Although best known as a composer of instrumental pieces and
symphonic works, Elizabeth Maconchy nevertheless wrote a good
deal of vocal and choral music. That said, she turned to opera
fairly late in her composing career. The operas were one-acters
of fairly short duration. The Sofa plays for thirty-nine
minutes and The Departure thirty-one minutes.
Some time later she completed another, hardly longer opera The
Three Strangers based on a short story by Thomas Hardy.
It was completed in 1967.
Ursula Vaughan
Williams’ libretto for The Sofa is freely adapted
from Le Sofa by Crébillon fils. According to Nicola
Le Fanu it was RVW who suggested Crébillon’s play. The story
is a fairly simple one. Prince Dominic is a hedonist only
concerned by enjoying himself in any way. He flirts with Monique
and – to put it bluntly – tries to make love to her; but she
resists briefly before succumbing. Enters the Prince’s grandmother
who is Dominic’s only source of wealth, but she also happens
to have magical powers. Scandalised by his behaviour she transforms
him into a sofa. Only when a couple makes love on top of him
will he be released from his constricting condition. Three
young girls enter and sit on the sofa until they are invited
by young men to join the dance. The third young man begs Lucille
to stay and begins to flirt with her. Dominic thinks that
he will soon be freed but the Suitor offers an engagement
diamond ring. They leave from the Sofa/Dominic who is left
furious and frustrated. Guests enter and wonder where Dominic
can be. There is a toast to his return. When the party leaves
the room, Monique reappears accompanied by Edward, “an upper-crust
English lad” for whom hunting and country life is more important
than anything else. Edward seduces Monique on the sofa. There
is no interruption, and Dominic is returned to his normal
state. The two men confront and Edward is chased away. Monique
having been caught flagrante delicto eventually
succumbs. Maconchy devised a lovely score for this comic opera
in one act with some affectionate parody of, say, Offenbach:
in the girls’ trio (Lucille, Yolande and Laura – track 5).
The whole is colourfully scored for small orchestral forces.
The Departure,
to a libretto by Anne Ridler, is a considerably more serious
work and stands in full contrast to the light, often nonchalant
character of The Sofa. Julia is seated at her
dressing table and hears funeral music from the distance.
She looks out of her window and sees her husband Mark shaking
hands with her friends. When Mark returns to the house she
realises that he cannot see her, and that it was her own funeral
that she was observing. She remembers that she was killed
in a car crash. Julia sings of their first meeting. Although
he is still unable to see her, they sing a love duet remembering
the past years. Mark desperately wants Julia to stay but she
is now ready for the hereafter and must depart. The music
is appropriately darker although some lighter episodes provide
for some contrast. It is also rather more austere and sometimes
reminds one of RVW’s great masterpiece Riders to the
Sea, particularly so in the impressively moving sections
featuring the off-stage chorus.
Both casts of
mostly young singers obviously relish every ounce of these
scores whereas Louise Poole and Håkan Vramsmo are particularly
convincing in The Departure. Dominic Wheeler
conducts carefully prepared readings and the instrumental
ensemble heartily responds to every nuance in the scores.
This superb release is a most welcome addition to Maconchy’s
discography that should also appeal to anyone interested in
20th century opera. I now hope that The Three
Strangers will soon be committed to disc. This beautifully
engineered and elegantly produced released will be in my Records
of the Year list.
Hubert Culot
The Sofa
Nicholas Sharratt (tenor) - Prince Dominic
Sarah Tynan (soprano) - Monique
Josephine Thorpe (mezzo) - Dominic’s Grandmother
Alinka Kozári (soprano) - Lucille
Anna Leese (soprano) - Laura
Patricia Orr (mezzo) - Yolande
Patrick Ashcroft (tenor) - A Suitor
George von Bergen (baritone) - Edward
The Departure
Louise Poole (mezzo) - Julia
Håkan Vramsmo (baritone) - Mark
Independent
Opera at Sadler’s Wells/Dominic Wheeler 
