| Operas by Harrison Birtwistle |
|---|
Punch and Judy (1967) |
The Minotaur is an opera in 13 scenes by English composer Harrison Birtwistle to a libretto by poet David Harsent, commissioned by the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in London; it was first shown there on 15 April 2008, and was shown on BBC2 television on 7 June 2008. Sir Harrison Paul Birtwistle CH (born 15 July, 1934) is a British contemporary Composer. Punch and Judy is an Opera with music by Harrison Birtwistle and a Libretto by Stephen Pruslin based on the puppet figures of the same The Mask of Orpheus is an Opera with music by Harrison Birtwistle and a Libretto by Peter Zinovieff. Gawain is an opera with music by Harrison Birtwistle to a libretto by David Harsent. The Second Mrs Kong is an opera in two acts with music by Sir Harrison Birtwistle to a libretto by Russell Hoban. The Last Supper is an opera with music by Sir Harrison Birtwistle to an English and Latin libretto by Robin Blaser. Opera is an art form in which Singers and Musicians perform a Dramatic work (called an opera which combines a text (called a Libretto England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Sir Harrison Paul Birtwistle CH (born 15 July, 1934) is a British contemporary Composer. A libretto is the text used in an extended Musical work such as an Opera, Operetta, Masque, sacred or secular Oratorio and David Harsent (born in Devon on December 9 1942) is an English poet. WikipediaWikiProject Opera --> The Royal Opera House is an Opera house and major performing Covent Garden (Pronunciation kɒvʌnt is a district in London, England, located on the easternmost parts of the City of Westminster and the southwest London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Running time is 2 hours 50 minutes with one interval.
Contents |
Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere cast, 15 April 2008 Conductor: Antonio Pappano |
|---|---|---|
| The Minotaur | bass | John Tomlinson |
| Theseus | bass-baritone | Johan Reuter |
| Ariadne | mezzo-soprano | Christine Rice |
| Snake Priestess | countertenor | Andrew Watts |
| Innocents | soprano soprano mezzo-soprano countertenor countertenor | Rebecca Bottone Pumeza Matshikiza Wendy Dawn Thompson Christopher Ainslie Tim Mead |
| Hiereus | tenor | Philip Langridge |
| Ker | soprano | Amanda Echalaz |
| Director | Stephen Langridge | |
| Designer | Alison Chitty | |
| Lighting | Paul Pyant | |
| Choreography | Philippe Giraudeau | |
| Video design | Leo Warner, Mark Grimmer | |
Birtwistle wrote the title role for John Tomlinson's voice. Antoine-Louis Barye ( September 24, 1796 - June 25, 1875) was a French sculptor most famous for his work as an Animalier WikipediaWikiProject Classical music#Biographical_infoboxes --> Antonio Pappano (born 30 December 1959) is a In Greek mythology, the Minotaur ( Greek:, Mīnṓtauros) was a creature that was part man and part bull. Sir John Rowland Tomlinson KB CBE (born September 22, 1946) is an English bass. For other uses see Theseus (disambiguation Theseus (Θησεύς was a Legendary king of Athens, son of Aethra, and fathered A bass-baritone is a high-lying bass that shares certain qualities with the Baritone Voice type. Ariadne, in Greek mythology (Latin Arianna French Arianne was daughter of King Minos of Crete and his queen Pasiphaë, daughter This article is related to a series of articles under the main article Voice type. This article is related to a series of articles under the main article Voice type. This article is related to a series of articles under the main article Voice type. A priest or priestess is a person having the authority or power to administer religious rites in particular rites of sacrifice to and propitiation of a deity or deities The tenor is the highest male voice within the Modal register, just above the Baritone voice WikipediaWikiProject Opera#Infoboxes --> Philip Langridge CBE (born 16 December 1939 is an English Tenor considered Tomlinson also created the role of the Green Knight in Birtwistle's 1990 opera Gawain. Gawain is an opera with music by Harrison Birtwistle to a libretto by David Harsent. [1]
Theme
From the program notes:
