The Minotaur (opera)
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| Operas by Harrison Birtwistle |
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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. Running time is 2 hours 50 minutes with one interval.
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[edit] 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. Tomlinson also created the role of the Green Knight in Birtwistle's 1990 opera Gawain.[1]
[edit] 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. She believes she can persuade Theseus to take her back with him to Athens. Both see the Minotaur as scapegoat and deliverance."[2]
The last scene of The Minotaur echoes the final scene of Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov.[3]
[edit] 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
[edit] References
- ^ Emma Pomfret, Sir John Tomlinson in Harrison Birtwistle’s The Minotaur: opera’s raging bull, The Times, April 11, 2008. Retrieved 8 June 2008.
- ^ *Harsent, David (2008). Birtwistle: The Minotaur premiere at Covent Garden. Boosey & Hawkes. Retrieved on 2008-05-17. (Includes synopsis and premiere cast)
- ^ Andrew Clements, 'The Minotaur' (Review of the Royal Opera House premiere), The Guardian, April 16, 2008. Retrieved 8 June 2008.
- The Minotaur. Royal Opera House (2008). Retrieved on 2008-05-17.
- 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. Retrieved on 2008-05-17.
- Paul Driver, Review: The Minotaur at the Royal Opera House, The Sunday Times, April 20, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-05-17.
- Anthony Holden, On the horns of a dilemma The Observer, April 20, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-05-17.
- Rupert Christiansen, The Minotaur: Enthralling, hypnotising - and unloveable, The Telegraph, April 17, 2008. 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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