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''The Light of the World'' is an oratorio composed in 1873 by Arthur Sullivan. Sullivan wrote the libretto with the assistance of George Grove, based on the New Testament. The story of the oratorio narrates the whole life of Christ, focusing on his deeds on Earth as preacher, healer and prophet. The oratorio was inspired by William Holman Hunt's popular 1853–54 painting, ''The Light of the World''. The work was first performed at the Birmingham Festival on 27 August 1873 and was the composer's second oratorio, the first being ''The Prodigal Son'' (1869). ==Background== Historian Michael Ainger suggests that the idea for the libretto of ''The Light of the World'' came to Sullivan when he viewed a chapel near Norwich, England, in September 1872. Composing the oratorio occupied Sullivan during much of 1873.〔Ainger, p. 102〕 Sullivan's introduction to the work says that, unlike Handel's ''Messiah'', which focuses on Christ's "spiritual idea", or J. S. Bach's Passion music, which focuses on Christ's suffering, the purpose of ''The Light of the World'' is to "set forth the human aspect of the life of our Lord on earth, exemplifying it by some of the actual incidents in his career, which bear specially upon His attributes of Preacher, Healer and Prophet." Sullivan made several visits to Birmingham to rehearse the chorus.〔''The Mercury'', Birmingham, 3 August 1895.〕 During the rehearsal period, Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh (a son of Queen Victoria), announced his engagement to the Grand Duchess Marie Alexandrovna of Russia, daughter of Tsar Alexander II. The Duke and Duchess married in 1874.〔Ainger, p.103〕 Sullivan was a friend of the Duke's, and upon learning of the betrothal, he sought and received permission to dedicate the oratorio to Grand Duchess Marie.〔(Introduction to ''The Light of the World'' ), ''The Gilbert and Sullivan Archive'', Retrieved on 1 July 2008〕 The Duke was present at the premiere at the Birmingham Festival on 27 August 1873.〔(Shepherd, Marc. "The Light of the World" (2003) at ''A Gilbert and Sullivan Discography ), accessed 11 June 2008〕 The soloists were Thérèse Tietjens, Zelia Trebelli-Bettini, John Sims Reeves and Charles Santley.〔("The Light of the World", ) ''The Musical World'', 30 August 1873, p. 584〕 As Sullivan appeared on the platform to conduct his new work, he was met with a "hearty and unanimous greeting.... The last outgrowth of his genius leaves far behind all that preceded it", reported ''The Times''.〔''The Times'', 28 August 1873〕 The President of the Festival, the Earl of Shrewsbury, publicly congratulated the composer at the end of the performance,〔 amidst the cheers of the audience.〔''The Manchester Guardian'', 23 November 1900〕 Sullivan was presented with a "handsome silver cup and a considerable sum of money" after the premiere, and he derived income from the sale of scores. Nevertheless, his earnings from the oratorio amounted to a small sum compared with the fortune that he would later make from composing the Savoy operas with W. S. Gilbert.〔 After its premiere in Birmingham, performances followed in other towns and cities. ''The Light of the World'' was widely performed throughout Great Britain and elsewhere during Sullivan's lifetime. Since then it has seldom been performed, and there is no professional recording of the oratorio.〔 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「The Light of the World (Sullivan)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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