"The Minotaur does not fully comprehend the duality of his physical nature as half-bull, half-man; only in sleep and, ultimately, in death does his human side become evident. Ariadne hopes that, with the help of the Oracle, she will enable Theseus to find a way out of the labyrinth should he survive his encounter with the Minotaur. PYTHIA is a computer simulation program for particle collisions at very high energies (see Event (particle physics) in Particle accelerators In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth ( Greek λαβύρινθος labyrinthos) was an elaborate structure designed and built by the legendary artificer She believes she can persuade Theseus to take her back with him to Athens. The History of Athens is one of the longest of any city in Europe and in the world Both see the Minotaur as scapegoat and deliverance. "[2]
The last scene of The Minotaur echoes the final scene of Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov. Boris Godunov ( Борис Годунов, original Orthography Борисъ Годуновъ, Borís Godunóv) is an Opera by [3]
Instrumentation
- Woodwind: 3 flutes (2nd and 3rd doubling piccolo); 3 oboes (III also English horn); 4 clarinets (I=B flat, A; II=B flat, A E flat, bcl; III=B flat, A bass clarinet; IV=bass clarinet, contrabass clarinet); alto saxophone; 3 bassoons (III also double bassoon)
- Brass: 4 horns, 4 trumpets, 4 trombone (IV also contrabass trombone); tuba
- Percussion: timpani (2 sets on stage), 4 percussionists: xylophone, glockenspiel, vibraphone, crotales, güiro, 3 higher tom-toms, 3 lower tom-toms, small bass drum, very large bass drum, 2 log drums, triangles, 4 wood blocks, 4 temple blocks, 2 bongos, 2 congas, 4 suspended cymbals, 3 tam-tams, 2 large nipple gongs
- Other: 2 harps, cimbalom, strings: 14/12/10/8/7
References
- ^ Emma Pomfret, Sir John Tomlinson in Harrison Birtwistle’s The Minotaur: opera’s raging bull, The Times, April 11, 2008. Instrumentation is the branch of science that deals with measurement and control in order to increase efficiency and safety in the workplace Types of woodwind instruments See also List of woodwind instruments Single-reed instruments use a reed, which is a thin cut The flute is a Musical instrument of the Woodwind family Unlike other woodwind instruments a flute is a Reedless wind instrument that produces its The piccolo is a small Flute. Like the flute the piccolo is normally pitched in the key of C one octave above the concert flute (making it effectively a sopranino "Hautbois" redirects here for the strawberry variety see Hautbois strawberry. The cor anglais, or English horn, is a Double reed Woodwind Musical instrument in the Oboe family The clarinet is a Musical instrument in the Woodwind family The name derives from adding the suffix -et meaning little to the Italian word The bass clarinet is a Musical instrument of the Clarinet family The bass clarinet is a Musical instrument of the Clarinet family The contrabass clarinet is the largest member of the Clarinet family that has ever been in regular production or significant use The alto saxophone is a member of the Saxophone a family of Woodwind instruments invented by Adolphe Sax. The bassoon is a Woodwind instrument in the Double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and Tenor registers and occasionally The contrabassoon is a larger version of the Bassoon sounding an octave lower A brass instrument is a Musical instrument whose tone is produced by vibration of the lips as the player blows into a tubular Resonator. The trombone is a Musical instrument in the brass family Like all brass instruments it is a lip-reed Aerophone: sound is produced when the player’s There are many different types of trombones. The most frequently encountered trombones today are the tenor and bass though as with other Renaissance instruments such as the Recorder Mediatubaogg -->The tuba is the largest and lowest pitched Brass instrument. Timpani (also known colloquially as kettledrums or kettle drums) are Musical instruments in the percussion family The xylophone (from the Greek words ξύλον - xylon, "wood" + φωνή - phone, "voice" meaning "wooden The glockenspiel ( German, "set of bells quot or "play-bells" also known as orchestra bells and in its portable The vibraphone, sometimes called the vibraharp or simply the