- Date: 1910 -1914
- Composer: Ralph Vaughan Williams
- Period: Post-Romantic (1870-1909)
Review
While 1910 - 1914 is generally given as this work's gestation period, Vaughan Williams revised it -- as was his habit with most of his major compositions -- several times, the last being in 1956. He loved this two-act opera, but was never quite satisfied with it, disappointed that its lush melodies and brilliant vocal writing, imaginative scoring and charming folk manner never won over the British public, not to mention European or American audiences.Vaughan Williams called this a "ballad opera," owing to its folk-like nature, a mixture of folk tunes ("May Day Carol," "Toy Lambs," "Tuesday Morning," etc.) and the composer's original melodies in a folk vein. He had begun the study of folk music in 1903 and would eventually collect over 800 folk songs, arranging many and borrowing more than a few for various works.
The libretto is by Harold Child (1869 - 1945), its story set in the early nineteenth century (about 1812). Hugh arrives in town for the fair and falls in love with the beautiful Mary, whose father wants her to marry John the Butcher, the village bully. Hugh beats him in a boxing match to win her hand. Imprisoned as a French spy on charges made by John, Hugh is freed by Mary and elopes with her.
While the story is simple and the music folkish, it would be a mistake to judge the work as simple-minded or undistinguished. The score contains some of Vaughan Williams' most engaging music, in a mostly post-Romantic vein. The opening scene takes place at the fairgrounds, where various carnival peddlers sing their colorful songs ("Buy, Buy, Buy! Who'll Buy?" "Who'll Buy My Sweet Primroses?" and "Ballads! Buy My Ballads, Pretty Ballads!") in a fabric largely dominated by the chorus. In fact, this is one of the most choral-oriented operas of the twentieth century, the chorus a nearly ubiquitous element in the scoring. It is hardly surprising that Vaughan Williams, with the aid of Maurice Jacobson, drew a cantata from this opera (A Cotswold Romance), for chorus and three soloists.
Hugh's "Sweet Little Linnet That Longs To Be Free" is a lovely number, where he serenades Mary. Her touching song, "In The Night-time I Have Seen You Riding, Riding" divulges her feelings of love. The pivotal moment in this opera is the boxing match, the one scene that Vaughan Williams longed to put onto an operatic stage before deciding on this particular story. The numbers leading up to the fight -- "Who'll Fight? Who'll Fight? A Fight! Who's for a Fight?" and "Down, Down With John the Butcher!" are colorful and witty, though "Alone and Friendless, on This Foreign Ground I Am To Die" is haunting and introspective. The fight itself, "Are You Ready? Go!" is fast-moving and suspenseful, even if you know who's going to win. "Now You Are Mine" and "Halloo! Halloo, Mary and Hugh," the closing numbers, allow the lovers to sing gorgeous, unforgettable music. ~ Robert Cummings, All Music Guide
Albums with Complete Performances of the Work
| Title | Date |
| Hugh the Drover/The Wasps/Old King Cole | 1993 |
| Vaughan Williams: Hugh The Drover | 1995 |
| Vaughan Williams: Hugh The Drover | 1995 |
| Vaughan Williams: The Collector's Edition [Box Set] | 2008 |
