Grammy Awards Countdown: A Victorian Connection

As we passed the 2011 Grammy Awards, there is an important connection to the Victorian era.  Sir Arthur Sullivan (of Gilbert and Sullivan fame) wrote one grand opera in his life.  This opera, Ivanhoe, has seen its share of performances, but has remained in relative obscurity to the opera world at large.  That being said, an important new recording was produced, sponsored by the Sir Arthur Sullivan Society in the UK.  Published on the Chandros label, and with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, top-level soloists and the choruses sung by the Adrian Partington Singers, this Ivanhoe recording, I hear, is considered the premiere recording of the work.  Apparently, those that are truly in the know have agreed with this assessment, as this recording was nominated for the Grammy Award in the "Best Opera Recording" category.  Although up against stiff competition, even being nominated has been huge in the realm of G&S enthusiasts, and more generally Victorian music enthusiasts.

As the Awards have passed, I can say that the recording did NOT win.  However, it still was a wonderful exposure for a lesser known opera written during the Victorian era.  Not much in the way of grand opera came out of England (as we have read, there was a strong love still for everything Italian and German in nature, but not much made in the native tongue) during this time.  Ivanhoe showed that there was indeed the ability to write quality opera among the composers of the UK.  Of course, British opera would truly reach its pinnacle under Benjamin Britten in the following century.  Sullivan, however, was given the opportunity to spread his compositional wings a bit and expand beyond his previous theatrical writing, which of course focused around the comic opera / operetta genre.

It is certainly a testament to the passion of the Sir Arthur Sullivan Society, that they went through the effort to put this project together.  The full score used was put together by conductor Robin Gordon-Powell, who has recently finished putting together a score for another lesser-known work, The Beauty Stone.  Word is that that work will be the next project recorded by the Society on the Chandros label.  Hopefully, it will meet with similar success.