Stageworks
opera
ballet
Opera
The Bear (1965-67)
extravaganza in one act, for three soloists and orchestra
libretto by Paul Dehn after Anton Chekhov, produced by Colin Graham
Popova mezzo-soprano, Smirnov baritone, Luka bass, two male walk-on parts, orchestra:
fl(+picc).ob(+ca).cl(+bcl).bn-hn.tpt.tbn-timp.perc-hp-pno-str (quintet or full strings)
48 minutes
1st performance, The Jubilee Hall, Aldeburgh, 3 June 1967, Monica Sinclair (Yeliena Ivanovna Popova), Norman Lumsden (Luka), John Shaw (Grigory Stephanovich Smirnov), English Chamber Orchestra, conductor James Lockhart
• score and parts on hire
• full score (revised, ed. Stuart Hutchinson) 0 19 338443 4 (NYP) - The William Walton Edition vol 2
• study score on sale 0 19 338440 X
• vocal score on sale 0 19 338441 8
"If [the] BBC2 transmission of William Walton's The Bear does not convert non-believers to opera, nothing will...this Bear should travel the world."
Felix Aprahamian, The Sunday Times
Troilus and Cressida (1947-54 rev. 1972-76)
libretto by Christopher Hassell after play by William Shakespeare, produced by George Devine
Calkas bass, Antenor baritone, Troilus tenor, Pandarus tenor buffo, Cressida soprano (*see below), Evadne mezzo-soprano, Horaste baritone, Diomede baritone, SATB chorus, orchestra:
3.2.ca.2.bcl.2.cbn-4.3.3.1-timp.4perc-2hp-cel-str
(off-stage: hn.4tpt-tenor drum+side drum)
135 minutes
1st performance, Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London, 3 December 1954, Frederick Dalberg (Calkas), Geraint Evans (Antenor), Richard Lewis (Troilus), Peter Pears (Pandarus), Magda Lazlo (Cressida), Monica Sinclair (Evadne), Forbes Robinson (Horaste), Otakar Kraus (Diomede), Covent Garden Opera Chorus and Orchestra, conductor Sir Malcolm Sargent
• all material (revised version) on hire
• libretto (revised) available from Archive Service, Allegro Music
• vocal score on sale 0 19 338600 3
*Covent Garden planned a new production for the composer's 70th birthday celebrations in 1972 but this was postponed in the absence of a suitable Cressida. However, Walton began extensive revisions at this time including reshaping Cressida's part so that it might be sung by a soprano or mezzo-soprano, eliminating the quartet of ladies in attendance in Act II, Scene i (hence dispensing with the serenade Put off the serpent girdle), and deleting Pandarus' Jealousy aria in Act II. These major cuts required some alteration to other adjacent material. Act II was performed in its revised version at the Proms in September 1972, and the complete revised version was premièred at Covent Garden on 12 November 1976.
"A great, tragic opera...Walton has satisfied Aristotle's canons not only of piety and fear, but of the dignity of magnitude of the issues, and in so doing he has satisfied one of opera's demands - the creation of a great soprano role...The music owes its quality to its saturation. The drama is penetrated and permeated by the music."
The Times
Troilus and Cressida (1995 version)
ed. Stuart Hutchinson
libretto by Christopher Hassell
Calkas bass, Antenor baritone, Troilus tenor, Pandarus tenor buffo, Cressida soprano (*see below), Evadne mezzo-soprano, Horaste baritone, Diomede baritone, SATB chorus, orchestra:
3.2.ca.2.bcl.2.cbn-4.3.3.1-timp.4perc-2hp-cel-str
(off-stage: hn.4tpt-tenor drum+side drum)
134 minutes
1st performance, Leeds, 14 January 1995; Clive Bayley (Calkas), James Thornton (Antenor), Arthur Davies (Troilus), Nigel Robson (Pandarus), Judith Elgar Howarth (Cressida), Yvonne Howard (Evadne), David Owen-Lewis (Horaste), Alan Opie (Diomede), Chorus of Opera North, English Northern Philharmonia, conductor Richard Hickox
• all material on hire
*The 1995 (Opera North) version, prepared by Stuart Hutchinson in association with the William Walton Trust and Oxford University Press, includes the cuts in the 1976 version but the dramatic-soprano tessitura of the 1954 version has been reinstated.
