- Noye's Fludde
-
Benjamin Britten 
Operas- Paul Bunyan (1941)
- Peter Grimes (1945)
- The Rape of Lucretia (1946)
- Albert Herring (1947)
- The Little Sweep (1949)
- Billy Budd (1951)
- Gloriana (1953)
- The Turn of the Screw (1954)
- Noye's Fludde (1958)
- A Midsummer Night's Dream (1960)
- Curlew River (1964)
- The Burning Fiery Furnace (1966)
- The Prodigal Son (1968)
- Owen Wingrave (1971)
- Death in Venice (1973)
Noye's Fludde (Noah's Flood) is an early 15th century mystery play from the Chester Mystery Cycle. It was set to music by Benjamin Britten in 1957 based on an edition by Alfred W. Pollard. Britten's opera, opus number 59, is written to be performed in a church or a large hall — but not in a theatre (Britten's request) — by a cast primarily of amateurs.
The orchestra calls for a small concertino ensemble of professionals consisting of string quintet, recorder, piano (four hands), organ, and timpani. The amateur ripieno orchestra calls for strings, recorders, bugles, hand-bells, and percussion. The audience, which Britten refers to as the "congregation", is invited to join in by singing along in the three hymns inserted into the original text.
The first performance was on 18 June 1958 in Orford Church, Suffolk, as part of the Aldeburgh Festival, with the English Opera Group and a local cast.
Contents
Performance history
Quickly following the premiere performances, Associated Television (a British television company) broadcast a relay of the performance on 22 June [1] while the first complete radio broadcast was given on 30 November 1964 by the BBC Northern Ireland Home Service[1].
The second performances took place, appropriately, in St. Johns Church Chester in March 1959 with Jolyon Dodgson in the title role.
In the United States, the opera was heard on the radio in New York City on 31 July 1958[2] and, also in New York in the School of Sacred Music of Union Theological Seminary on 16 March 1959, the US premiere was given[2].
Performances have been and are presented fairly frequently by community organizations in churches and schools. One of the early US productions of this type was given at The Potomac School in McLean, Virginia under the direction of John Langstaff who later founded the Christmas Revels group in 1971, but who presented the first of such entertainments in 1957.
Later performances by community groups have included those in the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, New York City [3] and by Revels, Inc. directed by Paddy Swanson on 5 and 6 March 2004 presented at First Congregational Church Cambridge[4]. In February 2009, the opera was given by the Cantata Singers of Boston and, on 7 March 2009, a free community event was presented by the Los Angeles Opera under the direction of James Conlon and with Noye and Mrs. Noye sung by James Johnson and Beth Clayton respectively. In 2004, the opera was performed by the Scottish Borders Community Orchestra in the Victoria Halls of Selkirk with around 300 schoolchildren attending.
It was presented in the UK in March 2010 at Brentwood Cathedral.
In recent years, the opera was presented at the Teatro Villamarta in Jerez, Spain (2008), other performances by European opera companies are planned in May 2010 at the Theater der Stadt Heidelberg and Staatstheater Darmstadt. [5]
There will once again be a free community event presented by the Los Angeles Opera under the direction of James Conlon on Saturday, March 19, 2011 at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles.
Roles
Role Voice type Premiere Cast, 18 June 1958
(Conductor: Charles Mackerras)Voice of God spoken role Trevor Anthony Noye bass-baritone Owen Brannigan Mrs. Noye contralto Gladys Parr Sem treble Thomas Bevan Ham treble Marcus Norman Jaffett treble Michael Crawford Mrs. Sem girl soprano Janette Miller Mrs. Ham girl soprano Katherine Dyson Mrs. Jaffett girl soprano Marilyn Baker Mrs. Noye's Gossips girl sopranos Children's chorus of animals and birds; congregation Synopsis
Noye's Fludde opens with the congregation singing "Lord Jesus, think on me" as Noye enters. The spoken Voice of God tells Noye to build "a shippe". Noye agrees and calls on his family to help. His sons and their wives enter with tools and materials and begin, but Mrs Noye and her Gossips (close friends) mock the project. The cast build the ark on stage.
God tells Noye to fill the Ark with animals, and they enter in groups from all parts of the church, singing or squeaking "Kyrie eleison!" Noye orders his family to board, but Mrs Noye and the Gossips refuse, preferring to drink; the sons carry Mrs Noye on (she slaps Noye's face). Rain begins (roughly tuned teacups called "slung mugs" are struck to give the sound of the first raindrops), building to a great storm. The storm is represented by a passacaglia in which each statement of the theme a new aspect of the storm is represented: for example, trills in the recorders represent the wind and scales in the string section signify waves. At the height of the passacaglia, the congregation sings "Eternal Father, Strong to Save", a Victorian naval hymn by John B. Dykes. When it is calm, Noye sends out a raven saying "If this fowl come not again it is a sign sooth to say, that dry it is on hill or plain." This is a dancer, accompanied by a cello; he never returns. Noye now knowing that the raven has discovered dry land he sends out a dove accompanied by a solo recorder (played with fluttering tongue to imitate a dove's cooing), which brings back an olive branch. Everyone leaves the Ark, singing "Alleluia" accompanied by bugle fanfares. To the sound of handbells, God promises never to send another flood, with the rainbow as a sign. The cast file out singing Addison's "The spacious firmament on high" to Tallis' Canon, leaving Noye alone to receive God's blessing.
Recordings
A recording was made in 1961, with Norman Del Mar conducting the English Chamber Orchestra and Owen Brannigan as Noye. This is available on a CD which also contains a recording of Britten's The Golden Vanity.
Source: Recordings of Noye's Fludde on operadis-opera-discography.org.uk
References
- Notes
- ^ a b In "Performance Information" on brittenpears.org Retrieved 10 January 2010
- ^ a b Kennedy, Michael, "Benjamin Britten", in Holden, p. 130
- ^ Bernard Holland, "Children Sing 'Noye's Fludde' By Britten", The New York Times, 23 May 1988 Retrieved 10 January 2010
- ^ Paddy Swanson email 11 January 2010; see Paddy Swanson page on Revels.org. Retrieved 11 January 2010
- ^ Performances since 2008 on Operabase.com Retrieved 10 January 2010
- Sources
- Holden, Amanda (ed.), The New Penguin Opera Guide, New York: Penguin Putnam, 2001. ISBN 0-14-029312-4
External links
- The Thirde Pageante of Noyes Fludd as presented by the Waterleaders and Drawers of Dee
Categories:- 16th-century plays
- English plays
- Christian fiction and allegory
- Operas by Benjamin Britten
- English-language operas
- Operas
- Noah's Ark
- 1957 operas
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