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NOTES ON THE TEXT
by Clifton Coles
Jane Annie is a bibliographic nightmare. Four versions of the libretto were printed, each differing from its predecessor and all apparently differing from the vocal score. It is almost impossible to determine what was performed or when.
Internal evidence identifies the Archive text as the earliest. It is reproduced here as originally published without alterations, including punctuation, minor word changes, and chorus repetitions evident in the vocal score. This will give readers perhaps the best idea of the original plan for the opera.
The libretto includes two duets that do not appear in the vocal score: "Strictly tended plants are mine" for Miss Sims and the Proctor and "O eyes that spoke to me of truth" for Bab and Tom, both in act one.
Two songs appear in the vocal score that do not in the libretto: a quartet "Approach her thus, your hand on heart" and a trio "What are the gifts that love may bring?" The lyrics to these two numbers are included in a separate file.
Other major differences between the vocal score and this version of the libretto:
The Concerted Piece ("You and I, dear Jack, will show") concludes in the vocal score with a ballet after the second ensemble. The libretto continues on with the chorus "We/They have learned her/my precept pat," etc., followed by the stage direction Enter Students and other Girls and the chorus of Soldiers ("What's the meaning of all this"), etc.
In the vocal score, the Sextet "You're now a sentimental maid" appears minus a chunk in the middle, from the line "Their conduct praised, we are amazed," through the picture-taking, and up to Jane Annie's hypnotism of the Proctor.
The act two finale omits the Proctor's "The moral I will now explain" and all material following.
What is noted in this libretto as a trio for the Proctor and the two Bulldogs ("When I was -- when he was a little child") is styled a duet for the Bulldogs in the vocal score. The Proctor is onstage but does not participate in the singing.
Page modified 26 July 2019