The Midsummer Marriage
Opera in three acts (1947-52)
150 minutes
Text by the composer
Mark, a young man of unknown parentage - tenor Jenifer, his betrothed - soprano King Fisher, Jenifer's father - baritone Bella, King Fisher's secretary - soprano Jack, Bella's boyfriend - tenor Sosostris, a clairvoyant - alto The Ancients, Priest and Priestess of the Temple - bass/mezzo soprano
Chorus of Mark's and Jenifer's friends (SATB)
Dancers attendant on the Ancients and Strephon, one of the dancers, silent roles.
Vocal score ED 10778
Libretto (English/German) ED 10778a
Study score ED 11158
Limited edition, numbered and signed by the composer ED 11158-01
First performance by Covent Garden Opera conducted by Sir John Pritchard and produced by Christopher West with choreography by John Cranko at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, 27 January 1955
Strephon: Pirmin Trecu
The Ancients: Michael Langdon
Edith Coates
Mark: Richard Lewis
Jenifer: Joan Sutherland
King Fisher: Otakar Kraus
Bella: Adele Leigh
Jack: John Lanigan
A Voice: Monica Sinclair
A Girl Dancer: Julia Farron
Half-Tipsy Man: Gordon Farrall
A Man Dancing: Andrew Daniels
Sosostris: Oralia Dominguez
1968/70 Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
Producer: Ande Anderson
Choreography: Gillian Lynne / Alfred Rodrigues
Conductor: Colin Davis
1973/74 Badisches Staatstheater, Karlsruhe
Producer: Barrie Gavin
Choreography: Susanne Hywell
Conductor: Arthur Grueber
1976/78/79 Welsh National Opera Company
Producer: Ian Watt Smith
Choreography: Terry Gilbert
Conductor: Richard Armstrong
1978 The State Opera of South Australia (Adelaide Festival)
Producer: Adrian Slack
Choreography: Jonathan Taylor
Conductor: Myer Fredman
1982 Stockholms Musikdramatiska Ensemble
Producer: Erik Appelgren
Conductor: Per Engstrom
1983 San Francisco Opera
Producer: John Copley
Choreography: Terry Gilbert
Conductor: David Agler
1985 English National Opera
Producer: David Poutney
Conductor: Marc Elder
1985 Opera North
Producer: Tim Albery
Choreography: Ian Spink
Conductor: David Lloyd-Jones
1986 Internationale Maifestspiele Wiesbaden (Opera North)
1988 Scottish Opera
Producer: Tim Albery
Choreography: Ian Spink
Conductor: John Pryce-Jones
1989 Channel 4
Producer: Elijah Moshinsky
Choreography: Anthony van Laast
Conductor: David Atherton
1993 New York City Opera
Producer: Francesca Zambello
Choreography: Susan Marshall
Conductor: Christopher Keene
1996 The Royal Opera House
Producer: Graham Vick
Choreography: Ron Howell
Conductor: Bernard Haitink
1998 Bayerische Staatsoper, Muenchen
Producer: Richard Jones
Choreography: Amir Hosseinpour
Conductor: Mark Elder
King Priam
Opera in three acts (1958-61)
125 minutes
Text by the composer
Priam, King of Troy - bass baritone Hecuba, his wife - dramatic soprano Hector, their eldest son - baritone Andromache, Hector's wife - lyric dramatic soprano Paris, Priam's second son - boy soprano/tenor Helen, wife to Menelaus, then wife in adultery to Paris - mezzo soprano Achilles, a Greek hero - heroic tenor Patroclus, his friend - light baritone Nurse - mezzo soprano Old man - bass Young Guard - lyric tenor Hermes, a messenger of the Gods - high light tenor
Chorus of Hunters, Wedding guests, Serving Women, etc. (SATB)
2 (2 piccolos) 1 cor anglais 1 clarinet in E flat bass clarinet 1 contrabassoon - 4 4 2 1 - timpani percussion (3 players: snare drum, bass drum, cymbal, wood block, tambourine, triangle, tam-tam, xylophone) - harp piano (celesta) guitar - strings (minimum players: 6 4 4 2) Vocal score ED 10787
Libretto ED 10787a
Written for the Koussevitsky Foundation in memory of Natalie Koussevitsky. First performance by Covent Garden Opera conducted by Sir John Pritchard, produced by Sam Wanamaker, scenery and costumes by Sean Kenny with lighting by William Bundy at the Coventry Cathedral Festival, 29 May 1962
Nurse: Noreen Berry
Hecuba: Maria Collier
Priam: Forbes Robinson
Old Man: David Kelly
Young Guard: Robert Bowan
