The Vicar of Bray (opera)

The Vicar of Bray is a comic opera by Edward Solomon with a libretto by Sydney Grundy which opened at the Globe Theatre, in London, on 22 July 1882, for a run of only 69 performances. The public was not amused at a clergyman's being made the subject of ridicule, and the opera was regarded by some as scandalous. An 1892 revival at the Savoy Theatre was more successful, lasting for 143 performances, after public perceptions had changed.

The opera is based on the character described in a satirical 18th-century English folk song "The Vicar of Bray", as well as on The History of Sandford and Merton, a series of 18th century moral tales. In the parlour song, the eponymous vicar was the clergyman of the parish of Bray-on-Thames, Berkshire. The most familiar version of the lyrics recounts his adaptability (some would say amorality) over half a century, from the reigns of Charles II to George I. Over this period he embraced whichever form of liturgy, Protestant or Catholic, that was favoured by the monarch of the day to retain his position as vicar of Bray. See the annotated lyrics to "The Vicar of Bray".

The earliest version of the song's lyrics may have been written by "an officer in Colonel Fuller's regiment," according to one source. The lyrics exist in various forms. However, the story of the vicar's cheerful reversals of principle remains the same in all circumstances. In the opera, the vicar switches between "High" and "Low" Church, that is, from ritualistic Anglo-Catholic ceremonies to austere evangelical forms of worship.

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