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{{Short description|1843 Irish romantic opera}}
{{for|other uses of the term|The Bohemian Girl (disambiguation)}}
{{other uses}}
{{Infobox opera
| name = The Bohemian Girl
| type = Irish Romantic opera
| composer = {{nowrap|[[Michael William Balfe]]}}
| image = Title page of The Bohemian Girl.JPG
| caption = Title page of the original libretto
| librettist = [[Alfred Bunn]]
| language = English
| based_on = {{based on|''[[La gitanilla]]''|[[Miguel de Cervantes]]}}
| premiere_date = {{Start date|1843|11|27|df=y}}
| premiere_location = [[Theatre Royal, Drury Lane|Drury Lane Theatre]], London
}}
'''''The Bohemian Girl''''' is an Irish Romantic [[opera]] composed by [[Michael William Balfe]] with a libretto by [[Alfred Bunn]]. The plot is loosely based on a [[Miguel de Cervantes]]' tale, ''[[La gitanilla]]''.


The best-known aria from the piece is "[[I Dreamt I Dwelt in Marble Halls]]" in which the main character, Arline, describes her vague memories of her childhood. It has been recorded by many artists, most famously by [[Dame Joan Sutherland]], and also by the Norwegian soprano [[Sissel Kyrkjebø]] and Irish singer [[Enya]].
{{Balfe operas}}
'''''The Bohemian Girl''''' is an [[opera]] composed by [[Michael William Balfe]] with a libretto by [[Alfred Bunn]]. The plot is loosely based on a [[Cervantes]] tale, ''La Gitanilla''.


==Performance history==
The opera was first produced in [[London]] at the [[Theatre Royal, Drury Lane|Drury Lane Theatre]] on [[November 27]] [[1843]]. The production ran for 100 nights and enjoyed many revivals wordwide including: New York (25 November 1844), Dublin (1844), Philadelphia (1844) and Vienna (in German, 1846). Since World War 2 it has been staged by the Arts Theatre, Belfast (1978) and by [[Opera South]] in [[Haslemere]] in England (2008)<ref>[http://www.operasouth.co.uk/pastshows/200802/index.html Opera South]</ref>
The opera was first produced in [[London]] at the [[Theatre Royal, Drury Lane|Drury Lane Theatre]] on 27 November 1843. The production ran for more than 100 nights and enjoyed many revivals worldwide including: [[New York City]] (25 November 1844), [[Dublin]] (1844) and [[Philadelphia]] (1844).<ref name="Loewenberg">Loewenberg, columns 832-833. Loewenberg's listing of a production in Madrid on 9 April 1845 in an Italian translation by R. Paderni is evidently incorrect. No such performance can be traced, and D'Erme (see '''Sources''') demonstrates that Roberto Paderni's Italian version was created for the Trieste production on 12 February 1854.</ref>


Several versions in different languages were also staged during Balfe's lifetime. The [[German language|German]] version, ''Die Zigeunerin'', premiered in [[Vienna]] in 1846, the [[Italian language|Italian]] adaptation and translation, titled ''La zingara'', was originally staged in [[Trieste]] in 1854, and finally a four-act [[French language|French]] version, ''La Bohémienne'', was mounted in [[Rouen]] in 1862, conducted by composer [[Jules Massenet]], then aged only 20, and with the celebrated [[mezzo-soprano]] [[Célestine Galli-Marié]] in the role of the Gypsy Queen. If ''Die Zigeunerin'' enjoyed fairly widespread circulation in the countries of German language or culture, ''La zingara'' was often revived also in English-speaking cities, such as London, Dublin, New York, [[Boston]] and [[San Francisco]].<ref>[http://www.britishandirishworld.com/ "Michael William Balfe" on britishandirishworld.com] with detailed account of Balfe's life and work</ref> The very successful 1858 run of ''La zingara'' at [[Her Majesty's Theatre]] in London, for which Balfe was rewarded with an extra cheque for fifty [[Pound sterling|pounds]], starred [[Marietta Piccolomini]], [[Marietta Alboni]] and [[Antonio Giuglini]].<ref>Barrett, p. 229</ref>
The best-known aria from the piece is "I Dreamt I Dwelt In Marble Halls." In this Arline describes her vague memories of her childhood. It has been recorded by many artists, including [[Enya]] and Celtic Woman.

