In the publicity surrounding the revival at this year's Proms of Ethel Smyth's The Wreckers, it was as though everything between that work (1906) and Grimes (1945) in British opera had been conveniently forgotten. The new set of Hugh the Drover (written in 1910) puts that to rights and proves, conclusively (to me at any rate) that, whereas Smyth was fashioning herself, albeit with craft, on continental models, Vaughan Williams was striking out on his own, in a specifically English way, and his work has a dramatic tautness Smyth's woefully lacks. But enough of odious comparison. Let us once more enjoy on its own the forthright, lyrical energy and subtlety of Hugh, admirably adumbrated in the new version conducted enthusiastically by Best, supported by his Corydon forces. They almost make the work sound like the first British musical—if that's not a heresy!
They make sure we enjoy VW's innate gift as an orchestrator, the vigour of his writing for the chorus, and the richness of invention all round. In its revised form at any rate, the piece has very few longueurs and many moments of great beauty, particularly in the scenes for Mary and Hugh. Which British composer has written better love duets? None, I think, and the influence of Puccini sometimes seems hard to gainsay. Some of the hearty ingenuousness of the libretto and setting might be difficult to take on stage today, but some enterprising company—perhaps Opera North—should have a go, because in most respects the work is eminently stageworthy—as I recall from the post-war Sadler's Wells staging, although it makes a short evening.
That Wells revival had the sturdy and forthright James Johnston as hero (he recorded Hugh's aria on a 78 and it represents him on Volume 4 of EMI's ''Record of Singing'', 4/92). Bonaventura Bottone's more sophisticated and eloquently accented performance misses some of the Drover's verve, but his singing is at all times finely shaped and accented, and his tone is equal to the appreciable demands placed on it. What we miss in his and Tear's larger-scale but too sophisticated reading on EMI is Johnston's vigour, even more that of the creator, the young and ebullient Tudor Davies, who can be heard on a contemporary recording of extracts made by HMV in 1924, the year of the premiere (they are now on a Pearl CD); his verve and his heroic tang make him a hard act to follow.
Rebecca Evans, on the other hand, need fear no comparison with any predecessor. It is she alone who conveys the youthful vulnerability of Mary, and does so in the most sweet and tender way both in solo and duet while having the necessary mettle in her voice when Mary turns courageous in Act 2. The voice soars easily, the tone remains ever fresh and attractive. Sheila Armstrong (EMI) has a fuller, maturer tone suggesting a more introverted Mary than Evans attempts. Alan Opie is ideally biting and virile as John the Butcher, projecting the man's undoubted hubris in his vital treatment of the text, and he is steadier in voice than EMI's Michael Rippon. As the Constable, Mary's tetchy father, Van Allan—perhaps appropriately—sounds more elderly than EMI's Robert Lloyd: both make the role as important as their few appearances allow. Sarah Walker's Aunt Jane is as thoughtfully sung as one would expect from this experienced artist, but in her solo near the end of Act 1 she yields points to the extra feeling the more even-voiced Helen Watts (EMI) finds in the part. Smaller roles are well taken in both sets.
A major difference between the two readings comes in the conductor's approach, a lesser one in the recorded quality. In almost all cases Best takes faster speeds, chooses lighter textures than Groves (Best is closer to Sargent on the old HMV 78s, 12/24). As a whole, Groves's interpretation runs deeper, as one might expect from the older man. The recording of the Hyperion often places the singers further back than the EMI set, and you may need a high volume setting to get the best out of it overall. The EMI set is certainly not outclassed in that respect and benefits from the Ambrosian Chorus on tiptop form. I enjoyed both versions, each worthy of the work. Choice may lie with a preference for an individual singer or for character of interpretation. Those who are really interested in the work may want to have both sets and as an extra, the abridged Pearl CD for passages the composer omitted in his revision and for Davies's unsurpassed Hugh.'