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''Haddon Hall'' is an English light opera with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by Sydney Grundy. The opera, set at the eponymous hall, dramatises the legend of Dorothy Vernon's elopement with John Manners, resetting the tale in the 17th century. It premiered at the Savoy Theatre on September 24, 1892 for a modestly successful run of 204 performances. The piece was popular with amateur theatre groups, particularly in Britain, through the 1920s, but it has been produced only sporadically since then.〔Bond, Ian. ("Rarely Performed Shows" ). St. David's Players, accessed 22 July 2010〕 ==Background== When the Gilbert and Sullivan partnership disbanded after the production of ''The Gondoliers'' in 1889, impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte endeavored to find a new collaborator with whom Sullivan could write comic operas for the Savoy Theatre. Grundy was familiar to Carte, having written ''The Vicar of Bray'' in 1882 with Carte's friend Edward Solomon, and also from his many English adaptations of French works. While a modest success, ''Haddon Hall'' was far less successful than Sullivan's earlier Savoy Operas with W. S. Gilbert, and Sullivan did not write any further operas with Grundy. ''Haddon Hall'' is a dramatisation of a nineteenth century legend: Dorothy Vernon's elopement in 1563 with John Manners, son of Thomas Manners, 1st Earl of Rutland.〔The story was first set forth in Allan Cunningham's ''The King of the Peak'', written in 1822 (accessible online (here )). An 1850 poem by John Henry Manners (the 5th Duke of Rutland) about the incident is published in David Trutt's 2007 book, (''Poems of Haddon Hall'' ).〕 For the opera, Grundy moved the story forward to about 1660, adding the conflict between the Royalists and the Roundheads as a backdrop to the plot. The opening night cast included such Savoy Theatre favorites as Courtice Pounds as John Manners, Charles Kenningham as Oswald, Rutland Barrington as Rupert Vernon, W. H. Denny as The Mccrankie, Rosina Brandram as Lady Vernon, and Florence Easton as Deborah (later playing Dorothy Vernon). John D'Auban choreographed the production.〔Theatre programme, Savoy Theatre, September 1892〕 Although the story has its comic episodes, the work's tone is considerably more serious than Savoy audiences were accustomed to. Most of the comedy is derived from satiric swipes at the hypocritical Puritans who arrive with Rupert Vernon. Among them is a comic Scotsman, "The McCrankie." The (original review ) in the ''Times'' observed: :Whether from the impression that even thus the comic element needed strengthening, or from the very natural desire to provide a good part for Mr. Denny, the author has introduced, in the M'Crankie, a figure which, though wholly unnecessary to the development of the plot, and in his surprising mixture of Scottish characteristics scarcely credible in any period, will probably have as much to say to the success of the new piece as any of the characters. It is true that the absurdities of the part would be more acceptable in one of the frankly extravagant inventions of the older librettist than in a more professedly historical, and one which presents in all other respects, faithful pictures of the place and period chosen. The piece followed Sullivan's only grand opera, ''Ivanhoe'' (1891), and in the score, one can hear some complex writing, rich in chromaticism. A recording of the piece was made in 2000.〔(Information about the 2000 recording from the G&S Discography )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Haddon Hall (opera)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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