The opera "remained in the repertories of British touring companies until the 1930s and was revived in 1932 at [[Sadler's Wells Theatre|Sadler's Wells]]".<ref>Burton, p. 522</ref> Since World War II, it has been staged in a production by [[Dennis Arundell]] at Covent Garden in 1951 with [[Thomas Beecham|Beecham]] conducting and a cast consisting of [[Roberta Peters]], Anthony Marlowe, Jess Walters, [[Edith Coates]], [[Howell Glynne]] and [[Murray Dickie]],<ref>Harold Rosenthal. Covent Garden - The Bohemian Girl (August 15). ''[[Opera (British magazine)|Opera]]'', October 1951, Vol.2 No.10, p598-600.</ref> by the Belfast Operatic Society at the 1978 [[Waterford]] International Festival of Light Opera, in Ireland,<ref>[http://www.ulsteractors.com/g/ Actor Emer Gillespie on ulsteractors.com]</ref> by [[Castleward Opera]], [[Strangford]], in Northern Ireland in 2006 and by [[Opera South (UK)|Opera South]], [[Haslemere]], in England in 2008.<ref>[http://www.operasouth.co.uk/pastshows/200802/index.html Opera South shows on operasouth.co.uk] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081202223744/http://www.operasouth.co.uk/pastshows/200802/index.html |date=2008-12-02 }}</ref>


==Roles==
==Roles==
[[File:Score cover for 'La Bohémienne' by Balfe 1869 - britishandirishworld com.jpg|thumb|200px|right|{{center|Title page of a French printed score (1869)}}]]
{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
!Role
!Role
!Voice type
!Voice type
!Premiere Cast, 27 November 1843 <br>(Conductor: [[Julius Benedict]] )
!Premiere cast, 27 November 1843<ref>Bunn, p. 2</ref><br>(Conductor: [[Michael William Balfe]] )
|-
|-
|Arline, ''daughter of Count Arnheim''
|Arline, ''daughter of Count Arnheim''
|[[soprano]]
|[[soprano]]
|Elizabeth Rainforth ('Emma Romer')
|Miss Payne (Act 1);<br>[[Elizabeth Rainforth]] (Acts 2–3)
|-
|-
|Thaddeus, ''a Polish fugitive''
|Thaddeus, ''a Polish fugitive''
|[[tenor]]
|[[tenor]]
|William Harrison
|[[William Harrison (singer)|William Harrison]]
|-
|-
|Count Arnheim
|Count Arnheim
|[[baritone]]
|[[baritone]]
|Conrado Borrani<ref>Italianate stage name of Conrad Boisragon ({{cite journal |last1=Lockwood |first1=Graham |date=2011 |title=The Holst family contribution to Cheltenham music making in the 19th century |url=https://gloshistory.org.uk/sites/reprints/gh201107.pdf |journal=Gloucestershire History |volume=25 |issue= |pages=7–17 |doi= |access-date= }}
|Borrani
({{Cite web |url=http://www.holstmuseum.org.uk/documents/TheHolstfamilycontributiontoCheltenhammusicmaking.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2015-06-06 |archive-date=2015-06-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150607013028/http://www.holstmuseum.org.uk/documents/TheHolstfamilycontributiontoCheltenhammusicmaking.pdf |url-status=bot: unknown }}).</ref>
|-
|-
|Queen of the Gypsies
|Queen of the Gypsies
|[[contralto]]
|[[contralto]]
|Betts
|Abigail Elizabeth Betts
|-
|-
|Devilshoof, ''chief of the gypsies''
|Devilshoof, ''chief of the gypsies''
|[[bass (vocal range)|bass]]
|[[bass (vocal range)|bass]]
| Stretton
|George Stretton
|-
|-
|Florestein, ''nephew of the Count''
|Florestein, ''nephew of the Count''
|tenor
|tenor
|James Hudson
|Durnset
|-
|-
|Buda, ''Arline's attendant''
|Buda, ''Arline's attendant''
|soprano
|soprano
|Miss Payne
|
|-
|-
|Captain of the Guard
|Captain of the Guard
|bass
|bass
|Howell
|
|-
|-
|Officer
|Officer
|tenor
|tenor
|John Binge
|
|-
|-
|First Gypsy
|
|Birt
|-
|Second Gypsy
|
|T. Ridgway
|}
|}


