The Royal Shakespeare Company has released a new CD of original music and speeches from the current production of The Two Gentlemen of Verona, the third in an ongoing series of recordings.
The disc also features music from the 1938 Shakespeare Memorial Theatre production by Anthony Bernard.
RSC head of music Bruce O’Neil says, “music can often be a barometer of the differences in taste between generations, and so it is with Michael Bruce’s score for Simon Godwin’s current production of The Two Gentlemen of Verona, set in contemporary Italy, which highlights the disjunction between a provincial, antiquated Verona and a vibrant, urban Milan.
“The same effect can be heard in the archive selection on this CD: Anthony Bernard's music for Ben Iden Payne's 1938 Stratford production. While the songs sound 'modern' for a production of that period, the incidental music is pastiched in the style of Mozart.”
He adds, “one of music’s universally recognised strengths is its power of seduction, especially when encapsulated in the love song. ‘Who Is Silvia?’ is one of Shakespeare’s best-known song texts and has enjoyed settings by many celebrated composers, including Franz Schubert.
“For the current RSC production, Michael Bruce has cast the song in the mould of ‘indie ballad’, as imagined from the pen of Proteus as singer-songwriter, and it’s interesting to hear it alongside Bernard’s 1938 version, performed by the great British baritone Roderick Williams.”
All RSC CDs are downloadable from iTunes. Copies of the CD, priced at £5, are available to order from the RSC online shop.