGA ONON TOUR:TOUR: BIRMINGHAMBIRMINGHAM andand cannoteannot urakenlake an1'tlringanything butbut a11 dcad-rrcightdead-weight ENDEND OFOF TIIETHE OPERAOPERA repgrtory,reRe;tory, patronisedpatronised b5'bJ' habithabit ratherrather tbonthan fromfrom anfan~ reallyreally intclligeotintelligent interestinterest inin onan importrntimportant FESTIVAL. bfnnctlbtftnc""of "rif tnrttle.tnttAtC. t'.. Konngn,ttKORnp:R," endand inin ea moerllromeasure theth~ reqivelsrt!vivals of,of, 'nndi 'l 11 Freischlltz'TFreischtitE·'.' 'nnd;" RelloHallo inin llrrehersMucherB'~ too;too; " " 'entetprire rhowed~howed esrctlyen~·t1:" thothe kindkind ofof 'enterprise thatthat irJ. ths leart whether .,.. I{OANGAI\:OANGA" '' INTRODUCEDINTRODUCED TO werrtod.wAnt'l'd. lt,It, doe,rdoclI notnot mnttermnttl''' inin the I,-ollt "'hether "" KontrgrKonnga" " rotrtninsrrmninll irlin lhethe repertoryrt'rl'rtnry oror nob,nob, on~ for nll THE PRO\ZINCES.PROVINCES. end"nd one cnnnot'lhinkennnot' think thetthAt lleechnm,Ht'l'cllnm, for nil hirhis ndorntiorrnrtorntion ofof l)olius,])l'liu~, itnnginosi,"n~inrll t.hncthnt itit will'will. 'flre The firstfir!lt timetim(' thothe ttnttltralunullllal rrrhjectlluhjf'<'t isill attrnctive,attrnctive, nnd tlteth(l~ettin~1I settings byh~' N. dede lllolnrMolu nero"'err dalightful<irlighHlll inin rpito"ritl' of severnl!levprnl ineptinept hnndlingshnndlinll:!1 of tlrethe lightirrglillhtinll; I\IUSICl\IVSIC BY DELIUSDELIVS IN AN enrlAnd the too prottyprt'tty blood raerifieollacrifico pcrforrrrodprrformoo grneefttlh'Il:rRcefnll~' by thethe balletbollt't girlr.p:irll'. Rrrt,nut, nlt,horrghAIt.hou~h a UNUSTTLrXUSrAL SETTING. work containingcontAininp; a great dealdt'al of vnryv('ry benutifrrlbenutiful nrusie,music, it isil> noCnot rnAn oporcoperA ono cortldcon Id bearb('"r to go toto often. The storylItory irill reellyreally tootoo ehildislrchildish for rords,word!', ereH'n en nrehsuch rtiltedstilted one!ones rrIII DeliurDf'liull reClet The brilliant opreraopera festiralfestinl rrith~ith rrhicb~hich Sir ineflectivelyinefT('etivply to mrrrig.mUllif. publie for opera by ThonrasThomas ReeclramBeecham lenr,lent BirnringhamBirmingham a feature lf,aIf/A largoInrj!;o newnl'w public is ereatedcrt'oted for opera by nell and n'hichwhich no ContiuentalContinental city of its size lacks, buthut Cheth"" fine €nt€rpriseenterpri5e of thirthil {'ompnny,eompnny, well And good;~ood this por- nhichwwch vers\·er., ferrfe~ cau.nratch,can.match, at anlan:- rate in its ; freshfrl'llh errdieneesAudiences mny then etrjoyenjoy this por­ vocal resources, and none cancan· surpass on the tieularticl1lar experieneeexperience ogninagain and ngnin.nll:nin. Rrrtnllt uhoCwhat orclrcstralorchestral side, catnecame to an all-too<luickall-too-quick end at mrtterimattl'rll iris thetthat Fcwe Fer"wert! oflerNlofTt'red it atrt ellall anrland the Prince of \1Wales ales Theatre ouon Saturday night. nra.vmay thrrsthus hope to bcbe rhovnIhown other erperirnentr.nperimenh. FortunatelS',Fortunately, horerer.howe\·er. Sir Thomas wasn'as eble,able, in I have tho grentertltrpntelt desire, for inrtanes,instance, to 100lee Thomn~ one of hishis-n-ittr..mtty spee<:hesspeeches at thetbe conclusion,conclusioa, to Sir Thonrns IWechalllBeechanr trying hi!lhir hnnd at Verdi'llVerdi'a ~iving at:nounce,annolrnce, almO/italmoot as a certainty,certaiuty, a returnreturo f'isitrisit 11" Mncbeth,"Illnebeth," or giving us ao tastetosto of thetho latl'ltIntart Strllus~-the Jonroninn 11r,rtr11n in .." ~hatrrha! b~'by the courtesy of our language is Strauss-the Benllen Jonllonilln .." Silent "'omAn "­"- calledealled thetlre spring."spring.t' Birmingham,Birnriogham, it must ~be without hninghating thetbe leastleett illusion that these said, or the fraction of it that wass'as representedrepreseoted at thinll:s,th ingr, or lIucheueh modernnrodern worksrrorfts IlSic Berg'sllerg'r thethc performances,perforrnances, hasbas responded withrrith enthusiasmeuthusiasm .." Wozzt'ck,"Wozzeek," Milhaud'l\lilheud'r... " ChrilltoJlherChristopher Colllm­Colrrm- tt and sho~sshows e\'er~'crerl' sIgnsign of becoming one of thetbe bUll,"buJ," or Hlnclemith'.Hrnderrrith'r "Cnrdillnc,"Cnrdillnc," ,,·hichn'hieh itit London and Pro,incialProrincial OperaOperu Societ3"sSocietl"s would hebe most interesting toto snmple, couldcorrld be stronl!holds.strongholds. rf'~nrdcdregnrdod ASnr stockrtoek pieces.pieees. WhylYhy I'houldrhould thl'J'they,, That thethe organisationorgaDisation desen'esdeserres e"eryelerl supportsupPort
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