==Synopsis==
==Synopsis==
===Act 1===
===Act 1===
A [[Poland|Polish]] noble, Thaddeus, in exile in [[Austria]], joins a band of Gypsies. He saves Arline, the infant daughter of Count Arnheim, from being killed by a deer. The count, in gratitude, invites him to a banquet, where Thaddeus refuses to toast a statue of the Austrian Emperor, instead splashing it with wine, and escapes from his enraged host with the help of his gypsy friend Devilshoof, who kidnaps Arline.
A [[Poland|Polish]] noble, Thaddeus, in exile in [[Austria]], joins a band of [[Romani people|gypsies]]. He saves Arline, the infant daughter of Count Arnheim, from being killed by a deer. The count, in gratitude, invites him to a banquet, where Thaddeus refuses to toast a statue of the Austrian Emperor, instead splashing it with wine, and escapes from his enraged host with the help of his gypsy friend Devilshoof, who kidnaps Arline.


===Act 2===
===Act 2===
Twelve years have elapsed. Arline can only vaguely remember her noble upbringing. She and Thaddeus are sweethearts, but the [[Romani people|Gypsy]] Queen is also in love with him. Arnheim's nephew Florestein falls in love with Arline (not recognising her), but the Queen plants a medallion stolen from Florestein on Arline. Florestein recognises the medallion and has her arrested. She is tried before the Count. who recognises the scar left on her arm from the deer attack.
Twelve years have elapsed. Arline can only vaguely remember her noble upbringing. She and Thaddeus are sweethearts, but the Gypsy Queen is also in love with him. Arnheim's nephew Florestein falls in love with Arline (not recognising her), but the Queen plants a medallion stolen from Florestein on Arline. Florestein recognises the medallion and has her arrested. She is tried before the Count who recognises the scar left on her arm from the deer attack.


===Act 3===
===Act 3===
Line 63: Line 88:


==Musical numbers==
==Musical numbers==
{{col-begin}}
;Act 1
{{col-break}}
:1. "Up With the Banner, and Down tith the Slave"
Overture (one in A major for the 1843 production, and a completely different one in C major for the 1867 Paris production conducted by [[Jules Pasdeloup]])

'''Act 1'''
:1. "Up with the Banner, and Down with the Slave"
:2. "'Tis Sad to Leave Our Fatherland"
:2. "'Tis Sad to Leave Our Fatherland"
:3. "In the Gypsy's Life"
:3. "In the Gypsy's Life"
:4. "Is No Succour Near at Hand?"
:4. "Is No Succour Near at Hand?"
:5. "Down with the Daring Slave"
:5. "Down with the Daring Slave"
:6. "What Sound Breaks on the Ear?"
:6. "What Sound Breaks on the Ear?"
:7. "Follow, Follow"
:7. "Follow, Follow"


