- English
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About this book
Susie Gilbert traces the development of ENO from its earliest origins in the darkest Victorian slums of the Cut, where it was conceived as a vehicle of social reform, through two world wars, and via Sadler's Wells to its great glory days at the Coliseum and beyond. Setting the company's artistic achievements within the wider context of social and political attitudes to the arts and the ever-changing theatrical style, Gilbert provides a vivid cultural history of this unique institution's 150 years. Inspired by the idealism of Lilian Baylis, the company has been based on the belief that opera in the vernacular can not only reach out to even the least privileged members of society but also create a potent and immediate communication with its audience.
With full access to ENO's archive, Gilbert has unearthed a rich range of material and held numerous interviews with a fascinating array of personalities, to weave an absorbing tale of life both in front and behind the scenes of ENO as it developed over the years.
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Information
Table of contents
- Cover
- Title Page
- Dedication
- Table of Contents
- Illustrations
- Preface and Acknowledgements
- 1 : 1869–1912: Beginnings at the Old Vic
- 2 : 1912–1931: ‘The People’s Opera House’
- 3 : 1931–1937: ‘A World of Awe and Wonder’ – Lilian Baylis at Sadler’s Wells
- 4 : 1937–1945: A Heroic Struggle – Joan Cross and the War
- 5 : 1945–1959: Norman Tucker, ‘The Cuckoo in the Arts Council Nest’
- 6 : 1959–1966: A Home on the South Bank?
- 7 : 1966–1972: ‘Arlorium’
- 8 : 1972–1975: English National Opera, ‘A Genuine Music Theatre’
- 9 : 1975–1978: ‘Sure of Its Mission’ – the Last Mackerras Years
- 10 : 1978–1982: ‘The Most Critical Battle to Survive’
- 11 : 1982–1985: ‘A “European” View of Production’
- 12 : 1985–1987: ‘The Shock of the New’
- 13 : 1987–1993: ‘Ruthlessly Pressing for Lebensraum’
- 14 : 1993–1997: ‘A Reduced Role for ENO’?
- 15 : 1997–2002: Not Entirely Stabilised
- 16 : 2002–2009: A New Model
- Appendix 1: The Critics
- Appendix 2: Chronological List of First Nights of the Resident Company Productions of Sadler’s Wells and ENO Operas from 1931
- Sources
- Index
- Plates
- About the Author
- Copyright