George Alexander Macfarren (1813–1887) was, in Nicholas Temperley’s words, ‘the pioneer of English musical nationalism’, and The Soldier’s Legacy of 1864 ‘his most thoroughgoing nationalist opera’. While his British contemporaries were still, very consciously, seeking out and absorbing influences from Italian, German and French Romantic opera, Macfarren, equally consciously, sought to create a truly English style of opera inspired by folksong. His extensive work with William Chappell on what eventually became The Ballad Literature and Popular Music of the Olden Time (1855–1859) was the bedrock on which Macfarren’s mature music was built.
The Soldier’s Legacy is a delightful rural comedy for four singers with an exceptionally localised setting in and around Tutbury, Staffordshire, in 1814. Jack Weatherall, a hussar, returns from the Napoleonic wars seeking to fulfil a promise he made to his dying friend Dick Firebrand. Little does he know that his act of kindness will bring him the ultimate reward: a loving wife! The libretto by John Oxenford, Macfarren’s regular collaborator, unfolds naturally into a sparkling series of musical numbers, all imbued with the flavour of folk music. Reviews were extremely positive; The Era reported a ‘triumphant success’, and noted: ‘Of Mr. Macfarren’s music it may be most truthfully said, that had he given to the world nothing but this charming composition, it would have been alone sufficient to proclaim him an honour as a musician to any country.’
Founded in 2014, Retrospect Opera, an energetic independent recording company and charity devoted to reviving significant British operas prior to 1945, recorded this exquisite opera in 2021.