;Act II
'''Act 2'''
:8. "Silence, Silence"
:8. "Silence, Silence"
:9. "Wine, Wine!"
:9. "Wine, Wine!"
:10. "I Dreamt I Dwelt in Marble Halls"
:10. "I Dreamt I Dwelt in Marble Halls"
:11. "The Secret of Her Birth"
:11. "The Secret of Her Birth"
{{col-break}}
:12. "Happy and Light of Heart Are Those"
:12. "Happy and Light of Heart Are Those"
:13. "'Tis Gone, the Past Was All a Dream"
:13. "'Tis Gone, the Past Was All a Dream"
Line 82: Line 112:
:15. "Life Itself Is, at the Best"
:15. "Life Itself Is, at the Best"
:16. "To the Hall!"
:16. "To the Hall!"
:17. "That Grief May Call Its Own"
:17. "The Heart Bow'd Down"
:18. "Hold! Hold! We Cannot Give the Life We Take"
:18. "Hold! Hold! We Cannot Give the Life We Take"


;Act III
'''Act 3'''
:18. "You'll Remember Me"
:19. "When Other Lips" (otherwise known as "Then You'll Remember Me")
:19. "Through All the World Thou Wilt Fly, My Love"
:20. "Through the World Wilt Thou Fly, Love"
:20. Welcome to the Present"
:21. "Welcome the Present"
:21. "Oh, What Full Delight"
:22. "Oh, What Full Delight"
{{col-end}}


==Film versions==
==Film versions==
A [[silent movie]] version was made in [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|Britain]] in [[1922 in film|1922]]. The great [[Ellen Terry]], much better known as a stage actress, made her last screen appearance as Buda the [[nursemaid]]. [[Ivor Novello]] plays Thaddeus, [[Gladys Cooper]] plays Arline, and [[C. Aubrey Smith]] plays Devilshoof.
A [[silent movie]] version was made in Britain [[The Bohemian Girl (1922 film)|in 1922]]. [[Ellen Terry]], much better known as a stage actress, made her last screen appearance as Buda the [[nursemaid]]. [[Ivor Novello]] plays Thaddeus, [[Gladys Cooper]] plays Arline, and [[C. Aubrey Smith]] plays Devilshoof.


An early sound version was filmed in Britain in 1927, starring ''Pauline Johnson'' as ''Arline'' and ''Herbert Langley'' as ''Thaddeus''.
An early sound [[short subject]] version of the opera was filmed in Britain in 1927, starring [[Pauline Johnson (actress)|Pauline Johnson]] as Arline and [[Herbert Langley]] as Thaddeus.


[[The Bohemian Girl (1936 film)|The best-known version]] is undoubtedly the 1936 full-length [[Laurel and Hardy]] film, described in the opening credits as "A Comedy Version of The Bohemian Girl". The characters played by Laurel and Hardy do not appear in the stage opera, nor does Thaddeus appear in the film.
{{main|The Bohemian Girl (1936 film)}}
The best known version is undoubtedly the [[Laurel and Hardy]] film, described in the opening credits as "A Comedy Version of The Bohemian Girl". The characters played by Laurel and Hardy do not appear in the stage opera, nor does Thaddeus appear in the film.


''La gitanilla'' itself has been filmed three times, but never in English.
==Literary references==
''The Bohemian Girl'' is mentioned in the short stories ''[[Clay (short story)|Clay]]'' and ''[[Eveline]]'' by [[James Joyce]] which are both parts of ''Dubliners'' <ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Joyce#Dubliners Dubliners, James Joyce]</ref>
. In ''Clay'', the character Maria sings some lines from "I dreamt I dwelt in marble halls." This aria is also quoted in Joyce's novel ''[[Finnegan's Wake]]''.


==Other references==
[[Willa Cather]] has also referenced the work. One of her short stories, entitled ''[[The Bohemian Girl (short story)|The Bohemian Girl]]'', incorporates quotes from some of the arias (again including "I dreamt I dwelt in marble halls"). The plot of the story also has some substantial parallels to the original.
''The Bohemian Girl'' is mentioned in the short stories "[[Clay (short story)|Clay]]" and "[[Eveline (short story)|Eveline]]" by [[James Joyce]] which are both parts of ''[[Dubliners]]''. In "Clay", the character Maria sings some lines from "I Dreamt I Dwelt in Marble Halls". The aria is quoted again in Joyce's novel ''[[Finnegans Wake]]''.


