THE LETTERS OF RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS

Santa Barbara

26th October 1954

This is a lovely place – ran by accident into an excellent performance of “Riders”.¹ Tomorrow Grand Canyon

Thank you so much for tracking a clarinet sonata

Love from us both

Ralph

1. Riders to the Sea was performed on Saturday 23 October at The Little Theatre, Santa Barbara College, produced by college students under the direction of Carl Zytowski, with piano accompaniment. The performance was preceded by Synge’s play, directed by Edwin Schoell. It was part of the two-day southern section meeting of the American Educational Theater Association’s conference in Santa Barbara. VW was given a standing ovation from members of the conference.
The event was closed to the public, but there were public performances of the play and opera on November 4^th, 5^th and 6^th.  The Little Theatre was a “reconverted temporary building that serves adequately for center-staged scenes with small casts and little action.” VW had thought that the double bill (play and opera) would be a mistake but was delighted to be proved wrong.