Sir John in Love

Synopsis
Radio broadcast of the second and third acts of the new production of the opera by Vaughan Williams relayed from Sadler’s Wells Theatre, London. The libretto of the opera that was first performed at the Royal College of Music, London, in 1928, is based on The Merry Wives of Windsor. Frederick Grisewood is the narrator for the broadcast, Lawrance Collingwood conducts the Sadler’s Wells Chorus and Orchestra.
Language
English
Country
Great Britain
Medium
Radio
Transmission details
29 May 1946 at 19:40 (Channel: BBC Home Service)
Duration
80 mins
Availability
No archive copy known (1/2008).

Credits

Producer
Sumner Austin
Writer
William Shakespeare
Music
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Contributor
Frederick Grisewood; Lawrance Collingwood
Cast
Roderick JonesSir John Falstaff
Minnie BowerMistress Margaret Page
Anna PollakMistress Alice Ford
Valetta IacopiMistress Quickly
Howell GlynneFrank Ford
Albert DigneyJohn
Charles DansonAbraham Slender
Eric ShillingDoctor Caius
Gilbert BaileyRobert Shallow
Herbert TreePeter Simple
James JohnstonFenton
John HavardBardolph
Leonard HanksRobert
Morgan JonesSir Hugh Evans
Norman PlattGeorge Page
Owen BranniganHost of the Garter Inn
Sydney JackPistol
Vera TerryAnne Page
Vernon WilliamsJohn Rugby
William BoothNim

Additional Details

Theatre
Sadler’s Wells Theatre, London
Production type
Operas and Musicals
Historical period
Medieval
Plays
Merry Wives of Windsor, The
Subjects
Drama; Music
Keywords
Shakespeare, William (1564-1616); Falstaff

Notes

General
In his opera Vaughan Williams retains all the subplots and minor characters from The Merry Wives of Windsor that most librettists have edited out. In order to provide more opportunities for song, he also imported lyrics from elsewhere in Shakespeare, from Ben Jonson, Marlowe and others, adding them to the plot and the characters.
Reviews
See Philip Whitacker’s introduction to the broadcast in Radio Times, issue dated May 24, 1946, p. 4, for more information on the opera and its performance history.

Production Company

Name

BBC

Notes
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

How to cite this record

Shakespeare, "Sir John in Love". https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/shakespeare/search/index.php/title/av37938 (Accessed 26 Nov 2024)