''The Foresters or,
Robin Hood
Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is depic ...
and Maid Marian'' is a play written by
Alfred Tennyson and first produced with success in New York in 1892. A set of
incidental music
Incidental music is music in a play, television program, radio program, video game, or some other presentation form that is not primarily musical. The term is less frequently applied to film music, with such music being referred to instead as t ...
in nine movements was composed for the play by
Arthur Sullivan
Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan (13 May 1842 – 22 November 1900) was an English composer. He is best known for 14 comic opera, operatic Gilbert and Sullivan, collaborations with the dramatist W. S. Gilbert, including ''H.M.S. Pinaf ...
.
The success of the first production led to productions in seven other American cities. A production opened in London in 1893. Although the play was not well received in England, Sullivan's incidental music was praised.
The play
![Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson - Project Gutenberg eText 17768](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b1/Alfred_Tennyson%2C_1st_Baron_Tennyson_-_Project_Gutenberg_eText_17768.jpg)
Sullivan and Tennyson had worked together before, on a song cycle for
tenor
A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...
, ''
The Window'', written and composed in 1867–68, but not published until 1871. Sullivan and Tennyson did not find working together on ''The Window'' congenial and did not attempt work together again for over twenty years. Meanwhile, Tennyson had written a play, ''The Cup'', that was produced with success by
Henry Irving
Sir Henry Irving (6 February 1838 – 13 October 1905), christened John Henry Brodribb, sometimes known as J. H. Irving, was an English stage actor in the Victorian era, known as an actor-manager because he took complete responsibility ( ...
at the
Lyceum Theatre in 1881. Encouraged by this, Tennyson started work on a play based on the
Robin Hood
Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is depic ...
legend, completing it after a visit to
Sherwood Forest
Sherwood Forest is a royal forest in Nottinghamshire, England, famous because of its historic association with the legend of Robin Hood.
The area has been wooded since the end of the Last Glacial Period (as attested by pollen sampling cores ...
in October 1881. But Irving rejected the play on the grounds that it was not dramatic enough for his audiences at the Lyceum, who were accustomed to his sensational productions. Tennyson turned to other projects, setting ''The Foresters'' aside for several years. In 1888, American actress
Mary Anderson decided to produce ''The Cup''. Tennyson suggested that she also produce ''The Foresters'', but again the play was set aside. In 1891, however, Anderson's brother, Joseph wrote to the American impresario
Augustin Daly recommending that ''The Foresters'' would be a good project for him and his star actress
Ada Rehan
Ada Rehan (born Bidelia Crehan; June 12, 1857 – January 8, 1916) was an American actress and comedian who typified the "personality" style of acting in the nineteenth century.
Early life and career
She was born Bidelia Crehan in Limerick cit ...
. Daly was enthusiastic about the play and, by September 1891, agreed to arrange a New York production. By then, Tennyson was 82 years old.
[Eden, David and William Parry. Liner notes, 2004, The Sir Arthur Society, from the Hyperion recording of ''The Contrabandista''. CDA67486]
The text, consisting of a mixture of
blank verse and
prose
Prose is a form of written or spoken language that follows the natural flow of speech, uses a language's ordinary grammatical structures, or follows the conventions of formal academic writing. It differs from most traditional poetry, where the f ...
, contained songs and dances which Daly, at Tennyson's suggestion, approached Sullivan to compose. Daly made numerous changes to Tennyson's text, cutting dialogue, moving events from one act to another, and reassigning songs and dialogue to different characters. Henry Widmer, Daly's musical assistant, may have contributed some music to the score.
[Introduction to ''The Foresters'']
, The Gilbert and Sullivan Archive Sullivan completed the score by December 1891, and the play opened in New York on 17 March 1892. The piece starred Rehan as Marian and
John Drew Jr.
John Drew Jr. (November 13, 1853 – July 9, 1927), commonly known as John Drew during his life, was an American stage actor noted for his roles in Shakespearean comedy, society drama, and light comedies. He was the eldest son of John Drew S ...
as Robin. It was a hit
["Lord Tennyson's Play"]
''The New York Times'', 18 March 1892, accessed 22 September 2011 and was then played in seven other major American cities, becoming Tennyson's greatest theatrical success. A single performance of the play was given at the
Lyceum Theatre in London on the same day as the first New York performance to secure the British copyright.
[
An English production opened at the new Daly's Theatre, in London, on 3 October 1893, by which time the author had died. It starred Rehan and ]Arthur Bourchier
Arthur Bourchier (22 June 186314 September 1927) was an English actor and Actor-manager, theatre manager. He married and later divorced the actress Violet Vanbrugh.
