 Man Friday ... is, if not original, a convincing character in whom comedy, pathos and native good sense are happily blended.He has the two best airs in the score.In 1974 Andrew Lamb rated "Robinson Crusoé" "a rewarding score ... the work displays the composer's ability for more ambitious orchestral and vocal writing than usual, and passages of typically racy and tuneful writing alternate with moments of genuine pathos."