Aubrey Brain and the Opera in London
In 1914, Aubrey had married Marion Beeley, contralto (1887-1954). 1 She was a leading lady in the Denhof-Beecham Opera tour of 1913. Six years Aubrey’s senior, she had sung for Beecham and others before the War. For the itinerary of this tour see Appendix D. Aubrey Brain did not only play principal horn on tour with this short-lived opera company, he also played principal horn for other earlier opera seasons in the capital. Among Aubrey’s effects after his death, was a souvenir programme for Sir Joseph Beecham’s Grand Russian Season at the Royal Theatre, Drury Lane, May 30 to July 25 1914. Sir Joseph Beecham, father of Sir Thomas, had provided the money that enabled several opera seasons to take place prior to the War. This season in 1914 was conducted by Richard Strauss, Thomas Beecham, Emil Cooper, Leon Steinberg, Pierre Monteux and Rhené Baton. The operas and details of the season are as follows (from the original programme), author’s collection:
|
General Direction:
Serge de Diaghilev and Baron Dimitri De Gunzbourg
Choreographic
Director: Michel Fokine
General Manager:
Donald Baylis, for Sir Joseph Beecham
Saturday 30 May. Mussorgsky: Boris Godounov. Chaliapine Night
Monday 1 June. Mussorgsky: Boris Godounov. Chaliapine Night
Tuesday 2 June. Richard Strauss: Rosenkavalier
Wednesday 3 June. Rimsky-Korsakov: Ivan The Terrible. Chaliapine Night
Thursday 4 June. Richard Strauss: Rosenkavalier
Friday 5 June. Rimsky-Korsakov: Ivan The Terrible. Chaliapine Night
Monday 8 June. Borodin: Prince Igor. Chaliapine Night
Tuesday 9 June. First performance, Ravel, Daphnis and Chloé
Balakirev: Thamar
Rimsky-Korsokov: Scheherazade
Wednesday 10 June. Mussorgsky: Boris Godounov. Chaliapine Night
Thursday 11 June. Doboujinsky: Papillons
Ravel: Daphnis and Chloé
Stravinsky: Petrouchka
Friday 12 June. Borodin: Prince Igor. Chaliapine Night
Monday 15 June. Rimsky-Korsakov: Le Coq d’Or
Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade
Tuesday 16 June. Stravinsky: L’Oiseau de Feu
Doboujinsky: Papillons
Richard Strauss: Carnaval
Wednesday 17 June. Borodin: Prince Igor. Chaliapine Night
Thursday 18 June. Stravinsky: Le Rossignol
M Steinberg: Midas
Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade
Friday 19 June. Mussorgsky: Boris Godounov. Chaliapine Night
Monday 22 June. Borodin: Prince Igor. Chaliapine Night
Tuesday 23 June. Strauss Night. Richard Strauss: La Légende de Joseph
Balakirev: Thamar
Doboujinsky: Papillons
Wednesday 24 June. Rimsky-Korsakov: Le Coq d’Or
Ravel: Daphnis and Chloé
Thursday 25 June. Strauss Night. M Steinberg: Midas
Richard Strauss: La Légende de Joseph
Tchaikovsky: Cleopatre
Friday 26 June. Rimsky-Korsakov: Nuit de Mai. First performance in England
Stravinsky: Petrouchka
Saturday 27 June. Borodin: Prince Igor. Chaliapine Night
Monday 29 June. Strauss Night. Stravinsky: Le Rossignol
M Steinberg: Midas
Richard Strauss: La Légende de Joseph
Tuesday 30 June. Daphnis and Chloe
Tchaikovsky: Cléopatre
Richard Strauss: Le Spectre de la Rose
Wednesday 1 July. Mussorgsky: La Khovantchina. Chaliapine Night
Thursday 2 July. Rimsky-Korsakov: Le Coq d’Or
Richard Strauss: Les Sylphides
Friday 3 July. Rimsky-Korsakov: Nuit de Mai
Stravinsky: Oiseau de Feu
Saturday 4 July. Josef Holbrooke: Dylan
Monday 6 July. Rimsky-Korsakov: Ivan le Terrible. Chaliapine Night
Tuesday 7 July. M Steinberg: Midas
Tchaikovsky: Le Lac des Cygnes
Stravinsky: Petrouchka
Wednesday 8 July. Rimsky-Korsakov: Nuit de Mai
Tchaikovsky: Cleopatre
Thursday 9 July. Josef Holbrooke: Dylan
Friday 10 July. Mussorgsky: La Khovantchina. Chaliapine Night
Saturday 11 July. Balakirev: Thamar
Richard Strauss: La Légende de Joseph
Doboujinsky: Papillons
Monday 13 July. Rimsky-Korsakov: Nuit de Mai
M. Tcherepnine: Narcisse
Tuesday 14 July. Stravinsky: Le Rossignol
Richard Strauss: La Légende de Joseph
Richard Strauss: Les Sylphides
Wednesday 15 July. Mussorgsky: Boris Godounov. Chaliapine Night
Thursday 16 July. Richard Strauss: Carnaval
Tchaikovsky: Le Lac des Cygnes
Richard Strauss: Le Spectre de la Rose
Friday 17 July. Josef Holbrooke: Dylan
Saturday 18 July. Rimsky-Korsakov: Le Coq d’Or
Rimsky-Korsakov: Le Scheherazade
Monday 20 July. Rimsky-Korsakov: La Khovantchina. Chaliapine Night
Stravinsky: Petrouchka
Tuesday 21 July. M Steinberg: Midas
Richard Strauss: La Légende de Joseph
Doboujinsky: Papillons
Wednesday 22 July. Rimsky-Korsakov: Le Coq d’Or
