THE LETTERS OF RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS

The White Gates,
Westcott Road,
Dorking.

[between 15 January and February, 1936]

Dear Miss Sharp
I have been going through the music of Act II, which is also too long & have made some drastic cuts which brings the music down to 35 minutes (nearly).
I have tried to only to cut those places where I thought the thing was too long in its self & not because the whole was too long.  The chief cuts are
(1) Meducius Trio (p.8 in my copy
This involves cutting the middle verse (which I think is the weakest) & rearranging the singers thus
1st 3^rd med (contralto) If you want … medium
2^nd med (mezzo) In this way … science
1^st med (sop) They will bribe … discover
3^rd med a dark man … letter
2^nd med a facir man … propose
1^st med: at the end … better
together  In this way … science
(2) Hobgoblins  “Today where (p. 10)
This involves no cut in the words
(3)  Ensemble (p.15)  “Who goes there” (when Angelica appears with the lantern)
cut Angelica’s lines
“will sup … beefsteak pie”
and gives
Ensemble Amaryllus & chorus p. 15 (top middle) before the words “win her woo her” add “Amaryllus, Amaryllus” – (this looks like an addition, but really shortens is it as before the words “Woo her win her” etc were sung twice
The other cuts do not affect the words
I suggest also 2 optional cuts
No 4 (at present formerly No 1)
Hobgobs “Ho there …”
This to be marked “may be omitted”
(I have added some alternative entry music’ for them)
Also the last half of our new “Lover” chorus, but I really do not think this is worth marking in the libretto.
Ah!  There is one more cut which involves your words very seriously
Duet Tor: & Am: “sleeping or waking” (p.17)
Cut 2nd verse (substituting Ams & “I am he …of that” for
cut last (3^d) verse “without any reason” keeping Amaryllus refrain “I am he … that”
Does this make nonsense of it? because she now does not actually mention his name – but personally I don’t think it matters
Now one query
end of Trio Dance after Trio of Hobgobs “Today when all the world” you say the Medians dance off  – I want them, if you don’t mind, to remain on to the end of the dance & then flutter out
I daresay you have quite made up your mind about Act III – if so don’t read any further.  But if not I urge the following that there should be a strong & definite reconciliation between Empress & Tor: culminating in the duet – it is so good when the music can act as a climax to the dramatic situation instead of being merely incidental
My idea is as follows
Empress sends for Tor: & is full of jealousy & hate of her.
But discover
(a) that she is none the worse for the chocolates
(b) that she thinks she has poisoned Am:
(c) that she must therefore be the “poison maid” that was destined to kill Am:
(d) that she was in fact only the unwilling agent of Dipsacus
(e) that she loves Amaryllus passionately and that
(f) Tor’s love instead of killing Amaryllus is the only thing which can save him
in fact that “Love breaks all rules”
then follows duet
Tor is sent off to her lover & Empress prepare to summon Dipsacus (now she realizes the one & only villain of the piece) in order to trounce him
They both try their old formulae to summons the lover (they fail) then Empress says “our old terrifying methods are no good with the younger generation – we must I have lately learnt that love cannot kill but can save – then follows her invocation to the lover.  But as I say, you have prob probably already worked it out so don’t try to read this or that case.
After all it’s your play not mine!  I only supply the music
yrs
R Vaughan Williams