The Desert Flower

The Desert Flower is an opera in three acts composed by William Vincent Wallace. The libretto was an English translation and adaptation by A. Harris and Thomas J. Williams of the libretto by Henri Saint-Georges and Adolphe de Leuven for Halévy's Jaguarita l'Indienne. The Desert Flower premiered on 12 October 1863 in London at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden in a performance by the Pyne and Harrison English Opera Company with Louisa Pyne in the title role.

The Desert Flower
Opera by William Vincent Wallace
Act II, Scene 1 from the original production
Librettist
LanguageEnglish
Based onlibretto for Jaguarita l'Indienne
Premiere
12 October 1863 (1863-10-12)
Theatre Royal, Covent Garden, London

Background and performance history

Both Halevy's Jaguarita l'Indienne and The Desert Flower probably owe their origins to the factual account by Captain John Gabriel Stedman of his adventures in Surinam/Dutch Guiana, titled The Narrative of a Five Years Expedition against the Revolted Negroes of Surinam (1796). The last opera to be completed by Wallace, its premiere on 12 October 1863 at Covent Garden opened the 8th and final season of Louisa Pyne and William Harrison's English Opera Company. The Prince of Wales was in the audience, and Louisa Pyne herself sang the role of Oanita, with Harrison as Captain Maurice. A contemporary review pronounced the songs "pretty" and the music "pleasing" but noted that "there are no passages which, by their brilliancy and sweetnesss, raise the work to the heights which the composer has achieved in some of his former operas."[1]

The opera was not a particular success with audiences either, and was withdrawn after two weeks.[2] The Desert Flower received its US premiere at New York's Academy of Music on 12 January 1868 with Caroline Richings as Oanita and William Castle as Captain Maurice.[3] Wallace's opera is all but forgotten now, but the overture is occasionally played in concerts. Wilhelm Kuhe[4] composed a Fantasia for piano based on its score, and in 1867 its main arias and duets were published as parlour songs in The Vocal Gems of William Vincent Wallace's Romantic Opera The Desert Flower.

Principal roles and premiere cast
Willoughby Weiss photographed in 1863 as Casgan in The Desert Flower
Role Voice type Premiere cast[5]
12 October 1863
OanitasopranoLouisa Pyne
Captain MauricetenorWilliam Harrison
Major Hector Van PumpernicklebassHenry Corri
Casganbass or bass-baritoneWilloughby Weiss
Sergeant PetermanbassThomas Aynsley Cook
EvacontraltoSusan Pyne

Synopsis

Although based on Halévy's Jaguarita l'Indienne, some of the plot details were altered by Harris & Williams. The opera is based in Surinam/Dutch Guiana, where the Dutch settlers are under attack by the local Anakawtas Indian tribe, led by their beautiful queen, Oanita, and her henchman and admirer, Casgan. The settlement is protected by two Dutch officers, the brave Captain Maurice and a reluctant new arrival, Major Hector Van Pumpernickle (who provides the comic relief). Matters become complicated when Oanita and Captain Maurice fall in love. This leads to the enmity of Casgan, and a tryst by the lovers is interrupted by him, and results in the capture of Maurice, who refuses Casgan's request to betray his comrades and countrymen. Oanita however allows Maurice to escape, and is, in turn, about to be put to death by her enraged tribe when she is rescued by Maurice and his soldier band, resulting in the death of his rival Casgan. Thus all ends happily with the lovers reunited, leading to the restoration of peace between settlers and Indians.

Main arias and duets
  • 'Through the pathless forests drear' [6]
  • 'Swift as dart'
  • 'The wood bird's song'
  • 'The pangs of unrequited love'
  • 'Why did I leave my country dear'
  • 'Though born in woods'
  • 'Dance ye lithely'
  • 'Why throbs this heart'
  • 'Ah! Happy hour' (duet)
  • 'The desert waste, the rocky steep'
  • 'I make thee king'
  • 'My loved home I never shall see more'
  • 'No joy can e'er the bliss exceed'

Recordings

There is no recording of the complete opera. Only one aria with piano accompaniment has so far been recorded:

  • Through the Pathless Forest Drear, performed by Sally Silver (soprano) and Richard Bonynge (piano), on the album Songs by William Vincent Wallace, Somm Célèste SOMMCD 0131, CD (2013).
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References
  1. The Rose, the Shamrock and the Thistle, p. 223. See also Wyndham (1906) p. 243.
  2. Flood (1912) pp. 28-29.
  3. Brown (1903) Vol. 2, p. 59.
  4. Wilhelm Kuhe (1823–1912) was a Prague born pianist, composer, and impresario.
  5. Premiere cast from Wallace (1863) p. 3
  6. List based on the contents of The Vocal Gems of William Vincent Wallace's Romantic Opera The Desert Flower at Public Domain Music (pdmusic.org)

Sources
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