Opera in the British Isles, 1875-1918

Paul Rodmell

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2016
• ISBN:
  9781317085447
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Media & Performing Arts
• Subtopic: Opera Music

While the musical culture of the British Isles in the 'long nineteenth century' has been reclaimed from obscurity by musicologists in the last thirty years, appraisal of operatic culture in the latter part of this period has remained largely elusive. Paul Rodmell argues that there were far more opportunities for composers, performers and audiences than one might expect, an assertion demonstrated by the fact that over one hundred serious operas by British composers were premiered between 1875 and 1918. Rodmell examines the nature of operatic culture in the British Isles during this period, looking at the way in which opera was produced and 'consumed' by companies and audiences, the repertory performed, social attitudes to opera, the dominance of London's West End and the activities of touring companies in the provinces, and the position of British composers within this realm of activity. In doing so, he uncovers the undoubted challenges faced by opera in Britain in this period, and delves further into why it was especially difficult to make a breakthrough in this particular genre when other fields of compositional endeavour were enjoying a period of sustained growth. Whilst contemporaneous composers and commentators and later advocates of British music may have felt that the country's operatic life did not measure up to their aspirations or ambitions, there was still a great deal of activity and, even if this was not necessarily that which was always desired, it had a significant and lasting impact on musical culture in Britain.

Chapter 1
Prologue: Opera in the British Isles in 1875

That the richest and most productive period in the history of opera coincided in date and length with what is known as the Victorian Era is a fact that must be generally conceded … [D]uring no period … did there ever occur such an amazing concatenation of great works and great performances in the domain of the lyric drama attended with such widespread support from an ever-growing and increasingly responsive public.1

Herman Klein’s view, expressed in 1933, has often been debunked in more recent years, but serves as a useful reminder that, for many observers of the time, the late Victorian and Edwardian decades, at least so far as the truly ‘Grand Operas’ of Covent Garden and its West End rivals were concerned, did indeed represent a golden age: a period of high performance standards, innumerable and unrivalled star singers, and unsurpassed social opulence.

A contrary view, that might be termed the ‘Land ohne Musik’ perspective, would argue that opera in Victorian Britain was in the doldrums. In central London, opera performed in Italian dominated, characterised by a restricted non-native repertory and frequently slack performance standards, while indigenous music was performed in second-rate theatres by itinerant companies, characterised by an equally stagnant repertory and still lower standards of performance. Outside London things were worse still, with only a few of the largest towns enjoying even occasional glimpses of the operas or singers that appeared in the capital, and the remainder of the country resting content with even more paltry fare.

Over a century later, it is easy to regard Klein’s view as rose-tinted nostalgia but, equally, the derogatory perspective that prevailed subsequently would be a description unrecognised by many Victorians other than advocates for specific causes or with personal agendas. Inevitably, the truth lies somewhere between these two extremes. This was a period of great diversity: from the elitist and expensive Italian operas in the West End of London to modest touring troupes playing in towns from Penzance to Aberdeen and Limerick to Norwich, opera came within reach of a greater proportion of the population than either before or since, and the culture and practices prevailing in this period have had an influence on Britain’s operatic culture which can, in some respects, still be felt.

‘Grand Opera’ in Central London

In 1875, in London’s West End, activity was dominated by Italian opera, which was, in turn, dominated by two men, Frederick Gye and James Mapleson. English opera, since the collapse of the Pyne-Harrison Company in 1864, had had only an intermittent presence and was wholly without momentum and consistent support.2 Mapleson and Gye each managed Italian opera companies that attracted audiences of superior social status (including royalty and nobility), and which gave the performances of the highest – albeit sometimes compromised – standard available at the time.

Gye3 had been a lessee of the Covent Garden Theatre and manager of the Royal Italian Opera since 1850.4 He was a meticulous, sometimes ruthless and single-minded businessman who confined his operatic activity to London during the annual ‘grand season’ of late spring and early summer.5 On retiring in 1877, he handed the business to his sons (see Chapter 2). His long, unbroken period of management secured Covent Garden’s status as the leading opera house in London, a perception which has endured to this day.

James Mapleson’s circumstances were more precarious.6 He ran his first opera season at Her Majesty’s Theatre, Haymarket, in 1861, although he had been manager in all but name since 1858 of companies nominally run first by Benjamin Lumley and then Edward Tyrrell Smith. Mapleson’s marginal but distinctly secondary status arose for several reasons. His interests in opera were more diverse than Gye’s, resulting in a periodic lack of focus; Mapleson took companies around the provinces throughout the 1860s and ’70s7 and, from the late 1870s, produced opera in the United States (see Chapter 2), as well as sometimes giving short runs of Italian opera in London in late autumn. Most important, however, was the itinerancy forced upon Mapleson after Her Majesty’s Theatre burnt down on 7 December 1867. While Gye had been able to secure the lease and swift rebuilding of Covent Garden, Mapleson was less lucky as the leaseholder of Her Majesty’s, the Earl of Dudley, proved to be obstructive and stubborn. Mapleson decamped to Drury Lane in 1868 but, although Her Majesty’s was rebuilt within a year it remained empty, allegedly due to Dudley’s high rental demand.8 Mapleson continued to look elsewhere and the next three years saw a series of plots and scheming almost worthy of the works he and Gye put on stage.

