The Sapphire Necklace
Encyclopedia
The Sapphire Necklace, or the False Heiress (completed by 1867, and at least mostly completed by 1864), was the first opera composed by Arthur Sullivan
. It was never performed, and most of the music and libretto are now lost.
brought Arthur Sullivan early fame in 1862, he began to experiment with a wide variety of musical compositions. By 1864, he had written a ballet (L'Île Enchantée
), several hymns, a few piano solos, and some parlour ballads. He had also set to work on The Sapphire Necklace. As with some of his other compositions at this time, the libretto was provided by his friend Henry F. Chorley
. However, this libretto proved particularly difficult to set: Sullivan, later in life, would say that no other libretto had given him more difficulty, and contemporary sources suggest that he may have later decided to suppress the opera due to dislike of the libretto.
Despite these difficulties, the young Sullivan worked diligently at the piece during 1863 and 1864 and had a finished, four-act opera by 1867. However, he was unable to find anyone willing to produce it, aside from some selections performed at The Crystal Palace
. Despite this, Sullivan would go on to write a cantata
with Chorley (The Masque at Kenilworth
, 1864), and a few stand-alone songs including "The Long Day Closes
(1868)."
, arranged for military band by Charles Godfrey Jr. The overture proved popular and went on to appear in numerous further concerts. The overture, like many of Sullivan's early music, is in the style of Mendelssohn
and suggests that The Sapphire Necklace would have been a more serious work than the comic opera
s for which Sullivan later became known.
The two other songs, "Over the Roof" and a now-lost recitative and prayer, "Then come not yet," were less successful. Only the former went as far as publication, and neither would appear again at a major concert in Sullivan's lifetime. The madrigal, "When Love and Beauty to be Married," would be saved by the Victorian
love of parlour ballads, but the rest of the score, as well as the libretto, was lost. Sullivan sold the score to Metzler in 1878, but bought it back again in 1880 and would mention, in an 1897 letter to his secretary, Wilfred Bendall, having part of the score in front of him when composing Victoria and Merrie England
.
On 29 July 2000, an amateur performance of the surviving music and lyrics from the opera was given, with a new libretto by Scott Farrell, in Rockford, Illinois
. The plot of the libretto used in this performance concerns a peasant girl who inherits a sapphire necklace and becomes queen for a day under the terms of a legend. Sullivan music (including "The Long Day Closes
"), and Farrell's original music, was used to fill out the score. The libretto attempts to simulate the style of Sullivan's later collaborator, W. S. Gilbert
.
Arthur Sullivan
Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan MVO was an English composer of Irish and Italian ancestry. He is best known for his series of 14 operatic collaborations with the dramatist W. S. Gilbert, including such enduring works as H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado...
. It was never performed, and most of the music and libretto are now lost.
Background
After his incidental music to The TempestThe Tempest (Sullivan)
The Tempest incidental music, Op. 1, is a set of movements for Shakespeare's play composed by Arthur Sullivan in 1861 and expanded in 1862. This was Sullivan's first major piece of composition, and its success quickly brought him to the attention of the musical establishment in...
brought Arthur Sullivan early fame in 1862, he began to experiment with a wide variety of musical compositions. By 1864, he had written a ballet (L'Île Enchantée
L'Île Enchantée
L'Île Enchantée is an 1864 ballet by Arthur Sullivan written as a divertissement at the end of Vincenzo Bellini's La Sonnambula at Covent Garden. It was choreographed by H...
), several hymns, a few piano solos, and some parlour ballads. He had also set to work on The Sapphire Necklace. As with some of his other compositions at this time, the libretto was provided by his friend Henry F. Chorley
Henry Fothergill Chorley
Henry Fothergill Chorley was an English literary, art and music critic and editor. He was also an author of novels, drama, poetry and lyrics....
. However, this libretto proved particularly difficult to set: Sullivan, later in life, would say that no other libretto had given him more difficulty, and contemporary sources suggest that he may have later decided to suppress the opera due to dislike of the libretto.
Despite these difficulties, the young Sullivan worked diligently at the piece during 1863 and 1864 and had a finished, four-act opera by 1867. However, he was unable to find anyone willing to produce it, aside from some selections performed at The Crystal Palace
The Crystal Palace
The Crystal Palace was a cast-iron and glass building originally erected in Hyde Park, London, England, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. More than 14,000 exhibitors from around the world gathered in the Palace's of exhibition space to display examples of the latest technology developed in...
. Despite this, Sullivan would go on to write a cantata
Cantata
A cantata is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir....
with Chorley (The Masque at Kenilworth
The Masque at Kenilworth
Kenilworth, A Masque of the Days of Queen Elizabeth , is a cantata with music by Arthur Sullivan and words by Henry Fothergill Chorley that premiered at the Birmingham Festival on 8 September 1864.In 1575, Queen Elizabeth visited Robert Dudley at Kenilworth Castle, where he presented her with...
, 1864), and a few stand-alone songs including "The Long Day Closes
The Long Day Closes (song)
The Long Day Closes is a part song by Henry Fothergill Chorley and Arthur Sullivan published in 1868. This song is one of seven part songs that Sullivan published that year, and it became Sullivan's best-known part song. Sullivan wrote most of his twenty part songs prior to the beginning of his...
(1868)."
Surviving, known music and performances
On 13 April 1867, a selection of songs from the opera were performed at The Crystal PalaceThe Crystal Palace
The Crystal Palace was a cast-iron and glass building originally erected in Hyde Park, London, England, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. More than 14,000 exhibitors from around the world gathered in the Palace's of exhibition space to display examples of the latest technology developed in...