Bourchier was noted for roles both in classical drama, particularly William S ...
. Despite the respect in which Lord Tennyson was held, the play received poor notices in London, being called "tedious" and compared with a nursery tale, and ran for only seventeen performances.[ Sullivan's music, by contrast, was initially well reviewed. The ]Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News
The ''Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News'' was a British weekly magazine founded in 1874 and published in London. In 1945 it changed its name to the ''Sport and Country'', and in 1957 to the ''Farm and Country'', before closing in 1970.
Hi ...
, for example, wrote that the songs were "set with rare taste, discrimination and melody by Sir Arthur Sullivan, whose delightful music gives charm and interest".[
Sullivan's biographers and scholars of his work have been unanimous in censuring Tennyson's text. ]Gervase Hughes
Gervase Alfred Booth Hughes (1 September 1905 – July 1984) was an English composer, conductor and writer on music. From 1926 to 1933, Hughes pursued a career as a conductor and chorus master, principally at the British National Opera Company, ...
wrote, "How did the author of ''The Idylls of the King
''Idylls of the King'', published between 1859 and 1885, is a Literature cycle, cycle of twelve narrative poems by the English poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809–1892; Poet Laureate from 1850) which retells the legend of King Arthur, his knig ...
'' come to put his name to such puerile rubbish?" Arthur Jacobs called the piece "perhaps the oddest of all the stage works which ullivanwas invited to undertake."[Jacobs, pp. 335–36] Percy Young scoffed, "Devoid of any kind of merit whatsoever."[Young, p. 194] But some of them did not warmly review Sullivan's score either: "One of Sullivan's lamest... resourceless in magic" (Young);[ " oteven one memorable number" (Jacobs).][ Recent critics, however, have praised Sullivan's contribution.
]
Roles and original cast
Original New York cast shown,[ with changes in London cast noted. Vocal ranges noted for roles that sing parts in the incidental music:
*King Richard, Coeur de Lion – ]George Clarke
George Clarke (7 May 1661 – 22 October 1736), of All Souls, Oxford, was an English architect, print collector and Tory politician who sat in the English and British House of Commons between 1702 and 1736.
Life
The son of Sir William Clarke ...
*Prince John – John Craig
*Robin Hood, ''Earl of Huntingdon'' – John Drew, Jr.
John Drew Jr. (November 13, 1853 – July 9, 1927), commonly known as John Drew during his life, was an American stage actor noted for his roles in Shakespearean comedy, society drama, and light comedies. He was the eldest son of John Drew S ...
(Arthur Bourchier
Arthur Bourchier (22 June 186314 September 1927) was an English actor and Actor-manager, theatre manager. He married and later divorced the actress Violet Vanbrugh.
Bourchier was noted for roles both in classical drama, particularly William S ...
in London)
*Sir Richard Lea – Charles Wheatleigh (Henry Loraine in London)
*The Abbot of St. Mary's – Thomas Bridgeland (Lloyd Lowndes in London)
*The Sheriff of Nottingham – Charles LeClercq
*A Justiciary – William Gilbert
*Walter Lea, ''Son of Sir Richard Lea'' – Ralph Nisbet (Robb Harwood in London)
*''Followers of Robin Hood:''
:Little John – Herbert Gresham
:Friar Tuck – Eugene Jepson (William Owen in London)
:Will Scarlet (tenor
A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...
) – Hobart Bosworth
Hobart Van Zandt Bosworth (August 11, 1867 – December 30, 1943) was an American film actor, director, writer, and producer.
Early life
Bosworth was born on August 11, 1867, in Marietta, Ohio. His father was a sea captain in the Civil Wa ...
:Old Much – Tyrone Power
Tyrone Edmund Power III (May 5, 1914 – November 15, 1958) was an American actor. From the 1930s to the 1950s, Power appeared in dozens of films, often in swashbuckler roles or romantic leads. His better-known films include '' Jesse James'', ...
(Sidney Herbert in London)
*Maid Marian, ''Daughter of Sir Richard Lea'' (mezzo-soprano
A mezzo-soprano or mezzo (; ; meaning "half soprano") is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A below middle C ...
) – Ada Rehan
Ada Rehan (born Bidelia Crehan; June 12, 1857 – January 8, 1916) was an American actress and comedian who typified the "personality" style of acting in the nineteenth century.
Early life and career
She was born Bidelia Crehan in Limerick cit ...
*Kate, ''Attendant on Marian'' (soprano
A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...
