THE LETTERS OF RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS

Thursday [September 14 1950]

Belov Boo
[…] I am sitting in the window while R has an aftⁿ sleep – Miss Cullen¹ joins him for an early tea & they drive up to Major Glovers supper party for the Otello at Covent Garden.² R brings back the Coles afterwards – I hope it may be a good evening but they are to sit in 2 boxes w^h is never very happy for the males who have the females in front obscuring the stage – and Margery Cullen is no sylph!
When R was at Maida Vale yesterday Eileen Joyce³ was there with  a score – she is going to play the 104^th on S^t Cecilia’s day at Albert Hall & was taking notes & went off with little Mull after the rehearsal – Of course Mull⁴ ought to be playing tho’ a female is perhaps more suitable for S^t Cecilia. R quite liked her – she sat with him – he had to tell her he didn’t know who she was!
R was bombarded at his 5^th Symph⁵ – he saw such a crowd outside the glass doors the kind official took him through back ways – but not before a middle aged lady burst through and embraced him – he felt this a bit too much.
I send a small parcel of Fares (?) in case R is too late starting today. he listens at home tomorrow
But when are you coming with Pidg???
Yr A

1. Margery Cullen, secretary of the Leith Hill Music Festival.
2. Otello was presented by Teatro della Scala, conducted by Victor de Sabata, with Ramon Vinay, Gino Becchi and Renata Tebaldi.
3. Though the pianist Eileen Joyce was scheduled to play for the Fantasia on 22 November, she was injured in Oslo on Sunday 19 November, so Michael Mullinar played for that concert as well.
4. Michael Mullinar
5. VW had conducted the London Philharmonic Orchestra in his Symphony no.5 at the Promenade Concerts in the Royal Albert Hall on Monday 11 September. Basil Cameron conducted the rest of the concert.