Opera by Vaughan Williams
The Poisoned Kiss, or The Empress and the Necromancer is an opera in three acts by the English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams . The libretto , by Evelyn Sharp , is based on Richard Garnett 's The Poison Maid and Nathaniel Hawthorne 's 1844 short story Rappaccini's Daughter . The opera was completed in 1929, first performed by the Intimate Opera Company at the Cambridge Arts Theatre , United Kingdom, on 12 May 1936 (conducted by Cyril Rootham ), and premiered in the United States on 21 April 1937 by the Juilliard Opera Theatre at the Juilliard School's theatre on Claremont Avenue .[1] The cast included Annamary Dickey as Angelica, Marvel Biddle as Tormentilla, Glenn Darwin as Gallanthus, Mary Frances Lehnerts as the Empress, David Otto as Dipsacus, Albert Gifford as Amaryllus, and Signe Gulbrandsen and Athena Pappas as the mediums.[2]
The Bronx Opera staged the work in January 2012.[3]
Roles
Roles, voice types, premiere cast
Role
Voice type
Premiere cast, 12 May 1936 Conductor: Cyril Rootham
Angelica
soprano
Margaret Field-Hyde
Tormentilla
soprano
Mabel Ritchie
Gallanthus
baritone
Geoffry Dunn
Dipsacus
bass
Frederick Woodhouse
Empress Persicaria
contralto
Meriel St Clair
Amaryllus
tenor
Trefor Jones
References
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