Vaughan Williams, Ralph. (1872–1958) & Beecham, Thomas. (1879–1961). Hugh the Drover - Signed Program (1933). Signed program booklet (one folded sheet; 4 pp.) for two performances of Vaughan Williams's opera Hugh the Drover, Beecham conducting, as part of the "Jubilee Celebration" of the Royal College of Music, London, on June 16 and 17, 1933. First page signed in ink by both Vaughan Williams and Beecham. 9.5 x 7.5 inches (24 x 18.7 cm). Photocopied biographies (articles from an unidentified dictionary) on Vaughan Williams and Beecham pasted to the outside of the fold; two unidentified newspaper articles on Beecham from 1986 pasted to the inside fold; small photograph of Beecham pasted to first page as vignette next to his signature; blindstamps, "The Crawford Collection / Victor Crawford," to first page; handwritten note, "Victor D. Crawford Collection / 1981 June," to foot of final page; punch holes from earlier ring binding to second leaf. Otherwise in very good condition.
The Royal Conservatory of Music opened in 1883 and celebrated its fiftieth anniversary in 1933. The opera Hugh the Drover had been premiered in the same venue on July 4, 1924, and the present program identifies the singers of the original cast who repeated their roles.
Hugh the Drover (or Love in the Stocks) is set to an original English libretto by Harold Child. The work has set numbers with recitatives and has been described as a modern example of a ballad opera. Contemporary comment noted the use of humour and the role of the chorus in the work, in the context of developing English opera. According to Michael Kennedy, the composer took first inspiration for the opera from this question to Bruce Richmond, editor of The Times Literary Supplement, around 1909–1910: "I want to set a prize fight to music. Can you find someone to make a libretto for me?"
Vaughan Williams, Ralph. (1872–1958) & Beecham, Thomas. (1879–1961). Hugh the Drover - Signed Program (1933). Signed program booklet (one folded sheet; 4 pp.) for two performances of Vaughan Williams's opera Hugh the Drover, Beecham conducting, as part of the "Jubilee Celebration" of the Royal College of Music, London, on June 16 and 17, 1933. First page signed in ink by both Vaughan Williams and Beecham. 9.5 x 7.5 inches (24 x 18.7 cm). Photocopied biographies (articles from an unidentified dictionary) on Vaughan Williams and Beecham pasted to the outside of the fold; two unidentified newspaper articles on Beecham from 1986 pasted to the inside fold; small photograph of Beecham pasted to first page as vignette next to his signature; blindstamps, "The Crawford Collection / Victor Crawford," to first page; handwritten note, "Victor D. Crawford Collection / 1981 June," to foot of final page; punch holes from earlier ring binding to second leaf. Otherwise in very good condition.
The Royal Conservatory of Music opened in 1883 and celebrated its fiftieth anniversary in 1933. The opera Hugh the Drover had been premiered in the same venue on July 4, 1924, and the present program identifies the singers of the original cast who repeated their roles.
Hugh the Drover (or Love in the Stocks) is set to an original English libretto by Harold Child. The work has set numbers with recitatives and has been described as a modern example of a ballad opera. Contemporary comment noted the use of humour and the role of the chorus in the work, in the context of developing English opera. According to Michael Kennedy, the composer took first inspiration for the opera from this question to Bruce Richmond, editor of The Times Literary Supplement, around 1909–1910: "I want to set a prize fight to music. Can you find someone to make a libretto for me?"