Book description
Susie Gilbert traces the development of ENO from its earliest
origins in the darkest Victorian slums of the Cut, where it was
conceived as a vehicle of social reform, through two world wars, and
via Sadler's Wells to its great glory days at the Coliseum and beyond.
Setting the company's artistic achievements within the wider context
of social and political attitudes to the arts and the ever-changing
theatrical style, Gilbert provides a vivid cultural history of this
unique institution's 150 years. Inspired by the idealism of Lilian
Baylis, the company has been based on the belief that opera in the
vernacular can not only reach out to even the least privileged members
of society but also create a potent and immediate communication with
its audience. With full access to ENO's archive, Gilbert has unearthed
a rich range of material and held numerous interviews with a
fascinating array of personalities, to weave an absorbing tale of life
both in front and behind the scenes of ENO as it developed over the years.
Susie Gilbert has worked for many years as an archival
researcher and editor on numerous books of twentieth century history,
including the official biography of Winston Churchill. Her previous
book, A Tale of Four Houses, published in 2003, traced the history of
Covent Garden and the Metropolitan Opera since 1945.
