Hidden Gems Series
This series is dedicated to unearthing lost masterpieces and returning them to their rightful place in the global repertoire.
Maudlin of Paplewick
An Opera by Irish Composer Ina Boyle
A forgotten Irish masterpiece emerges from the shadows.
Witches, forests, enchantment - Ina Boyle’s only surviving opera for the stage will be brought to life at last, nearly a century after it was written.
Intrigued by Ina Boyle’s unperformed final major work, Maudlin of Paplewick, Darren Hargan explored the 622-page manuscript at Trinity College Dublin. The opera, based on Ben Jonson’s The Sad Shepherd, tells of Maudlin, a witch from Paplewick, using sorcery to disguise herself. Boyle’s score, written for chamber orchestra, shows her skill in sustaining drama and evokes Vaughan Williams and Britten in its magical woodland setting.
However, the manuscript showed some anomalies and discrepancies, and no orchestral parts exist. To stage it, Hargan prepared a critical performing edition, mindful of Boyle’s own struggles with orchestration in later years.
Now, with support from the Ina Boyle Estate, Maudlin of Paplewick - the only surviving stage opera by an Irish woman composer - will finally receive its world première with Le Foyer des Artistes in 2027 - Ina Boyle’s anniversary year!
Published in 2026 by Faber Music, who have recently entered a new publishing agreement with the estate of Ina Boyle, representing over 80 works by one of Ireland’s most prolific composers from the first half of the twentieth century, Darren’s critical edition has now become part of the newly established Ina Boyle catalogue at Faber Music.
Ina Boyle (1872-1958), a pupil of Ralph Vaughan Williams, lived quietly in Co. Wicklow, caring for her family while composing daily, inspired by the surrounding countryside. Though Vaughan Williams valued her talent (she would travel regularly to London for lessons), and despite his encouragement, Boyle never moved to London, and her early promise went largely unrecognised. Her extensive output - including symphonies, choral, vocal, chamber works, an opera, and stage pieces - remains mostly unperformed, preserved in manuscript at Trinity College Dublin. Today though, modern audiences have the chance to hear some of her music much more regularly.