Both men had felt the financial impact of running rival opera seasons for seven years and, by the end of 1867, a plan was afoot by which Gye would retire from Covent Garden with Mapleson taking his place, but as a salaried manager, not an independent impresario. This idea fell through following the exposure of a rogue investor,9 and the two men instead joined forces at Covent Garden for the ‘coalition’ seasons of 1869 and 1870. Their characters, however, were scarcely complementary and the working relationship was never an easy one. In contrast to Gye, Mapleson was raffish and charming, an instinctive rather than methodical businessman who frequently survived by the skin of his teeth and sheer luck rather than by careful planning. This joint endeavour was destabilised in 1870 by the actions of George Wood and Henry Jarrett.10 After many shenanigans,11 Wood ran a financially disastrous season of Italian opera at Drury Lane (which did, however, include the first London performance of a Wagner opera (Der fliegende Holländer, given as L’Olandese dannato, and starring Charles Santley and Ilma di Murska, on 23 July 1870)) while, after teetering on the edge of legal action, Gye and Mapleson agreed to separate their interests.12 Gye bought Mapleson out, thanks to a loan of £105,000 from Andrew Montagu,13 and the two impresarios again mounted competing seasons, Gye still at Covent Garden, and Mapleson at Drury Lane, where he remained until 1876.14 The impression of Mapleson as an itinerant remained as he gave pre-Christmas seasons at Covent Garden in 1870 and 1871, and his company throughout retained the name ‘Her Majesty’s Italian Opera’, creating the impression that a return to the empty theatre on the Haymarket remained Mapleson’s objective.15

In 1875, therefore, Gye was at Covent Garden with a season lasting from 30 March to 17 July (83 performances) while Mapleson was once more at Drury Lane from 10 April to 24 July (64 performances). While both companies performed exclusively in the Italian style and language, the repertory was mixed. Works from Italy dominated, but French operas were also given, especially those of Meyerbeer, and Gounod’s Faust. German opera featured rather less frequently, with only Fidelio, Der Freischütz, Die Zauberflöte, and Lohengrin (discussed below) appearing at Covent Garden in 1875. Non-Italian works were translated and, as spoken dialogue was deemed unacceptable, secco recitatives were introduced if needed.16 The presence of any sort of indigenous culture was largely frowned upon: a fundamental part of the ethos of Covent Garden and its rivals throughout this period was that everything was seen to be the best that money could buy, wherever in the world it came from. Consequently, the overt incorporation of either native repertory or performers was typically viewed as parochial and a lowering of standards to be avoided, even to the extent that in the 1870s British singers often took Italian aliases.17 Another facet of this cosmopolitan culture of ‘conspicuous consumption’ was the employment of ‘star’ singers which, although regularly derided in the press throughout this period, was an essential part of both companies’ fortunes.18 In 1875 both Italian companies could claim the possession of highly regarded leading ladies: Gye retained the services of both Adelina Patti (since 1861) and the up-and-coming Canadian Emma Albani (since 1872),19 while Mapleson had the long-serving German Therèse Tietjens, who had first worked for Benjamin Lumley in 1858, and the Swede, Christine Nilsson. Both companies lacked a man of equal status (Gye’s best were the tenor Ernest Nicolini and baritone Victor Maurel, while Mapleson had the tenor Italo Campanini) but, while the presence of a bel canto tenor who could produce the magical ‘ut in poitrine’ (a chest voice high C) was a great asset to any opera company, it was the presence of the prime donne that was the true essential.

Gye’s seasons between 1871 and 1874 indicate the state of his repertory immediately preceding the period under consideration.20 He gave 316 performances in total, in seasons varying in length between 77 and 82 nights, typically starting just after Easter and lasting into July.21 The earlier performances were put on by secondary members of the company and provided opportunities for debutantes, while stars were kept in reserve for about a month, in order that momentum was built up gradually. A typical week in both houses comprised four performances (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday), although extra performances were often added, especially as the season progressed. Subscriptions, which formed about half of the box office income,22 were sold for 40 nights, with a limited choice of dates offered to the subscriber, and it was on subscription nights, when ‘society’ (see below) was present in its greatest numbers, often with royalty as an added attraction, that the star singers generally appeared. In 1875 the subscription prices ranged from 100 to 240 guineas for boxes, with orchestra and amphitheatre stalls costing 35 and 18 guineas respectively.23 Gye’s diaries usually record the amount of non-subscription box office receipts for each evening: in 1875 his best nights were for Roméo et Juliette (£700 on 18 June), L’étoile du nord (£644 on 5 July), and Dinorah (£632 on 11 May). The British première of Lohengrin on 8 May netted on-the-night receipts of £553; 4 June was one of the worst nights, when a performance of L’Africaine brought in only £80.24 Over the five seasons 1871–74 Gye mounted 40 different operas, the most frequently performed of which are shown in Table 1.1.

Table 1.1 Most frequently performed operas at Covent Garden under Frederic...