Edmund Tracey
(1927-2007), BA (Oxon), musician, critic, artistic director, translator and
dramaturge.
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Artistic director whose adventurous stagings and fine translations
underpinned the successes of English National Opera. The distinguished
translator, critic and dramaturge Edmund Tracey was an éminence grise behind
the successes of English National Opera in the 1970s and 1980s. James Edmund Tracey, born 14 November 1927 Preston, Lancashire and
died London 23 March 2007, the son of James Tracey and Annie Whelan who were
married in 1916 in Bolton. He was educated at St. Mary's College grammar school in Blackburn, At
grammar school, heacquired his love of literature and cinema and, quite
unprompted, made up his mind that he was going to Oxford. The headmaster,
discussing his future with his mother, said that he supposed Jimmy (as he was
then known) would go into a local bank when he left school, to which she
retorted: "If you think that, you obviously don't know my son."
Instead, he wrote, off his own bat, to the provost of Oriel, receiving a
courteous reply to the effect that the college was likely to be full of
returning ex-servicemen, but he was passing the letter to his friend the head
of Lincoln College. He won a scholarship in 1945 to Lincoln College, Oxford,
where he read English and composed incidental music for undergraduate
productions, and called himself by his second name Edmund. After Oxford he
worked in London in the theatre as composer and music adviser, before
enrolling at Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where he played the viola
and studied composition with Benjamin Frankel, earning money by working
nights at the international telephone exchange. He gradually recognised that
he was not cut out to be a composer. He then turned to criticism, starting
with film but soon moving to music. From 1958 he was number two to Peter Heyworth on The Observer and
music editor of the Times Educational Supplement, 1959-64. He also served on
the editorial board of Opera magazine. His notices were elegant and
trenchant, and betrayed deep knowledge of music and, in particular, opera. |
Tracey was passionate about opera, but his standards were impossibly
high, and he routinely gave performances at Sadler's Wells a slating. In 1965
Stephen Arlen, general manager of SWO, invited him to lunch and offered him a
job, to see if he could do any better. Tracey took up the challenge and started
his new career by improving the programmes.
The following year he and Arlen were discussing the future repertory and
decided to commission another opera from the Australian composer Malcolm
Williamson, whose first opera, Our Man in Havana, had been successfully
performed by the company in 1963. The new work was to be suitable both for
young people and adults and Tracey was asked to provide the text.
His first idea was a Dick Whittington, but Williamson did not approve,
and suggested a fairy-tale play by Strindberg, Lucky Peter's Journey. Tracey
wrote a three-act libretto, which Williamson duly set. The opera was given its
premiere on 18 December 1969. Though strongly cast and well performed, it was
not a success. The original play was pure fantasy, and Tracey had tried to
introduce some realism, but neither children nor grown-ups in the audience
enjoyed it. From then on Tracey concentrated on translating.
Nineteen seventy was the Beethoven bicentenary and "Sadler's Wells
at the Coliseum" staged Leonora (the first version of Fidelio) in March
and Fidelio itself in November. Tracey wrote new dialogue for both.
In August, between the two Beethoven works, a new production of
Offenbach's The Tales of Hoffmann was given, in a performing edition by Tracey
and Colin Graham, the director. Tracey made a new translation for the
production, which was a tremendous success. Next Tracey translated La traviata
(1973) and Massenet's Manon (1974), both very well received. By now the company
had finally become English National Opera.
Tracey provided new dialogue for Offenbach's La Belle Hélène and
Mozart's The Seraglio, then in February 1976 he made the translation for a new
production of Tosca. After providing English Music Theatre with a translation
of Mozart's La finta giardiniera - literally "The False Lady
Gardener" - which was given as Sandrina's Secret at Sadler's Wells
Theatre, Tracey worked on a new version of Verdi's Aida, which was performed by
ENO in 1979. Meanwhile he wrote new dialogue for two operettas, Johann
Strauss's Die Fledermaus and Lehar's The Merry Widow. Christopher Hassall
translated the lyrics in both cases.
In 1981 Tracey translated Gounod's Romeo and Juliet and Charpentier's
Louise; he also adapted his version of The Tales of Hoffmann for a production,
very different from ENO's, at Opera North.
Verdi's The Sicilian Vespers followed in 1984, then in 1985 Tracey made
one of the most successful of all his adaptations: Gounod's Faust. Returning to
the original version with dialogue, Tracey and the director Ian Judge made a
performing text that brought the old warhorse/masterpiece to vigorous new life.
His Faust translation was also used by the New Sussex Opera Company at the
Brighton Festival in 1989. Tracey finally retired in 1993.
Despite his strong personality and charismatic charm, Tracey was in some
ways a very private person; but those who worked for him and those who knew him
well loved him. To them he was a wise friend and captivating companion, with a
native Irish genius for storytelling, a near-perfect memory, a natural talent
for attracting bizarre happenings and strange encounters, a mind full of
unpredictable ideas, and a rare way with words, which made conversation with
him a delight. During his long final illness (he suffered from Parkinson's
disease), he showed a patience and fortitude that won the admiration of friends
and nursing staff alike.
This is how Henrietta Bredin in The Spectator described his funeral:
“Edmund Tracey RIP
Memorial services. Difficult to get right but potentially celebratory,
contemplative, comforting and spiritually sustaining. Earlier today, St Paul's
Covent Garden saw a gathering that was all of those things, in memory of Edmund
Tracey, a wise, witty and gloriously cultivated man, Literary Manager for many
years at Sadler's Wells, then at English National Opera. He worked in happier
times for that beleaguered company and a splendid assembly of singers,
conductors, directors and numerous others came together to celebrate him. I can
think of fewer more thrilling experiences than adding one's own piping tones in
'Immortal invisible' to the soaring notes of Dames Josephine Barstow and Anne
Evans, backed up by Graham Clark's Wagnerian tenor, with Martin Neary at the
organ. Wonderful.”
Filmography:
1980 The Merry Widow - Dialogue
1976 Die Fledermaus - English version
Ref:
Lincoln College News, August 2008
Opera, June 2007
The Guardian, 25 April 2007
The Independent, 4 April 2007
The Spectator, 1st November 2007
The Stage 21 May 2007
The Times. May 2, 2007
Last update: 03
November 2016