M. Tcherepnine: Narcisse
Thursday 23 July. Stravinsky: Le Rossignol
Ravel: Daphnis and Chloé
Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade
Friday 24 July. Mussorgsky: Boris Godounov. Chaliapine Night
Saturday 25 July. Stravinsky: Petrouchka
Richard Strauss: La Légende de Joseph
Doboujinsky: Papillons
The singers included Chaliapine, Smirnov, Andreev, Belianine, Zaporojetz, Mmes Kouznetzov, Nejdanova, Petrenko, Dobrovolska, and Nicolaeva. Set designs were by Leon Bakst and Alexandre Benois whose illustrations (some in colour) appear in this souvenir programme. Alan Jefferson refers to this season in his book, Sir Thomas Beecham (1979, pp.130-1) Ten days afterwards, England was at war with Germany and Covent Garden was closed until 1919. 2
Aubrey’s war service was from 24 February 1916 until 11 August 1920 3 and so he would not have taken part in any opera until after his service ended. His brother, Alfred Brain’s war service overlapped with Aubrey so that in 1919, when Aubrey was still in service, Alfred was able to get back to London, the Queen’s Hall, LSO and Covent Garden. Until Alfred’s departure for America with his daughter, Olga, in September 1922, Aubrey was restricted in the principal horn posts he could obtain in London. 4
From 1923, Aubrey became principal horn with the British National Opera Company at Covent Garden until February 1924. He also played for the Royal Opera Orchestra at Covent Garden from 1923 until 1929. During this period, Covent Garden saw a string of distinguished conductors and singers performing in works such as Wagner’s Ring with Bruno Walter and Mussorgsky’s Boris Godounov with Chaliapin in the title role. In 1927, the LSO became the pit orchestra at Covent Garden. 5 Aubrey Brain continued to be principal horn of the LSO until 8 April 1929 so presumably his last appearance at Covent Garden as principal of the LSO would have been no later than that date. 6 As far as the author is aware, Aubrey did not play for Covent Garden during the 1930s.
During Aubrey’s years as principal horn at Covent Garden in the 1920s, Vincenzo Bellezza was one of the conductors and his name appears with others on the following menu of the Royal Opera Orchestra, Covent Garden at Hotel Cecil, London, Sunday 27th June 1926. Bellezza has inscribed it with his name and “To Rusks and Cream” which was Bellezza’s soubriquet for Aubrey Brain. The menu was among Aubrey’s effects after his death and it is inscribed on the front and the back with the names of the Orchestra’s members or management. Among the names are those of conductor, Clarence Raybould, who remained a friend of Aubrey’s for many years. Another friend and colleague, the trumpet principal, Ernest Hall inscribed his name at the bottom of the front page, “To Custard from Ernest Hall.” Custard was one of the soubriquets that Aubrey was known by his colleagues. It referred to his passion for plums with custard, or prunes and custard – indeed any pudding with custard that his good wife gave him when he’d finished his day’s orchestral playing. Rather than go and have a drink with colleagues, he would hurry home to Marion for his plums and custard! 7
Lieutenant Colonel Eustace Blois, managing director of the Grand Opera Syndicate, has inscribed his name on the back. He also gave the response to the Chairman at the dinner to the proposal of Victor Watson Esq., whose name also appears inscribed on the menu. Frederick Salkeld, second horn of the Royal Opera Orchestra, Covent Garden (he was killed in a motor accident in 1931) has signed the back of the menu. Other signatures include that of Gordon Walker, principal flute, Sir Bertie Lodge and Wynn Reeves, principal violin of the Royal Opera Orchestra.
|
|
||||||
|
|
NOTES
1 I am grateful to Roger Brain for providing Beeley family information and Marion Brain, née Beeley’s year of birth and death.
2 Jefferson, p.135
3 Pettitt, 1989, p.30, 32
4 Alfred Brain’s dates of war service, see Pettitt, op.cit., p.30-31.; Alfred’s emigration to America with daughter Olga, see op.cit., p.33.
5 Pettitt, 1989, p.43
6 Pettitt, 1989, p.47
7 The significance of Aubrey’s nick name “Custard” was told to the author by Aubrey’s daughter-in-law, Audrey Brain
Bibliography
Jefferson, Alan, Sir Thomas Beecham A Centenary Tribute. London, Macdonald And Jane’s, 1979
Pettitt, Stephen J., Dennis Brain a biography. London, Robert Hale, 2nd (revised) edition, 1989