In the [[P.G. Wodehouse]] short story ‘Without The Option’ Oliver Randolph Sipperley, mainly referred to by [[Bertram Wooster]] as ‘Sippy’, greets Wooster with the quote ‘the heart bowed down by weight of woe to weakest hope will cling.’
==Notes==

{{reflist}}
[[George Orwell]] recalls ‘a little poem’ he wrote in his [[essay]] ‘Why I Write’. The poem's final verse runs:
I dreamt I dwelt in marble halls,
And woke to find it true ...

[[Booth Tarkington]] mentions the opera, though not by name, in ''[[The Two Vanrevels]]'', and quotes a line of the aria "I Dreamt I Dwelt in Marble Halls".

The opera is mentioned, and the aria is referred to several times, in the novel ''[[Dragonwyck (novel)|Dragonwyck]]'', by [[Anya Seton]], set in 1844. The song also appears in the movie version of the book.

[[Willa Cather]] has referenced the work. One of her short stories, entitled "[[The Bohemian Girl (short story)|The Bohemian Girl]]", incorporates quotes from some of the arias (again including "I Dreamt I Dwelt in Marble Halls"). The plot of the story also has some substantial parallels to the original.

The aria "I Dreamt I Dwelt in Marble Halls" is sung in the film ''[[The Age of Innocence (1993 film)|The Age of Innocence]]''. The aria was played and sung by the character Clementina Cavendish in the 1998 film ''[[The Governess]]''.

The opera is mentioned in ''[[Gone With the Wind (novel)|Gone with the Wind]]'' when Melanie heads the Saturday Night Music Circle in [[Atlanta]].

==Recordings==
Several recordings exist of "I Dreamt I Dwelt in Marble Halls"; one is included on Sutherland's compilation disc ''La Stupenda''. Sutherland's husband, conductor [[Richard Bonynge]], recorded a complete version of ''The Bohemian Girl'' with his protégée, Nova Thomas, singing the title role. It is one of the only complete recordings of the entire opera and still in print via [http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/album.jsp?album_id=170449 ArkivMusic] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121004055826/http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/album.jsp?album_id=170449 |date=2012-10-04 }}.

'''Balfe: ''The Bohemian Girl''''', [[National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland]], [[RTÉ Philharmonic Choir]]
* Conductor: [[Richard Bonynge]]
* Principal singers: Nova Thomas (Arline), [[Patrick Power (tenor)|Patrick Power]] (Thaddeus), [[Jonathan Summers]] (Count Arnheim), [[Bernadette Cullen]] (Queen of the Gipsies), John del Carlo (Devilshoof), Timothy German (Florestein)
* Recording date and location: January 1991, [[National Concert Hall]], Dublin
* Label: [[Argo Records (UK)|Argo]], 433 324-2 (2 CDs)

[[Arthur Fiedler]] and the [[Boston Pops Orchestra]] recorded the opera's overture for [[RCA Victor]] in 1958 for an album titled ''Boston Tea Party''. It was released on LP in stereo, and later reissued on CD.


