The Operas - An introduction by Meirion Bowen

Tippett's five operas are at the core of his achievement as a composer and as such, are distinctive and innovatory contributions to the repertoire of twentieth century musical theatre. Steering clear of making stage-versions of well-known plays and books, preferring instead (with one exception) to fashion his own plots and characters, tippett manifests the subversive freedom of an innovatory playwright and he has the skill and precision to do so successfully within the medium of opera.

None of his operas were created with specific singers in mind. Whilst giving guidance as to the casting, Tippett has always trusted in the conductor and director - with their more up-to-date knowledge and awareness of the potential of individual singers - to make the right choices.

What has always mattered more to Tippett is the magical aura of theatre in its widest sense, its capacity for self-renewal and its potential to illuminate the darkest recesses of the human psyche. His plots are often concerned with what Jean Cocteau (writing about his dramatic and film treatments of the Orpheus legend) called 'frontier incidents'. Many of Tippett's characters thus move freely backwards and forwards between their actual selves and mythological or other prototypes: or, alternatively, they are defined in contrasting groups of singers and dancers - some inhabiting the everyday world, others coming from an imagined domain in the past or future: and these groups generate excitement and tension by invading each other's territory.

The scope here for imaginative stage-directors and designers is considerable. No single production of a Tippett opera says everything that can be said about it. There is always room for new interpretative visions to complement those of the composer himself. And since, in general, these operas are all suitable for smallish theatres, they are now finding firm place in the schedule of many different companies and festivals - not only the most prestigious, but those on university and college campuses, and the many touring companies in the UK and abroad. The strong links these operas have with cinema and television, however, have yet to be fully explored.

Tippett's operas grapple with eternal issues - of Fate and Destiny, sexual identity, self-understanding and power - often in a context of age-old rituals and celebrations. But the composer's concern throughout is to shed new light on contemporary personal and social situations. His operas are fundamentally conceived as entertainments: but every new production, when undertaken with flair and insight, has the ability to change people's lives.

(C) Meirion Bowen