, arranged for military band by Charles Godfrey Jr. The overture proved popular and went on to appear in numerous further concerts. The overture, like many of Sullivan's early music, is in the style of Mendelssohn
Felix Mendelssohn
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Barthóldy , use the form 'Mendelssohn' and not 'Mendelssohn Bartholdy'. The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians gives ' Felix Mendelssohn' as the entry, with 'Mendelssohn' used in the body text...
and suggests that The Sapphire Necklace would have been a more serious work than the comic opera
Comic opera
Comic opera denotes a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending.Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a new operatic genre, opera buffa, emerged as an alternative to opera seria...
s for which Sullivan later became known.
The two other songs, "Over the Roof" and a now-lost recitative and prayer, "Then come not yet," were less successful. Only the former went as far as publication, and neither would appear again at a major concert in Sullivan's lifetime. The madrigal, "When Love and Beauty to be Married," would be saved by the Victorian
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
love of parlour ballads, but the rest of the score, as well as the libretto, was lost. Sullivan sold the score to Metzler in 1878, but bought it back again in 1880 and would mention, in an 1897 letter to his secretary, Wilfred Bendall, having part of the score in front of him when composing Victoria and Merrie England
Victoria and Merrie England
Victoria and Merrie England is an 1897 ballet by Arthur Sullivan, written to commemorate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee – a remarkable sixty years on the throne. The ballet became very popular and ran for nearly six months.-Background:...
.
On 29 July 2000, an amateur performance of the surviving music and lyrics from the opera was given, with a new libretto by Scott Farrell, in Rockford, Illinois
Rockford, Illinois
Rockford is a mid-sized city located on both banks of the Rock River in far northern Illinois. Often referred to as "The Forest City", Rockford is the county seat of Winnebago County, Illinois, USA. As reported in the 2010 U.S. census, the city was home to 152,871 people, the third most populated...
. The plot of the libretto used in this performance concerns a peasant girl who inherits a sapphire necklace and becomes queen for a day under the terms of a legend. Sullivan music (including "The Long Day Closes
The Long Day Closes (song)
The Long Day Closes is a part song by Henry Fothergill Chorley and Arthur Sullivan published in 1868. This song is one of seven part songs that Sullivan published that year, and it became Sullivan's best-known part song. Sullivan wrote most of his twenty part songs prior to the beginning of his...
"), and Farrell's original music, was used to fill out the score. The libretto attempts to simulate the style of Sullivan's later collaborator, W. S. Gilbert
W. S. Gilbert
Sir William Schwenck Gilbert was an English dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for his fourteen comic operas produced in collaboration with the composer Sir Arthur Sullivan, of which the most famous include H.M.S...
.
Surviving Lyrics
When Love and Beauty (Madrigal)
(With Sullivan's repeats eliminated)- When Love and Beauty to be married go,
- Pheobus, without a cloud,
- Smiles on the pair.
- Though rose-buds pant and blow,
- The birds all sing aloud,
- Tumultuous Boreas, whom the cedars bowed,
- Tamed, like wane of gentle song doth flow,
- Saying, till Echo doth repeat the sound,
- "May all who wed in truth with happiness be crown'd."
- It is not wealth and state that smooth the way,
- Nor bid the desert bloom,
- The ploughman at his furrow can be gay,
- The weaver at his loom.
- Where Honour's Lord content his wife hath room,
- And hearts keep light if heads are gray,
- Singing, till Echo doth repeat the sound,
- "May all who wed in truth with happiness be crown'd."
Over the Roof
- Over the roof and over the wall,
- Grow, grow, the jessamine grow.
- For ever and ever more white and tall
- (No matter the dwelling be high or low!)
- For yet palace be lofty and moat be wide
- And mailed the bridge and lordly the towers,
- There love can prevail over pomp and pride
- Like the cherished beauty of those sweet flowers!
- Love, love, love.
- Love will not alter under the sun
- While the woods grow and the waters run!
- Down by the meadow, down to the sea
- (Flow, flow, the river will flow)
- The turf may be green, or wither'd the tree
- (But the heat is the same on the cobble below.)
- For whatever the season around that deep stream,
- Be it snow-white winter or summer hot,
- There is love, tho' a wand'rer as some might dream
- Who passes and passes, yet changes not.
- Ah! Love, love, love.
- Love will be master under the sun
- While the wood grows and the waters run!
Recordings
- 1972 – Fulham Light Operatic Society recorded the two surviving vocal numbers, "When love and beauty" and "Over the roof", as bonus tracks on their world premiere recording of Sullivan's The ZooThe ZooThe Zoo is a one-act comic opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by B. C. Stephenson, writing under the pen name of Bolton Rowe. It premiered on 5 June 1875 at the St. James's Theatre in London , concluding its run five weeks later, on 9 July 1875, at the Haymarket Theatre...
. - 1992 – RTÉ Concert Orchestra of Dublin (Andrew Penny, conductor), recorded a reconstruction of the overture by Sullivan scholar Roderick Spencer.
- 1993 – Gregg Smith SingersGregg Smith SingersThe Gregg Smith Singers is a mixed chorus from the United States, directed by Gregg Smith . The group, which comprises 16 singers, was founded at an all-Japanese Methodist church in West Los Angeles, California in 1955, while Smith was studying for his master's degree in music at the University of...
recorded "When love and beauty," a CD called Madrigals — and All That Jazz on the Newport Classic label, NPD 85524. The disc also includes a doo-wop version of the number. - 2000 – Alderley Singers & Festival Orchestra (Peter England, conductor) recorded both of the surviving vocal numbers together with other "forgotten" items by Sullivan and Michael William BalfeMichael William BalfeMichael William Balfe was an Irish composer, best-remembered for his opera The Bohemian Girl.After a short career as a violinist, Balfe pursued an operatic singing career, while he began to compose. In a career spanning more than 40 years, he composed 38 operas, almost 250 songs and other works...
.