Ivanhoe, composed by Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan to the
libretto of Julian Sturgis (based on the novel by Sir Walter Scott) has
been traditionally cataloged as a failure, because D’Oyly
Carte’s Royal
English Opera Company, which produced it, went bankrupt as a result of
Ivanhoe closing. But this idea is really far too
simplistic, in light of the fact that it actually had, in only the first
five months of 1891, 155 performances, a poor record by the standards
of Sullivan’s collaborations with Gilbert, but a wild,
unheard-of success in terms of grand opera.
Here we present a selection of items related to Ivanhoe.
The text of a souvenir booklet that
was handed out at the one-hundredth performance, with the original illustrations
The original libretto, as published by
Chappell & Co. in 1891. As usual, this is not identical to the text
in the printed score; some of the differences clearly represent
deliberate changes for musical purposes, but in some cases, I suspect it
is to be preferred to the text presented in the 1891 Chappell & Co.
score. (I suppose only study of Sullivan’s manuscript and related
correspondence, if available, can truly resolve this sort of question.)
I have done my best to approximate, as well as HTML can manage it, the
chaotic typography of the original, which appears to have been carried
out on the assumption that Shakespeare’s First Folio exhibits
the very best the compositor’s art has to offer. However, I have
indicated a few distributed lines of verse when I felt quite certain of the
poet’s intent — the printed text has none at all — and
added some obviously missing punctuation, but only within lines intended to be
sung.
The following selections. They are not necessarily representative
of the work; with one exception, they are simply the pieces that I have
had occasion to transcribe over the last few years. (The Chappell score
has long been out of print, and my photocopy of it, what with the
19th-century engraving and the fairly small type, is
inconvenient for an accompanist to read.) In particular, no aria for
the title character is included; neither are any duets, trios, etc., nor
any arias for women, nor any mixed choruses. If I have time, perhaps I can
remedy these faults in the future. The piano arrangement is by Ernest
Ford, who was one of Ivanhoe’s conductors.