For many enthusiasts, English
opera stopped with Purcell’s The Fairy
Queen (1692) and began again when Britten’s Peter Grimes (1945) was first heard in the immediate aftermath of
the Second World War. Gilbert and Sullivan and possibly Edward German are
exceptions to this analysis, yet what they
wrote was (typically) operetta and not Grand Opera. A period that is especially despised is/was the Victorian/Edwardian era.
Fortunately, in the last two decades aficionados
have been encouraged to investigate works from this 250-odd year ‘interregnum’.
Recent years have seen recordings of Ethel Smyth’s The Boatswain’s Mate and her The
Wreckers. Even Sullivan’s efforts at Grand Opera have been ‘revived’: there
are CDs of his Haddon Hall, Ivanhoe, The Yeoman of the Guard (not an operetta in my opinion) and The Beauty Stone. A previous generation
is represented by recordings of Michael Balfe’s The Bohemian Girl, William Vincent Wallace’s Maritana and George MacFarren’s Robin
Hood. So, a premiere recording of Edward Loder’s Raymond and Agnes is greatly welcome. Over the years this work has
come to be regarded by several critics as the composer’s operatic masterpiece.
Retrospect Opera
who have produced and issued Raymond and
Agnes, is an organisation ‘devoted to researching and recording 18th, 19th
and early 20th-century operas and related dramatic musical works by British
composers’. They have previously issued CDs of Smyth’s The
Boatswain’s Mate, Burnand and Solomon’s Pickwick
and George Grossmith’s Cups and Saucers, Christmas
Gambols and The Musical Tour of Mr Dibdin by Charles Dibdin
A few notes about the composer
Edward Loder will be of interest. He was born in Bath on 10 July 1809. After youthful
studies with Ferdinand Ries in Frankfurt, he enjoyed a relatively short career
of composing and conducting. In 1846, Loder became musical director at the
Princess’s Theatre in London and from 1851 at the Theatre Royal in Manchester.
Although remembered today (if at all) for his operas, which were once popular, he
did compose a cantata, The Island of
Calypso, several string quartets, piano music and many songs. His operas
include Deerstalkers (1845), The Night Dancers (1846), Puck (1848) and the present Raymond and Agnes (1855). Edward Loder
died in London on 5 April 1865.
Raymond and Agnes was premiered at the Theatre Royal, Manchester on
14 August 1855 with the composer conducting. It was reasonably well-received. A
subsequent performance of a revised version (three acts instead of four) in
London some four years later, was ‘somewhat of a disaster.’ After this, the
opera was put to one side, and later deemed to be ‘lost.’
More than half a century ago, Raymond and Agnes was revived at the Arts
Theatre, Cambridge (2 May 1966). The music had been edited by
nineteenth-century music specialist Nicholas Temperley based on a single copy
of the vocal score. One of the problems faced was the loss of the libretto by
Edward Fitzball, which meant that the spoken dialogue was missing. Temperley
reconstructed the story with a new dialogue written by Max Miradin.
Despite Raymond and Agnes having limited critical success at its premiere
and London performance, critics have begun to see this opera as presenting ‘a
quality of invention and dramatic power that raises it to an unusual position
in English nineteenth-century opera’. (Biddlescombe, English Opera from
1834 to 1864 (1994). One writer went as
far as discovering music ‘that would not disgrace middle period Verdi.’
Retrospect Opera commissioned Valerie
Langfield to prepare the present performing edition. It is based on the score
prepared for the 1859 performance, which had been discovered in the Library of
Congress, Washington, the printed vocal score and a copy of the libretto found
since the 1966 revival. Langfield states that it is near impossible to
reconstruct the original 1855 version.
The scoring has been adjusted for
consistency and some of the longer repeats in the choruses were cut. A new
vocal score was created, as the original was hard to read, lacked bar numbers
and rehearsal cues. It was collated with the full score. The published libretto
was amended ‘in the interests of comprehensibility.’