Hector: Victor Godfrey
Paris: (as a young boy) Philip Doghan
Paris: (as a man) John Dobson
Helen: Margreta Elkins
Hermes: John Lanigan
Andromache: Josephine Veasey
Archilles: Richard Lewis
Patroclus: Joseph Ward
Serving Woman: Paula Dean
1963 Badisches Staatstheater, Karlsruhe
Producer: Carl-Heinrich Kreith
Conductor: Arthur Grueber
1975; 1985 Royal Opera House
Producer: Sam Wanamaker
Conductor: David Atherton
1984 Kent Opera
Producer: Nicholas Hytner
Conductor: Roger Norrington
1985 Athens Festival (Royal Opera)
1988 Opera Nancy: Antoine Bourseiller
Conductor: Paul Daniel
1990 Batignano
Producer: Graham Vick
Conductor: Ivor Bolton
1991 Opera North
Producers: Tom Cairns / Aletta Collins
Conductor: Paul Daniel
1992; 1996 Vlaamse Opera
Producers: Tom Cairns / Aletta Collins
Conductor: Elgar Howarth
1994 San Francisco Opera Center Showcase
Producer: Christopher Hahn
Conductor: Donald Runnicles
1995 English National Opera (revised Opera North production)
Producers: Tom Cairns / Aletta Collins
Conductor: Paul Daniel
The Knot Garden
Opera in three acts (1966-70)
80 minutes
Text by the composer (English/German)
Faber, a civil engineer aged about 35 - robust baritone Thea, his wife; a gardener - dramatic mezzo Flora, their ward, an adolescent girl - light high soprano Denise, Thea's sister; a dedicated Freedom-fighter - dramatic soprano Mel, a negro writer in his late twenties - lyric bass baritone Dov, his white friend; a musician - lyric tenor Mangus, an analyst - high tenor baritone
2 (2 piccolos) 1 cor anglais clarinet in E flat 2 (2: bass clarinet) 1 contrabassoon - 4 4 2 1 - timpani percussion (3 players: side drum, tenor drum, bass drum, jazz kit, cymbal, suspended cymbal, wood blocks, temple blocks, tambourine, castanets, whip, metal bar or heavy triangle, tam-tam, xylophone, vibraphone, glockenspiel, claves, small rattle) - harp celesta piano electric guitar/electric harpsichord - strings
Reduced version (Meirion Bowen):
1 (piccolo) 1 (cor anglais) 1 (clarinet in E flat, bass clarinet) 1 (contrabassoon) - 3 2 2 0 - percussion (2 players: timpani, tenor drum, jazz kit, cymbal, temple blocks, tambourine, castanets, metal bar or heavy triangle, tam-tam, vibraphone, glockenspiel, tubular bells, claves, rattle) - harp piano (celesta) electric guitar - strings: 3 violins (3: viola) viola cello double bass
Vocal score ED 11075
Libretto ED 11075a
Commissioned by the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. First performance conducted by Sir Colin Davis and produced by Sir Peter Hall at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, 2 December 1970.
- Faber: Raimund Herincx
- Thea: Yvonne Minton / Katherine Pring
- Flora: Jill Gomez
- Denise: Josephine Barstow
- Mel: Thomas Carey
- Dov: Robert Tear
- Mangus: Thomas Hernsley
First performance of reduced version by Opera Factory London Sinfonietta conducted by Howard Williams and directed by David Freeman at the Wilde Theatre, Bracknell, 23 May 1984
- Faber: Tom Mc Donnell
- Thea: Christine Botes
- Flora: Janis Kelly
- Denise: Marie Angel
- Mel: Omar Ebrahim
- Dov: Nigel Robson
- Mangus: Philip Doghan
1972 Royal Opera House
Director: Peter Hall
Conductor: Colin Davis
1974 Northwestern University
Director: Robert Gay
Conductor: Bernard Rubenstein
1984 London Sinfonietta Opera Factory
Director: David Freeman
Conductor: Howard Williams
(reduced version)
1987 Musiktheater im Revier Gelsenkirchen
Director: Peter Theiler
Conductor: Johannes Kalitzke
1988 Royal Opera House
Director: Nicholas Hytner
Conductor: Sian Edwards
1989 Melbourne Spoleto Festival
Director: Barrie Kosky
Conductor: Brian Stacey
(reduced version)
1990 University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music
Director: Malcolm Fraser
Conductor: Gerhard Samuel
(reduced version)
1991 Boston University School of Music (New Music Harvest)
Director: Will Graham
Conductor: David Hoose
(reduced version)
1994 ARCAL (a La Ferme du Buisson)