) – Kitty Cheatham
Catharine Smiley Cheatham (1864 – January 5, 1946) was an American singer, monologist, and actress.
Early life
Cheatham was born in Nashville, Tennessee in 1864. Her father, Richard Boone Cheatham, was a Tennessee politician who was the mayor ...
(Catherine Lewis in London)
*Titania (soprano) – Percy Haswell
Percy Haswell (April 30, 1871 – June 24, 1945), frequently billed as Miss Percy Haswell or Mrs. George Fawcett to clarify her gender, was an American stage and film actress.
Percy Haswell was born in Austin, Texas, the daughter of George Ty ...
*First Fairy (soprano) – Miss Massoni (Gaston Murray in London)
*Retainers, Messengers, Merry Men, Mercenaries, Friars, Beggars, Sailors, Peasants, etc.
Musical numbers
The nine musical numbers, with the opening lines of text for each, are as follows:
Act I ('The Bond' )
*Song sung by Kate, attendant to Maid Marian
Maid Marian is the heroine of the Robin Hood legend in English folklore, often taken to be his lover. She is not mentioned in the early, medieval versions of the legend, but was the subject of at least two plays by 1600. Her history and circums ...
:The warrior Earl of Allendale,
:He loved the Lady Anne;
:The lady loved the master well,
:The maid she loved the man.
*Song sung by Maid Marian
:Love flew in at the window,
:As Wealth walk'd in at the door.
:'You have come for you saw Wealth coming,' said I.
:But he flutter'd his wings with a sweet little cry,
:'I'll cleave to you rich or poor.'
*Chorus (drinking song)
:Long live Richard
Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Frankish language, Old Frankish and is a Compound (linguistics), compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' an ...
,
:Robin and Richard!
:Long live Richard!
:Down with John!
:Drink to the Lion-heart
:Every-one!
*Chorus riginally a solo for Robin Hood:To sleep! to sleep! The long bright day is done,
:And darkness rises from the fallen sun.
:To sleep! to sleep!
Act II ('The Flight of Marian')
*Song sung by Will Scarlet
Scarlet (also Scarlett, Scarlock, Scadlock, Scatheloke, Scathelocke and Shacklock) is a prominent member of Robin Hood's Merry Men. He is present in the earliest ballads along with Little John and Much the Miller's Son.
The confusion of surnam ...
riginally a chorus:There is no land like England,
:Where'er the light of day be;
:There are no hearts like English hearts,
:Such hearts of oak as they be.
*Scene for Titania and fairies
:Evil Fairy! do you hear?
:So he said who lieth here.
:We be fairies of the wood.
:We be neither bad nor good.
:Back and side and hip and rib,
:Nip, nip him for his fib.
Act III ('The Crowning of Marian')
*Song sung by Will Scarlet
:By all the deer that spring
:Thro' wood and lawn and ling,
:When all the leaves are green;
:By arrow and gray goosewing
Act IV ('The Conclusion')
*Song sung by Maid Marian
:The bee buzz'd up in the heat:
:'I am faint for your honey, my sweet.'
:The flower said, 'Take, it my dear,
:For now is the spring of the year.
:So come, come!'
:'Hum!'
:And the bee buzz'd down from the heat.
*Chorus and dance
:Now the King is home again, and nevermore to roam again.
:Now the King is home again, the King will have his own again,
:Home again, home again, and each will have his own again,
:All the birds in merry Sherwood sing and sing him home again.
Recording
A recording was made of the music in 2004 by the New London Orchestra, the London Chorus and soloists conducted by Ronald Corp. It is published on the Hyperion label. The Northamptonshire Theatre Orchestra and A La Carte & Friends performed the piece at the 2008 International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival
The International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival was founded in 1994 by Ian Smith and his son Neil and is held every summer in England. The two- or three-week Festival of Gilbert and Sullivan opera performances and fringe events attracts thousands ...
claiming that theirs was the first live performance with orchestra since the nineteenth century.[Theatre programme, Paxton Theatre, Buxton, August 2008]
Notes
References
*
*
*
External links
''The Foresters''
at The G&S Archive
Vocal score
at the IMSLP
at the G&S Discography
* ttp://www.lib.rochester.edu/CAMELOT/rh/forest.htm''The Foresters''at The Robin Hood Project of the University of Rochester
The University of Rochester (U of R, UR, or U of Rochester) is a private research university in Rochester, New York. The university grants undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional degrees.
The University of Roc ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Foresters, The
Compositions by Arthur Sullivan
1892 plays
Incidental music
1891 compositions
Robin Hood
Works by Alfred, Lord Tennyson