The Prodigal Son (Sullivan)

[1] The work was Sullivan's first oratorio, and it was the first sacred music setting of this parable,[1] preceding Claude Debussy's 1884 cantata L'enfant prodigue and Sergei Prokofiev's 1929 ballet The Prodigal Son, Op.

[2] A rising star of British music, he had already produced his popular incidental music to Shakespeare's The Tempest,[3] his Irish Symphony, a Cello concerto, his Overture in C, "In Memoriam",[4] The Masque at Kenilworth, his first ballet, L'Île Enchantée and two comic operas, Cox and Box and The Contrabandista, as well as other orchestral pieces and numerous hymns and songs.

[1] In the Victorian era, large-scale choral works with orchestra were a staple of British musical culture, including oratorios in the mould of Handel and Mendelssohn.

[6] His preface states his concept of the title character: The first performance of the piece was a great success and featured soloists Thérèse Tietjens, Zelia Trebelli, Sims Reeves and Charles Santley; Sullivan conducted.

During Sullivan's visit to New York City to supervise the premiere of The Pirates of Penzance, he conducted a performance on 23 November 1879 by the Handel and Haydn Society in Boston.

In 'They went astray' there is some splendidly dramatic writing in gaunt canon – first for soprano and bass, and then for alto and tenor – against an empty orchestral background.

Soloists are Catherine Denley (mezzo-soprano), Clare Rutter (soprano), Gary Magee (baritone), and Mark Wilde (tenor), with The London Chorus.