vibes, is a Musical instrument in the mallet subfamily of the percussion family Crotales (pronounced "kro-tah'-les" sometimes called antique cymbals, are Percussion instruments consisting of small tuned bronze or brass disks The güiro is a Percussion instrument consisting of an open-ended hollow Gourd with parallel notches cut in one side Tom tom and similar names may refer to In music: Tom-tom drum, a cylindrical drum with no snare Tom Tom Club, a New Wave Tom tom and similar names may refer to In music: Tom-tom drum, a cylindrical drum with no snare Tom Tom Club, a New Wave A bass drum is a large Drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. A bass drum is a large Drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. A log drum is a type of unpitched Percussion instrument that creates its resonance with two tongues that are carved into a hollow box The triangle is an Idiophone type of Musical instrument in the percussion family This article is about the Musical instrument. See Woodblock for other meanings of the term The temple block is a percussion instrument originating in China, Japan and Korea where it is used in religious ceremonies The conga is tall narrow single-headed Cuban Drum of African origin probably derived from the Congolese Makuta drums or Sikulu A suspended cymbal is any single Cymbal played with a stick or beater rather than struck against another cymbal This article is about the Internet Protocol Television channel This article is about the Internet Protocol Television channel The harp is a Stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicular to the soundboard. The cimbalom (most common English spelling is a concert Hammer dulcimer. A string orchestra is understood as an Orchestra composed solely of instruments of the Violin family. Retrieved 8 June 2008.
- ^ *Harsent, David (2008). David Harsent (born in Devon on December 9 1942) is an English poet. Birtwistle: The Minotaur premiere at Covent Garden. Boosey & Hawkes. Boosey & Hawkes is a British music publisher that claims to be the largest specialist Classical music publisher in the world Retrieved on 2008-05-17. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 1521 - Edward Stafford 3rd Duke of Buckingham, is executed for Treason. (Includes synopsis and premiere cast)
- ^ Andrew Clements, 'The Minotaur' (Review of the Royal Opera House premiere), The Guardian, April 16, 2008. The Guardian (until 1959 The Manchester Guardian) is a British Newspaper owned by the Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 8 June 2008.
- The Minotaur. Royal Opera House (2008). WikipediaWikiProject Opera --> The Royal Opera House is an Opera house and major performing Retrieved on 2008-05-17. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 1521 - Edward Stafford 3rd Duke of Buckingham, is executed for Treason.
- BBC Opera on 3 article with more detailed plot synopsis. Retrieved on 2008-06-07.
- George Loomis, 'The Minotaur': A masterful retelling of a classic Greek myth, International Herald Tribune April 22, 2008
- Anna Picard, Review: The Minotaur, Royal Opera House, London, The Independent, 20 April 2008. The International Herald Tribune is a widely read English language international Newspaper The Independent is a British compact Newspaper published by Tony O'Reilly 's Independent News & Media. Retrieved on 2008-05-17.
- Paul Driver, Review: The Minotaur at the Royal Opera House, The Sunday Times, April 20, 2008. The Sunday Times is a Sunday Broadsheet Newspaper distributed in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. Retrieved on 2008-05-17.
- Anthony Holden, On the horns of a dilemma The Observer, April 20, 2008. The Observer is a British Newspaper published on Sundays In about the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Retrieved on 2008-05-17.
- Rupert Christiansen, The Minotaur: Enthralling, hypnotising - and unloveable, The Telegraph, April 17, 2008. For "The Daily Telegraph" in Australia see The Daily Telegraph (Australia. Retrieved on 2008-05-17.
- Ivan Hewett, The Minotaur: father and son venture into the labyrinth, The Telegraph, April 10, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-05-17.
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