Merrie England (opera)

Merrie England is an English comic opera in two acts by Edward German to a libretto by Basil Hood.

It concerns love and rivalries at the court of Queen Elizabeth I, who is portrayed as jealous of Sir Walter Raleigh's affection for her lady-in-waiting, Bessie Throckmorton.

It features a prominent chorus and a range of principal numbers including ballads, patter songs, duets and quintets.

German's score, evoking the colourful Tudor period, combines pomp and ceremony with ballads and romantic arias.

The opera opened at the Savoy Theatre in London on 2 April 1902, under the management of William Greet, and ran for 120 performances, closing on 30 July 1902.

It starred Henry Lytton, Louie Pounds, Rosina Brandram, Robert Evett and Walter Passmore, among other regulars of the Savoy.

[1] Two versions of the plot exist: Hood's original from 1902 and a revised one by Dennis Arundell presented at Sadler's Wells in 1960.

The opera is set in Windsor Town and makes frequent reference to mythology and folklore (Robin Hood, King Neptune, St. George and the Dragon and witchcraft).

This insult angers the Queen, who joins with the villagers in condemning Jill as a witch, locking her away in Windsor Castle to be burned for witchcraft.

Wilkins works at length on a stage version of the story of St. George and the Dragon, and the play is performed for the Queen and Essex.

Eventually the Queen is persuaded to allow Raleigh and Bessie to love each other freely, choosing Essex instead for herself after seeing an apparition of Herne the Hunter, who, according to legend, appears only when a sovereign contemplates a crime.

The piece has fallen into relative obscurity in recent decades, although anniversaries such as that of the Spanish Armada in 1988 and the Queen's silver (1977), golden (2002) and diamond (2012) jubilee years have seen many revivals.