THE LETTERS OF RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS

From R. Vaughan Williams,
10, Hanover Terrace,
Regents Park,
London, N.W.1.

July 24th 1955.

Dear Frank,

Now for your second letter (ACF:119 F).  I think you will agree with me that the answer to the Cincinatti¹ people who want to do bits of Pilgrim’s Progress, probably in concert form, & without orchestra, is NO.  Let us wait for a real slap-up performance in America, which I think is still not beyond the bounds of possibility. 
Now there is something more:  I daresay you have seen that Evelyn Sharp has died?  Would it be a good plan to try to buy the complete rights of the text of Poisoned Kiss from her Executors? ² Such rights to include adding, omitting and altering as we want?  I met a man at Cheltenham last week who is toying with the idea of doing it at the Grammar School there: unfortunately I never got his name, but I told him to write to you.³
Yrs

RVW

1. sic.
2. Evelyn Sharp, librettist of The Poisoned Kiss.
3. This performance did indeed take place, at Cheltenham School conducted by John Neve.