==References==
==References==
'''Notes'''
*[http://www.amadeusonline.net/almanacco.php?Start=0&Giorno=27&Mese=11&Anno=1843&Giornata=&Testo=&Parola=Stringa Amadeus Almanac, accessed 13 August 2008]
{{reflist}}
*[http://cather.unl.edu/scholarship/mt/Winter2002/bohemian.html Article about the opera]
'''Sources'''
*[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0012958/ IMDB Information about the 1922 film]
*{{Almanacco|dmy=27-11-1843|match=The Bohemian Girl}}
*[https://archive.org/stream/cu31924021747781#page/n245/mode/2up Barrett, William Alexander, ''Balfe: His Life and Work'', London, Remington, 1882]
*[https://books.google.com/books?id=D8kDAAAAQAAJ&dq=the+bohemian+girl&pg=PA3 Bunn, Alfred, ''The Bohemian Girl'' (original libretto). London: W.S. Johnson, 1843] on books.google.it
*Burton, Nigel, ''The Bohemian Girl'', in Sadie, Stanley (ed.), ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'' (Vol. 1, pp.&nbsp;521–522), London: Macmillan Press, 1992. {{ISBN|0-333-48552-1}}
*D'Erme, Elisabetta: 'Michael William Balfe e La Zingara', ''Atti'', vol. xlii (Rovinj, 2012), pp.&nbsp;397–447 (online at [http://hrcak.srce.hr/index.php?show=clanak&id_clanak_jezik=201018 Hrčak (Portal of Scientific Journals of Croatia)], accessed 31 January 2017)
*[http://cather.unl.edu/mt.wtr02.07.html Hancock, Tom, "UNL to Revive Influential ''Bohemian Girl''" on cather.unl.edu, University of Nebraska-Lincoln] Retrieved 19 August 2012
*[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0012958/ IMDB: Information about the 1922 film]
*Loewenberg, Alfred, ''Annals of Opera 1597-1940'', Cambridge: W. Heffer & Sons, 1943, 3rd edition, London: John Calder, 1978. {{ISBN|0-7145-3657-1}}
*Walsh, Basil, ''Michael W. Balfe, A Unique Victorian Composer'', Dublin: Irish Academic Press Ltd., 2010 {{ISBN|0716529483}} {{ISBN|0-7165-2948-3}}


==External links==
==External links==
*[http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/dgkeysearchresult.cfm?parent_id=142242&word= Photos from ''The Bohemian Girl'']
*[http://home.earthlink.net/~markdlew/lib/bohgirl The libretto of the opera]
*[http://www.britishandirishworld.com/ Biography of Balfe with information about the opera]


{{Commons category|The Bohemian Girl}}
{{wikisource|The Bohemian Girl (Bunn)|The Bohemian Girl}}
* [https://imslp.org/wiki/The_Bohemian_Girl_(Balfe%2C_Michael_William) "The Bohemian Girl"] : Scores at the [[International Music Score Library Project]]" (IMSLP)
* [http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/dgkeysearchresult.cfm?parent_id=142242&word= Photos from ''The Bohemian Girl'']
* [http://home.earthlink.net/~markdlew/lib/bohgirl The libretto of the opera]
* [http://www.britishandirishworld.com/ Biography of Balfe with information about the opera]
* Sheet music for [http://purl.lib.ua.edu/5776 "Come with the gipsy bride; Heart bowed down"], Birmingham, AL: Cawthon & McIntosh, from the [http://purl.lib.ua.edu/18444 Alabama Sheet Music Collection]

{{Michael William Balfe}}
{{Authority control}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Bohemian Girl, The}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bohemian Girl, The}}
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[[Category:Operas]]
[[Category:Operas]]
[[Category:1843 operas]]
[[Category:1843 operas]]
[[Category:Fictional representations of Romani people]]
[[Category:Works based on La gitanilla]]

Latest revision as of 11:31, 24 November 2024

For other uses, see The Bohemian Girl (disambiguation).
The Bohemian Girl
Irish Romantic opera by Michael William Balfe
Title page of the original libretto
LibrettistAlfred Bunn
LanguageEnglish
Based onLa gitanilla
by Miguel de Cervantes
Premiere
27 November 1843 (1843-11-27)
Drury Lane Theatre, London

The Bohemian Girl is an Irish Romantic opera composed by Michael William Balfe with a libretto by Alfred Bunn. The plot is loosely based on a Miguel de Cervantes' tale, La gitanilla.

The best-known aria from the piece is "I Dreamt I Dwelt in Marble Halls" in which the main character, Arline, describes her vague memories of her childhood. It has been recorded by many artists, most famously by Dame Joan Sutherland, and also by the Norwegian soprano Sissel Kyrkjebø and Irish singer Enya.

