Arthur Sullivan & W.S.Gilbert - The Yeomen of the Guard (1993 Marriner recording) - No. 1. "Tower warders under orders", "Is life a boon", "I have a song to sing-O", "I've jibe and joke" (Kurt Streit, Thomas Allen, Anthony Michaels-Moore, Sylvia McNair)

"The Yeomen of the Guard" opened at the Savoy Theatre in London on October 3, 1888 to great (if not spectacular) acclaim by the audience; while the critics immediately recognized the importance of the new work. One reviewer commented on "...the new departure they have made, exchanging the wild extravagances of the past for an altogether soberer style of opera, approaching more closely than they have done before the old school". The opera is set in the Tower of London during the 16th century, and is the darkest, and perhaps most emotionally engaging, of the Savoy Operas, ending with a broken-hearted main character and two rather reluctant engagements, rather than the usual numerous marriages. The plot, in the simplest of terms, is as follows: Colonel Fairfax (tenor) is to be executed (for being an alchemist) at the Tower of London the same day as the piece begins to the common sorrow of Sergeant Meryll (bass-baritone), the head of the Yeomen, his daughter Phoebe (mezzo-soprano) and war hero/son, Leonard (tenor) who has arrived to the Tower to join the Yeomen. They hatch a plan to save him from break him out of prison by passing him off as Leonard. At the same time, Fairfax will lose his estate, if he dies unmarried. He asks if could get married to anyone and, in return, she will get a hundred crowns and become a widow within the hour. Jack Point (baritone) and Elsie Maynard (soprano) (who is loved by Jack), two strolling players, appear in the vicinity of the keep. Elsie is then asked to take part in the marriage and agrees: she is blindfolded and led away. Phoebe woos Wilfred (baritone), the head jailor, and gets the key to the cell door. It is soon time for the execution, but suddenly it is discovered that the prisoner's cell is empty. In Act Two Jack and Wilfred hatch a plan (which is successful): Wilfred swears that he shot Fairfax to allow Point to present the idea of marriage to Elsie. Fairfax realizes that the charming Elsie who he saw in the Act One finale was his bride. She enters and Fairfax decides to woo her in the guise of Leonard Meryll, much to the chagrin of Phoebe and Point. Left alone with Phoebe, Wilfred guesses the truth about Fairfax and blackmails the girl into agreeing to marry him. The close of the opera finds Elsie realizing that the man she loves is, in fact, the man she is married to, completely breaking Jack's heart. I've decided to post several of my personal selections from the work which, in my opinion, is a rather powerful piece in its' own right. But it is the listener who must decide it for himself or herself, if the work is successful :). A thorough libretto can be found here: http://www.karadar.com/Librettos/sullivan_YEOMEN.html No. 2 (noted are the order in which the pieces appear in the opera). Chorus & Arioso - "Tower warders under orders". To give a bit of an introduction to the piece, I've chosen the quite moving "lament" of the Yeomen who were once a powerful force but have since become nothing more than a purely symbolic unit. The chorus culminates in the simple solo of the Second Yeoman which is echoed by his comrades. This sorrowful song is contrasted by the simple folk's mocking chorus. No. 5. Cavatina - "Is life a boon". Fairfax's first solo, finding him philosophically treating the idea of death, is actually the second version of that song. Gilbert thought that Sullivan's first setting (in 6/8 time) was too similar to many of the other tenor ballads in the Savoy Operas, and he urged the composer to rewrite it. It forms a wonderful contrast to most of Sullivan's ballads, featuring a strikingly marital accompaniment, completely in accordance with Fairfax's nobleness, and a great, if slightly sentimental, text. No. 6. Duettino - "I have a song to sing, oh!". Sullivan had trouble setting one lyric in particular from the opera, "I have a song to sing, oh!", with its increasing length in each stanza. He asked Gilbert if he had anything in mind, and the latter hummed a few lines from a sea shanty, and Sullivan knew what to do. The two entertainers, in answer to the crowds quite aggressive demands, offer to perform the song of "The Merryman and his Maid": it tells of a lovelorn merryman who is jilted by a maiden in favor of an arrogant lord, but the latter rejects her, and returns on her knees to the merryman to beg for his love, and all ends happily (a quite wonderful ironic touch, as the opera deals with a complete reversal of thesituation). No. 8. Aria - "I've jibe and jock". This delightful aria for Point, accompanied by flourishes of the flute and the plucking of the strings, sums up his character nicely, in effect, it is his formal introduction to the audience and the Lieutenant. Here is a list of performers who appear in these selections: Kurt Streit - Colonel Fairfax, Thomas Allen Jack Point, Anthony Michaels-Moore - Second Yeoman, Sylvia McNair - Elsie Maynard. Hope youll enjoy :)!