It seems that Paul Bunyan has a strong claim to be this historical watershed’. He concludes by saying, ‘It has been customary to date the renovation of the idiomatic American musical from the production of Oklahoma!. Oliver sees Paul Bunyan as a clear forerunner, not just for Peter Grimes, but also Billy Budd and Albert Herring. In a piece for Faber’s The Britten Companion, meanwhile, Wilfrid Mellers welcomes ‘not so much a rejection of a moribund Europe as a discovery of a New World that, in being new, was a potential Eden’. He also draws out the relevance of Britten’s references to the gamelan music, which he had already played with Colin McPhee. Paul Kildea spends less time on the operetta, perceiving it as ‘not really sure what it wants to be’, but in his booklet notes for the Chandos recording Philip Reed sees the ‘quintessentially American’ work of the composer’s North American years’, and praises the spontaneous melodies, not to mention the remarkable prophecy of Britten’s later style occurs when the ‘moon turns blue’ for Bunyan’s birth. Speaking to Donald Mitchell, he said ‘I simply hadn’t remembered that it was such a strong piece’. When Paul Bunyan was revived, Britten found unexpected clarity and even acclaim. To his credit Auden took the blame, stating in 1963 that ‘I knew nothing whatsoever about opera or what is required of a librettist’. Kennedy quotes the Love Song, which Britten eventually removed. Part of the problem was Auden’s vocabulary, which was now too complicated to survive musical setting. Michael Kennedy hits the nail on the head in his analysis of Paul Bunyan, asserting that growing tensions in the artistic partnership of Britten and Auden were now coming to a head. Britten and Pears did enjoy the music in private, however, and Pears took on the role of Johnny Inkslinger when the BBC broadcast premiere took place in 1976. There was little time to work on a revision, with Britten and Auden engrossed in new projects, and the idea dropped. ‘I never did figure out the theme’, he said. So why the hibernation? Firstly there was a hostile critical reception, headed by the composer Virgil Thomson, whose ‘flaccid and spineless’ label for Auden’s libretto went with an ‘undistinguished’ verdict on Britten’s music. The institution had commissioned the work from Britten and Auden, and it stands as their only full-scale collaboration on stage. That was the year of revival for a work whose previous public appearances had been limited to a week at the Columbia University in New York, 1941. Only in 1974 did Britten feel happy enough in his operetta Paul Bunyan to give it an opus number. A great Christmas party is thrown, the marriage of Tiny and Slim is celebrated, and Bunyan finally reveals his full identity. A third ballad from the narrator tells of continuing successes across the land for Bunyan, who is reconciled with Helson. Meanwhile Bunyan’s daughter Tiny finds love with Slim, the new cook. Their foreman, Hel Helson, withdraws into himself.Īct 2 finds the lumberjacks aspiring to be farmers, but brings tension with Helson to a head, and his dissatisfaction leads to a fight with Bunyan himself. The lumberjacks start their work but grow tired of a diet of soup and beans and hire a new cook. The narrator returns to tell of Bunyan’s search for a wife and children, which yields a daughter, Tiny. He also acquires some pets – two dogs and a cat, before the first of three ‘goodnight’ scenes. Bunyan will transform the forest, creating a new way of life on the land – but because of his size he is never seen on stage.Īct 1 begins with a Narrator who fills in part one of Bunyan’s life story, before we join Bunyan on a recruitment drive for lumberjacks, a foreman, a cook and a bookkeeper, Inkslinger. The plot (abridged from the booklet for the Chandos recording by Richard Hickox)įirst we hear a Prologue, where the birth of Paul Bunyan, a giant of a man, takes place under a blue moon. Meanwhile below is ‘A message from our leader’, a preview to Welsh National Opera’s recent production: There is very little online content on Paul Bunyan, in either audio or video, but to set the scene, here is a link to the page of a current production from the British Youth Opera. Paul Bunyan – Operetta in two acts and a prologue, Op.17 (November 1939 – April 1941, Britten aged 26-27) Used with many thanks to the artist, whose website can be explored here
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