I refuse to plot-spoil. But two
things can be said without injuring the [melo]dramatic impact of the opera.
Firstly the ‘book’ is loosely based on Matthew Lewis’s gothic horror story The Monk with elements from the same
author’s The Castle Spectre.
Basically, the story concerns the wicked Baron of Lindenberg who will not allow
his ward to marry the Spanish nobleman Raymond. If this sounds a little bit
like a Gilbert and Sullivan plot for a comedy such as Ruddigore, the big difference is that the Baron gets his
comeuppance. Secondly, it must be noted that there are several subplots and
symbols which include a Der Freischütz-ian
wolf-hunt, an inherited curse, a Gothic castle, a bleeding nun, mistaken
identity and an attempted murder. Predictably all ends happily for the Raymond
and Agnes.
The actual performance is all
that can be desired. It is a model of how an opera can be repristinated. The singing
is superb from the first note to the last. The dialogue is convincingly enunciated
and is essential to the progress of the plot. The orchestral playing is ideal, revealing a ‘forgotten’
composer who was clearly a master of his instrumental forces.
Musically, the score owes much to
Carl Maria Weber who was a hero of Loder. As noted above, the elder German’s
opera Der Freischütz is a major
source of inspiration. Earlier operas such as Balfe’s The Bohemian Girl owed more to Italian composers than German. It is
not difficult to look forward from Loder’s Raymond
and Agnes towards the work of Arthur Sullivan and beyond. It could be added that Loder’s music is often more
melodramatic and musically powerful than much of Sullivan’s.
Nicholas Temperley wrote:
‘Loder’s musical and dramatic gifts were far more impressive than those of
Balfe and Wallace. [Raymond and Agnes] … maintains a high level of inspiration,
variety, and continuity almost throughout. Loder reveals quite unexpected
resources of harmony, while his orchestration is masterly; and he provides
memorable tunes, both plain and ornate, when appropriate’ (Musical Times, April 1966).
The liner notes are a model of
clarity and interest for an opera recording. There is an introduction by Richard
Bonynge followed by a series of essays setting Raymond and Agnes in context, an explanation as to how it was
revived and a discussion about the opera’s background and its literary and folk-lorish
sources. Finally, Valerie Langfield contributes a major essay on the work’s
Nineteenth-century Reception and Textual Sources. They provide a model for
future discussions of ‘forgotten’ operas. A synopsis by David Chandler is
included for those who wish to know the story before listening. The entire
libretto is presented, and this includes the spoken dialogue. This is keyed
into the CD tracks for ease of reference. Short biographies are given of the
principals and the orchestra.
Finally, Nicholas Temperley in
his article on Edward Loder for Grove’s Dictionary
of Music and Musicians wrote: ‘It remains to be seen how the work would be
received if it were to be revived on stage in a full production faithful to the
original.’ Based on this present recording, it would be an ideal next step to
move from the recording studio to the opera house. I believe that it would make
a stunning addition to the repertoire of one of the great opera companies.
Track Listings:
Edward LODER (1809-65) Raymond and Agnes:
A Grand Opera in Three Acts
Majella Cullagh (Agnes), Mark Milhofer (Raymond), Andrew
Greenan (The Baron of Lindenberg), Carolyn Dobbin (Madelina), Quentin Hayes (Antoni),
Alessandro Fisher (Theodore, valet to Raymond) and Alexander Robin Baker (Francesco,
valet to the Baron), Timothy Langston (Landlord), Phil Wilcox, David Horton
(Antonio’s sons), Valerie Langfield (Ravella), Retrospect Opera Chorus, Royal
Ballet Sinfonia/Richard Bonynge
Rec. St Jude-on-the-Hill, Hampstead Garden Suburb, London,
16-19 October 2017
Retrospect Opera RO005
Raymond and Agnes can be purchased from the Retrospect Opera
on-line shop.
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