MERRIE ENGLAND

Music by Edward German: Book and Lyrics by Basil Hood

Savoy Theatre, London - 2 April, 1902

Revised version by Dennis Arundell - Sadler's Wells, 10 August, 1960

Jill-all-Alone

THE STORY

(Elizabethan England)

This well known comic opera is set in the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1. The famous courtier, Sir Waiter Raleigh, loves Bessie Throckmorton, one of the Queen's Ladies in Waiting. Bessie is frightened that a misplaced letter from Raleigh will fail into the hands of the Queen, who would be displeased at the association. Raleigh's rival, the Earl of Essex, is given the letter by Jill-All-Alone, who is persecuted by the local people who think she is a witch. A forester begs the Queen to protect Jill. However, when Essex hands Elizabeth the letter, the Queen is so incensed that she orders Bessie's imprisonment, Raleigh's banishment and Jill's death by burning. Elizabeth retracts each sentence when Essex halts a threat to her life through his exposure of Dr Lopez, the Queen's Portuguese physician, who is planning to poison her. This adaptation was first seen at Sadlers' Wells in 1960 and has the effect of increasing the dramatic realism and allowing the music to give greater unity. The original version is available if required.

PRINCIPAL CHARACTERS (plus Chorus)

• Sir Walter Raleigh
• Earl of Essex
• Queen Elizabeth I
• Bessie Throckmorton
• Walter Wilkins
• Dr Lopez

PRINCIPAL MUSICAL NUMBER

1. The Yeomen of England (Essex, Chorus)
2. She Had A Letter From Her Love (Bessie)
3. Love Is Meant To Make Us Glad (Quintet)
4. O Peaceful England (Elizabeth, Chorus)
5. The English Rose (Raleigh)
6. It Is The Merry Month of May (Jill, Raleigh)

Essex looks on as Long Tom instructs Walter Wilkins on the ceremony for the arrival of Queen Elizabeth I

And the Dragon will come when it hears the drum at a minute or two to two!

INSTRUMENTATION (Total number of books=16)

2 Violins I ; 1 Violin II ; 1 Viola ; 1 Cello ; 1 Double Bass ; 1 Flute/Piccs 1/II ; 1 Oboe ; 1 Clarinets I/II ; 1 Bassoons I/II ; 1 Horns I/II ; 1 Trumpets I/II ; 1 Trombones 1/II ; 1 Percussion ; 1 Harp ; 1 Conductor Score - annotated vocal score ;