The Perfect Fool

The Perfect Fool is an opera in one act with music and libretto by the English composer Gustav Holst. Holst composed the work over the period of 1918 to 1922. The opera received its premiere at the Covent Garden Theatre, London, on 14 May 1923. Holst had originally asked Clifford Bax to write the libretto, but Bax declined.[1]

The Perfect Fool
Opera by Gustav Holst
Holst, circa 1921
LibrettistGustav Holst
Premiere
14 May 1923 (1923-05-14)
Covent Garden Theatre, London, England

In the score, Holst pokes fun at the works of Verdi, Wagner's Parsifal[2] and Debussy. In the opera, the part of the Fool consists of only one word. One interpretation of the possible symbolism of the opera, from Donald Tovey, is that the Princess symbolises the world of opera and the Fool represents the British public.[3]

The opera was not a success, and audiences found the story confusing.[4] Although the opera did receive a live BBC broadcast a year after its premiere,[5] performed by the British National Opera Company and relayed from His Majesty's Theatre, London,[6][7] revivals of the work have been rare. In 1995, Vernon Handley conducted a performance of the complete opera for the BBC, broadcast on 25 December.[8]

Ballet music

The introductory ballet music is much more often performed, separately as a suite. The ballet music falls into the following sections:

  • Andante (invocation)
  • Dance of Spirits of Earth (Moderato – Andante)
  • Dance of Spirits of Water (Allegro)
  • Dance of Spirits of Fire (Allegro moderato – Andante)

Themes from the ballet music recur throughout the remainder of the opera.[3]

Roles
Roles, voice types, premiere cast
Role Voice type Premiere cast, 14 May 1923[9]
Conductor: Eugene Goossens
Fool/Farmer spoken role Raymond Ellis
Wizard baritone Robert Parker
Troubadour tenor Walter Hyde
Traveller bass Frederick Collier
Princess soprano Maggie Teyte
Fool's mother contralto Edna Thornton

Instrumentation

References

Notes

  1. Bax, Clifford (January 1939). "Recollections of Gustav Holst". Music & Letters. 20 (1): 1–6. doi:10.1093/ml/20.1.1. JSTOR 728520.
  2. Head, Raymond (July 1999). "The Hymn of Jesus: Holst's Gnostic Exploration of Time and Space". Tempo. New Series. Musical Times Publications. 209 (1576): 7–13. JSTOR 957953.
  3. Ottaway, Hugh (June 1974). "Holst as an opera composer". The Musical Times. 115 (1576): 473–474. doi:10.2307/957953. JSTOR 957953.
  4. Holmes, p. 90
  5. Holmes, p. 94.
  6. "Pieces in the Programmes – Holst's The Perfect Fool". The Radio Times (40). 1924-06-27. p. 12. Retrieved 2020-10-14.
  7. Scholes, Percy A. (1924-06-27). "The Perfect Fool". Radio Times (40). p. 21. Retrieved 2020-10-14.
  8. Northcott, Bayan (29 December 1995). "On another planet". The Independent. London. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  9. Casaglia, Gherardo (2005)."The Perfect Fool, 14 May 1923". L'Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia (in Italian).

Sources

  • Holmes, Paul, Holst. Omnibus Press, 1998 ISBN 978-0-7119-6525-6

Further reading
  • Holden, Amanda (Ed.), The New Penguin Opera Guide, New York: Penguin Putnam, 2001. ISBN 0-14-029312-4
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