"Troilus deserves an honourable place in the British opera repertory. In addition to some gorgeous melodies, it has an orchestral score which is bewitchingly beautiful."
Michael Kennedy, The Sunday Telegraph
"The haunting love music from Troilus and Cressida lingers in the memory for ages afterwards. A solo oboe calls out over shimmering strings - the voice of sensuality raised over the barest whisper of a breeze, transporting the listener to a sultry night in the Mediterranean."
Richard Fairman, The Financial Times
Troilus and Cressida - WILLIAM WALTON EDITION, Volume I
ed. Stuart Hutchinson
This is the first publication of the definitive score of Troilus and Cressida. Following its premiere in 1954, Walton made substantial cuts and a version reflecting this was prepared for performance by Opera North in 1995. It is published here with full critical commentary.
• full score on sale 0 19 338608 9
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Ballet Music
The following ballets have been created using William Walton's music as listed elsewhere in this catalogue:
Devoirs de Vacances (1949)
created from Music for Children (page 5)
1st performance, Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Paris,
8 November 1949, Ballet des Champs-Elysées.
choreographer: John Taras
Escape Me Never (1934)
ballet scene from the film Escape Me Never (page 3)
1st showing of film, London Pavilion, 14 October 1935.
choreographer: Frederick Ashton
Facade - Ballet in One Act (1972)
created from movements of Fa‡ade Entertainment (page 10).
1st performance, The Maltings, Snape, 28 July 1972,
The Royal Ballet. Choreographer: Frederick Ashton
Facade - Ballet (1981)
1st performance, Teatro Nuovo, Milan (under the auspices of Teatro alla Scala), 15 February 1983. Choreographer: Linda Kemp with the assistance of David Houghton
Facade (1929)
created from Facade Suite for Orchestra No.1 (page 3)
1st performance, Chamber Ballet Dancing Theatre, Hagen, Westphalia, 22 September 1929.
choreographer: Günther Hess
Facade (1931)
created from Facade Suite for Orchestra No.1 (page 3)
1st performance, Cambridge Theatre, London, 26 April 1931.
choreographer: Frederick Ashton
Familien-Album (1961)
created from Facade Suite for Orchestra No.1 (page 3)
1st performance, Wurttemberg States Theatre, 16 March 1961. choreographer John Cranko
The Quest (1943)
ballet in five scenes
original (lost) version:
2(II+picc).2(II+ca).2.2-3.2.1.0-timp.3perc-hp-cel-str
45 minutes
1st performance, New Theatre, London, 6 April 1943. choreographer: Frederick Ashton
The Quest: Complete Ballet Music (1943)
performing version, ed. Christopher Palmer
3(II&III+picc).2(II+ca).2.2-4.3.3.1-timp.5perc-2hp-
pno/cel-str
45 minutes
score and parts on hire
Siesta - a Pas de deux (1936)
created from Siesta (page 6)
1st performance, Sadlers Wells Theatre, London, 24 January 1936. Choreographer: Frederick Ashton
Siesta - a new Pas de deux (1972)
created from Siesta (page 6)
1st performance, The Maltings, Snape, 28 July 1972.
choreographer: Frederick Ashton
Tombeaux (1993)
created from Variations on a Theme of Hindemith (page 7)
1st performance, The Royal Opera House, London,
11 February 1993, The Royal Ballet.
choreographer: David Bintley
Unrequited Moments (1996)
created from Sinfonia Concertante (original version) (page 6) (two piano reduction)
1st performance, The Corn Exchange, Cambridge, 7 May 1966, English National Ballet. Choreographer: Patrick Lewis
Varii Capricci (1983)
created from Varii Capricci (page 7)
1st performance, Metropolitan Opera House, New York,
19 April 1983. Choreographer: Frederick Ashton
The Wise Virgins (1940)
original full-length score lost
for Walton's Suite from the Ballet see page 8
for perusal scores, recordings and further information on the works above, contact the Repertoire Promotion Department | back to top
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