Macfarren - The Soldier’s Legacy | Retrospect Opera RO009

Macfarren - The Soldier’s Legacy

£14.49

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Label: Retrospect Opera

Cat No: RO009

Format: CD

Number of Discs: 1

Genre: Opera

Release Date: 16th December 2022

Contents

Artists

Rachel Speirs (soprano)
Gaynor Keeble (mezzo-soprano)
Joseph Doody (tenor)
Quentin Hayes (baritone)
Jonathan Fischer (piano)
Edward Dean (harmonium)

Works

Macfarren, George

The Soldier's Legacy

Artists

Rachel Speirs (soprano)
Gaynor Keeble (mezzo-soprano)
Joseph Doody (tenor)
Quentin Hayes (baritone)
Jonathan Fischer (piano)
Edward Dean (harmonium)

About

George Alexander Macfarren (1813–1887) was, in the words of British music specialist Nicholas Temperley, ‘the pioneer of English musical nationalism’, and The Soldier’s Legacy of 1864 ‘his most thoroughgoing nationalist opera’. While his British contemporaries were still, very consciously, seeking out and absorbing influences from Italian, German, and French Romantic opera, Macfarren, equally consciously, sought to create a truly English style of opera inspired by folksong.

The Soldier’s Legacy is a delightful rural comedy for four singers with an exceptionally localised setting in and around Tutbury, Staffordshire, in 1814. Jack Weatherall, a hussar, returns from the Napoleonic wars seeking to fulfil a promise he made to his dying friend Dick Firebrand. Little does he know that his act of kindness will bring him the ultimate reward: a loving wife. The libretto unfolds naturally into a sparkling series of musical numbers, all imbued with the flavour of folk music. Contemporary reviews were extremely positive; The Era reported a ‘triumphant success’ and noted: ‘Of Mr Macfarren’s music it may be most truthfully said, that had he given to the world nothing but this charming composition, it would have been alone sufficient to proclaim him an honour as a musician to any country.’

Founded in 2014, Retrospect Opera, an energetic independent recording company and charity devoted to reviving significant British operas prior to 1945, recorded this exquisite opera in 2021.

Cast:
- Lotty: Rachel Speirs (soprano)
- Widow Wantley: Gaynor Keeble (mezzo-soprano)
- Jack Weatherall: Joseph Doody (tenor)
- Christopher Caracole: Quentin Hayes (baritone)

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