About Hugh the Drover

Hugh the Drover was Vaughan Williams first venture into opera, conceived more in hope than expectation that it would ever reach the stage. Given that it arose from an idiosyncratic desire to set a prize fight to music, his pessimism about its chances was unsurprising. Nonetheless a librettist was found Harold Child, a Times leader-writer and VW gave him a tough brief an opera on traditional lines, a comedy, full of good tunes, with lively action, like German musical comedy but based on English country life written with real English words, with a certain amount of real English music and also a real English subjectfolk-song-y in character, with real ballad stuff thrown in. Vaughan Williams was the driving force in this collaboration, having a better understanding of English country life and music than Child. Work began in 1910 and was beginning to take shape by the following summer a period when the mid 19 th century operas of Balfe and the social comedies of Gilbert & Sullivan were virtually the only English works to be heard in our theatres and opera houses. The finished score was given its premire in June 1914 to an audience of three VW, his wife Ursula and Harold Child. The performers were the eminent tenor Steuart Wilson and the composer-pianist William Denis Browne, who was killed at Gallipoli a year later. VW was himself at war for the next four years, and Hugh finally reached the stage as late as 1924, in a world very different from the one in which it had been conceived. The action takes place on April 30th and May1st 1810 in a Cotswold market town, at the height of the Napoleonic Wars, when all strangers risk being taken for French spies. The story is built round the romance between Hugh,

who collects ponies for the British army, and Mary, the town Constables daughter. The centrepiece, as VW wanted, is the prize-fight between Hugh and John the Butcher, Marys fianc, with Marys hand the prize. Isaac Jones

HUGH THE DROVER

By Ralph Vaughan Williams

Libretto by Harold Child as Hugh the Drover

David de Winter & Zachary Devin Elaine Tate (Nov 11, 17, 18 & 20 mat) & Philippa Murray (Nov 12 mat, 12 eve,
13 mat, 16, 19 mat & 19 eve) as Mary, the Constables daughter

Lighting Director Andrew Ellis

Stage Manager

Emily Collin
Conductor and Music Director

Oliver-John Ruthven
Rptiteurs

as John the Butcher, Marys fianc as Aunt Jane, the Constables Sister as the Constable of the town as the Showman (Act I) & the Sergeant (Act II)

Ed Ballard & David Roberts

Suzy Ruffles, Eunjung Lee, Yau Cheng, Michalis Angelakis & Albert Lau
with

Camilla Bull & Charlotte King Ian Helm

The Dionysus Ensemble

In a new scoring for reduced orchestra by

Oliver-John Ruthven
Performed by arrangement with Faber Music Ltd., London With kind permission and generous support from the Vaughan Williams Charitable Trust

Barnaby Beer & James Williams Nick Whitfield

as the Turnkey

Ed Bonner, Paddy Cockshutt, Victoria Collier, Robert Davis, Nick George, Milo Harries, Matthew Holt, Jill House, Liz Hunt, Paul Ives, Eleanor Janes, Clara Kanter, Nina Kanter, Anna McLachlan, Gregory Monk, Martin Musgrave, Claudia Myles, James Savage-Hanford Rose Stachniewska, Jonathan Stirland, Masami Uehara & Marianne Wright
as Townspeople, Stall-holders (Cheapjack,, Cockle Seller, Primrose Seller, Toy Lamb Sellers, Ballad Seller), a Dancer, the Fool, the Innkeeper and two Soldiers from London Pride, Thames Valley and Greensleeves Morris Men

BACHTRACK ON SEMELE
Semele [is] quite a challenging number for a tiny low-budget opera company like Hampstead Garden Opera, but they clearly rose to the challenge with gusto. The production deserves to win prizes in some form of alternative opera awards ceremony: most creative use of bubble-wrap for costume designer Rachel Szmukler, best coloratura performance while being pelted with pillows for Zachary Devin as Jupiter, best ability to keep a straight face while wearing a nightie for Martin Musgrave and Ed Bonner, and best ability to stay still under dust sheets for too many of the cast to list individually. The production frames the first act as a typical squabbling family the news from Mount Olympus comes through the ageing TV around which they are clustered and brings it off entertainingly. Oliver-John Ruthvens ensemble Musica Poetica kept up a blistering pace for the whole eveningAs usual HGO assembled a fine cast of up and coming singers. Robyn Parton negotiated the fearsome technical difficulties of the title role with apparent ease, giving us a pretty timbre and plenty of flibbertigibbet characterisation along the way, Zachary Devin gave us a powerful Jupiter, and Bartholomew Lawrence showed us a lovely rich voice as the sleep god SomnusThe chorus were top of the class: the large ensemble numbers came

Morris Dancers

(first names: Nov 11, 12 eve, 17, 19 mat & 20 mat second names: Nov 12 mat, 13 mat 16, 18 & 19 eve (except where shown)
Production Director

Angela Hardcastle
Set & Costume Designer

Charlie Tymms
Assistant Director

through with much enthusiasm and fine balance. All in all, Semele is brisk and light on the ear, and HGO presented a cheerful, bubbly performance. David Karlin, for Bachtrack, April 2011

or telephone

Upstairs at the Gatehouse

on 0208 340 3488:
or go on-line at www.upstairsatthegatehouse.c om (booking fee applies)

HAMPSTEAD GARDEN OPERA

(regd. Charity no. 1092649)

President:

Penelope MacKay, AGSM, Hon. ARAM Founder: the late Dr. Roy Budden

HGO strives to achieve professional standards within a semi-amateur framework, and performs two fully-staged operas in English each year at Upstairs at the Gatehouse. If you would be interested in singing with the company, either as a Principal or as a member of the Chorus, please get in touch with Martin Musgrave: e-mail: martin.musgrave@hgo.org.uk For more information, see our website, www.hgo.org.uk

HUGH THE DROVER

TICKET ORDER FORM
Nov 11 at 7.45 pm & Nov 12 & 2.45 pm: 18 (concessions 16) All other performances: 20 (concessions 18) All seats unreserved Please arrive at least 10 mins before the performance to guarantee seats
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