Balfe's The Bohemian Girl (1843)

This was Balfe's most successful opera. It opened at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane on November 27, 1843 and remained a stalwart of the opera touring circuit in Britain into the 20th century. It also had several productions both in Europe and elsewhere in the English speaking world.

The libretto was by Alfred Bunn, the theatre manager, using a story based on continental sources. Set in Austria, a Polish nobleman, Thaddeus, saves the life of Arlene, the young daughter of the Governor. However, Arlene is then kidnapped and is raised amongst a band of gypsies, where Thaddeus has taken refuge. Arlene and Thaddeus fall in love and after a number of hurdles and misunderstandings, Arlene is reunited with her father and marries Thaddeus.

The original production included Elizabeth Rainforth as Arlene and William Harrison as Thaddeus and they can be seen above right in a contemporary engraving.

Since 1945, the opera has received few performances, the best known being Beecham's 1951 revival at Covent Garden that was broadcast by the BBC. In 2008, as part of Balfe's 200^th anniversary, it was revived in concert performances by the Royal Dublin Society and in staged performances by Opera South (further information on their production here). Both productions used the score and parts created by Dr. Valerie Langfield. These are available for hire. Please contact us for details.

The most recent recording (1991) was conducted by Richard Bonynge and was re issued on Decca 473 077-2 in 2002. You can see Jessye Norman singing its best known number “I dreamt I dwelt in marble halls” here and Joan Sutherland here. Sutherland also sings it on Decca 425 048-2.