Performance history

[edit]

The opera was first produced in London at the Drury Lane Theatre on 27 November 1843. The production ran for more than 100 nights and enjoyed many revivals worldwide including: New York City (25 November 1844), Dublin (1844) and Philadelphia (1844).[1]

Several versions in different languages were also staged during Balfe's lifetime. The German version, Die Zigeunerin, premiered in Vienna in 1846, the Italian adaptation and translation, titled La zingara, was originally staged in Trieste in 1854, and finally a four-act French version, La Bohémienne, was mounted in Rouen in 1862, conducted by composer Jules Massenet, then aged only 20, and with the celebrated mezzo-soprano Célestine Galli-Marié in the role of the Gypsy Queen. If Die Zigeunerin enjoyed fairly widespread circulation in the countries of German language or culture, La zingara was often revived also in English-speaking cities, such as London, Dublin, New York, Boston and San Francisco.[2] The very successful 1858 run of La zingara at Her Majesty's Theatre in London, for which Balfe was rewarded with an extra cheque for fifty pounds, starred Marietta Piccolomini, Marietta Alboni and Antonio Giuglini.[3]

The opera "remained in the repertories of British touring companies until the 1930s and was revived in 1932 at Sadler's Wells".[4] Since World War II, it has been staged in a production by Dennis Arundell at Covent Garden in 1951 with Beecham conducting and a cast consisting of Roberta Peters, Anthony Marlowe, Jess Walters, Edith Coates, Howell Glynne and Murray Dickie,[5] by the Belfast Operatic Society at the 1978 Waterford International Festival of Light Opera, in Ireland,[6] by Castleward Opera, Strangford, in Northern Ireland in 2006 and by Opera South, Haslemere, in England in 2008.[7]

Roles

[edit]
Title page of a French printed score (1869)
Role Voice type Premiere cast, 27 November 1843[8]
(Conductor: Michael William Balfe )
Arline, daughter of Count Arnheim soprano Miss Payne (Act 1);
Elizabeth Rainforth (Acts 2–3)
Thaddeus, a Polish fugitive tenor William Harrison
Count Arnheim baritone Conrado Borrani[9]
Queen of the Gypsies contralto Abigail Elizabeth Betts
Devilshoof, chief of the gypsies bass George Stretton
Florestein, nephew of the Count tenor James Hudson
Buda, Arline's attendant soprano Miss Payne
Captain of the Guard bass Howell
Officer tenor John Binge
First Gypsy Birt
Second Gypsy T. Ridgway

Synopsis

[edit]

Act 1

[edit]

A Polish noble, Thaddeus, in exile in Austria, joins a band of gypsies. He saves Arline, the infant daughter of Count Arnheim, from being killed by a deer. The count, in gratitude, invites him to a banquet, where Thaddeus refuses to toast a statue of the Austrian Emperor, instead splashing it with wine, and escapes from his enraged host with the help of his gypsy friend Devilshoof, who kidnaps Arline.

Act 2

[edit]

Twelve years have elapsed. Arline can only vaguely remember her noble upbringing. She and Thaddeus are sweethearts, but the Gypsy Queen is also in love with him. Arnheim's nephew Florestein falls in love with Arline (not recognising her), but the Queen plants a medallion stolen from Florestein on Arline. Florestein recognises the medallion and has her arrested. She is tried before the Count who recognises the scar left on her arm from the deer attack.

Act 3

[edit]

Arline is at a ball in her father's castle, where she feels nostalgic for her Romany upbringing and for her true love. Thaddeus breaks into the castle through a window and pleads for her hand. He eventually wins the trust of the count whom he insulted twelve years ago, and the Count gives them his blessing. The Gypsy Queen stalks Thaddeus to the castle and tries to break in through the same window to kill Arline with a musket and kidnap Thaddeus. Before she can execute her plan, however, Devilshoof tries to wrest the weapon from her hands and she is accidentally killed in the scuffle.

Musical numbers

[edit]

Film versions

[edit]

A silent movie version was made in Britain in 1922. Ellen Terry, much better known as a stage actress, made her last screen appearance as Buda the nursemaid. Ivor Novello plays Thaddeus, Gladys Cooper plays Arline, and C. Aubrey Smith plays Devilshoof.

