An Eighteenth Century Comic Opera in Three Acts
The Words by BICKERSTAFF
The Music by Arne, Handel, Geminiani, Carey Abel, etc
The whole adapted and arranged for broadcasting by JULIAN HERBAGE
Characters in the order you will hear them:
Country people, servants, etc.
THE WIRELESS CHORUS (Chorus Master, Stanford Robinson)
Produced by HOWARD ROSE The Music under the Direction of JULIAN HERBAGE
LOVE IN A VILLAGE originally appeared as a Comic Opera in three Acts, at Covent Garden Theatre in 1762. The music was partly composed by the great Dr. Arne and partly compiled by him from music which was then in vogue, and the piece enjoyed a real success.
At that time rivalry between Covent Garden and Drury Lane was very keen; contemporary records show that Arne's Opera was so popular that only on the nights when Garrick himself appeared at Drury Lane, was there any audience there. No other attraction could prevail against the charm and humour of this light-hearted work.
When Sir Nigel Playfair revived the Opera and produced it at the Lyric, Hammersmith, in 1928, the munie was recast, and additional numbers composed, by Mr. Alfred Reynolds, the Musical Director there, a musician to whom many of the Lyric's productions owed a good deal of their popularity. To a thorough knowledge of the theatre and stage-craft, Mr. Reynolds unites a happy knack of genuine, natural, melody and a thorough craftsmanship in music. A good deal of his work is already familiar to listeners, and he has an assured place of his own among composers of the present day, as well as a strong hold on the affections of all who appreciate fresh and wholesome art with nothing sombre nor troublesome in its make-up.