Director: Christian Gagneron
Conductor: Philippe Nahon
(reduced version)
1994 London Royal Schools / Royal College of Music
Director: Mike Ashman
Conductor: James Lockhart
(reduced version)
1998 Taschenoper Wien
Conductor: Peter Bergamin
(reduced version)
The Ice Break
Opera in three acts (1973-76)
70 minutes
Text by the composer
Lev, a 50 year old teacher - bass Nadia, his wife - lyric soprano Yuri, their son - baritone Gayle, Yuri's present native-born white girl friend - dramatic soprano Hannah, Gayle's black friend - rich mezzo Olympion, Hannah's boyfriend - tenor Luke, a young intern at Hannah's hospital - tenor Lieutenant - baritone Astron, a psychedelic messenger - lyric mezzo and high tenor (or counter tenor) Chorus of various people (SATB)
2 (2 piccolos) 2 cor anglais 2 (clarinet in E flat) bass clarinet 2 contrabassoon - 4 2 3 1 - timpani percussion (7 players: side drum, tenor drum, bass drum, slit drum, 5 tuned drums, jazz kit, timbales, bongos, cymbal, suspended cymbal, wood blocks, temple blocks, castanets, whip, triangle, large triangle, sleigh bells, flexatone, tam-tam, xylophone, vibraphone, glockenspiel, tubular bells, claves, guiro, glass chimes, bamboo wind chimes, metal bar, wind machine) - harp piano celesta electric organ electric guitar bass guitar - strings.
Vocal score ED 11253
Libretto ED 11253a
Commissioned by the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. First performance conducted by Sir Colin Davis and produced by Sam Wanamaker with choreography by Walter Raines at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, 7 July 1977
Nadia: Heather Harper
Yuri: Tom McDonnell
Gayle: Josephine Barstow
Hannah: Beverley Vaughan
Olympion: Clyde Walker
Lev: John Shirley-Quirk
Lieutenant: Roderick Kennedy
Luke: John Dobson
Astron: Anne Wilkens
: James Bowman
1978 Buehnen der Landeshauptstadt, Kiel
Producer: Heinz Lukas-Kindermann
Conductor: Walter Gillessen
1979 The Opera Company of Boston
Producer: Sarah Caldwell
New Year
Opera in three acts (1986-88)
102 minutes
Text by the composer
Jo Ann, a trainee children's doctor - lyric soprano Donny, her young brother - light baritone Nan, their foster mother - dramatic mezzo Merlin, the computer wizard - dramatic baritone Pelegrin, the space pilot - lyric tenor Regan, their boss - dramatic soprano The Presenter - microphoned male singer
Chorus of dancers and singers
3 (3 piccolos) 2 cor anglais 1 bass clarinet 3 saxophones 1 contrabassoon - 4 2 3 1 - percussion (side drum, tenor drum, bass drum, jazz kit, slit drum, 2 steel drums (high / low), brake drum, 5 tom-toms, cymbal, suspended cymbal, hi-hat, hand cymbals played with mallet / steel bar, 2 wood blocks, whip, large triangle, large tam-tam, small tam-tam, cow bells, xylophone, vibraphone, glockenspiel, tubular bells, claves, guiro) - harp electric guitar bass guitar - strings (minimum players: 4 4 4 4
2) - electronic tape - sampler keyboard
Vocal score ED 12333
Libretto ED 12333-01
Co-commissioned by Houston Grand Opera, Glyndebourne Festival Opera and the British Broadcasting Corporation. First performances: Houston Grand Opera conducted by John De Main and directed by Sir Peter Hall with choreography by Bill T. Jones, 27 October 1989. Glyndebourne Festival Opera conducted by Andrew Davis and directed by Sir Peter Hall with choreography by Bill T. Jones, 1 July 1990. BBC Television co-directed by Dennis Marks and Bill T. Jones, broadcast on BBC 2, 21 September 1991
Houston
Presenter: John Schiappa
Jo Ann: Helen Field
Donny: Krister St. Hill
Nan: Jane Shaulis
Merlin: James Maddalena
Pelegrin: Peter Kazaras
Regan: Richetta Manager
Glydebourne
Presenter: Nigel Robson
Jo Ann: Helen Field
Donny: Krister St Hill
Nan: Jane Shaulis
Merlin: James Maddalena
Pelegrin: Philip Langridge / Kim Begley
Regan: Richetta Manager
BBC
Presenter: Vernon Henry Jr
Jo Ann: Helen Field
Donny: Krister St Hill
Nan: Jane Shaulis
Merlin: James Maddalena
Pelegrin: Kim Begley
Regan: Richetta Manager