An early sound short subject version of the opera was filmed in Britain in 1927, starring Pauline Johnson as Arline and Herbert Langley as Thaddeus.

The best-known version is undoubtedly the 1936 full-length Laurel and Hardy film, described in the opening credits as "A Comedy Version of The Bohemian Girl". The characters played by Laurel and Hardy do not appear in the stage opera, nor does Thaddeus appear in the film.

La gitanilla itself has been filmed three times, but never in English.

Other references

[edit]

The Bohemian Girl is mentioned in the short stories "Clay" and "Eveline" by James Joyce which are both parts of Dubliners. In "Clay", the character Maria sings some lines from "I Dreamt I Dwelt in Marble Halls". The aria is quoted again in Joyce's novel Finnegans Wake.

In the P.G. Wodehouse short story ‘Without The Option’ Oliver Randolph Sipperley, mainly referred to by Bertram Wooster as ‘Sippy’, greets Wooster with the quote ‘the heart bowed down by weight of woe to weakest hope will cling.’

George Orwell recalls ‘a little poem’ he wrote in his essay ‘Why I Write’. The poem's final verse runs: I dreamt I dwelt in marble halls, And woke to find it true ...

Booth Tarkington mentions the opera, though not by name, in The Two Vanrevels, and quotes a line of the aria "I Dreamt I Dwelt in Marble Halls".

The opera is mentioned, and the aria is referred to several times, in the novel Dragonwyck, by Anya Seton, set in 1844. The song also appears in the movie version of the book.

Willa Cather has referenced the work. One of her short stories, entitled "The Bohemian Girl", incorporates quotes from some of the arias (again including "I Dreamt I Dwelt in Marble Halls"). The plot of the story also has some substantial parallels to the original.

The aria "I Dreamt I Dwelt in Marble Halls" is sung in the film The Age of Innocence. The aria was played and sung by the character Clementina Cavendish in the 1998 film The Governess.

The opera is mentioned in Gone with the Wind when Melanie heads the Saturday Night Music Circle in Atlanta.

Recordings

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Several recordings exist of "I Dreamt I Dwelt in Marble Halls"; one is included on Sutherland's compilation disc La Stupenda. Sutherland's husband, conductor Richard Bonynge, recorded a complete version of The Bohemian Girl with his protégée, Nova Thomas, singing the title role. It is one of the only complete recordings of the entire opera and still in print via ArkivMusic Archived 2012-10-04 at the Wayback Machine.

Balfe: The Bohemian Girl, National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, RTÉ Philharmonic Choir

Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops Orchestra recorded the opera's overture for RCA Victor in 1958 for an album titled Boston Tea Party. It was released on LP in stereo, and later reissued on CD.

References

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Notes

  1. ^ Loewenberg, columns 832-833. Loewenberg's listing of a production in Madrid on 9 April 1845 in an Italian translation by R. Paderni is evidently incorrect. No such performance can be traced, and D'Erme (see Sources) demonstrates that Roberto Paderni's Italian version was created for the Trieste production on 12 February 1854.
  2. ^ "Michael William Balfe" on britishandirishworld.com with detailed account of Balfe's life and work
  3. ^ Barrett, p. 229
  4. ^ Burton, p. 522
  5. ^ Harold Rosenthal. Covent Garden - The Bohemian Girl (August 15). Opera, October 1951, Vol.2 No.10, p598-600.
  6. ^ Actor Emer Gillespie on ulsteractors.com
  7. ^ Opera South shows on operasouth.co.uk Archived 2008-12-02 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ Bunn, p. 2
  9. ^ Italianate stage name of Conrad Boisragon (Lockwood, Graham (2011). "The Holst family contribution to Cheltenham music making in the 19th century" (PDF). Gloucestershire History. 25: 7–17. ("Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original on 2015-06-07. Retrieved 2015-06-06.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)).

Sources

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