Powder Her Face
| Powder Her Face | |
|---|---|
| Chamber opera by Thomas Adès | |
Scene in a production by Pier Luigi Pizzi at the Teatro Comunale Bologna, 2010
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| Librettist | Philip Hensher |
| Based on | life of Margaret Campbell, Duchess of Argyll |
| Premiere | 1 July 1995 Cheltenham Music Festival |
Powder Her Face, Op. 14 (1995), is a chamber opera in two acts by the British composer Thomas Adès, with an English libretto by Philip Hensher. The opera is 2 hours 20 minutes long. It was commissioned by the Almeida Opera, a part of London's Almeida Theatre, for performances at the Cheltenham Music Festival.
The subject of the opera is the "Dirty Duchess", Margaret Campbell, Duchess of Argyll, whose sexual exploits were the stuff of scandal and gossip in Britain in 1963 during her divorce proceedings. The opera is explicit in its language and detail.
It was first performed on 1 July 1995 in Cheltenham, with Jill Gómez in the leading role. Reviews were generally good, but the opera became notorious for its musical depiction of fellatio: British radio station Classic FM considered it unsuitable for transmission.
The music of the sexually themed opera combines influences ranging from Alban Berg, Igor Stravinsky, and Benjamin Britten to Kurt Weill and the tangos of Ástor Piazzolla.
Describing the overall impact of the libretto and the theatricality of the entire production, Alex Ross notes:
After the premiere there were five London performances at the Almeida Theatre.
On 8 June 2006, there was a concert performance at the Barbican Centre, London, with the London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by the composer.
From 11 to 22 June 2008, it was performed at the Linbury Studio Theatre in the Royal Opera House, London, with the Southbank Sinfonia conducted by Timothy Redmond, and Joan Rodgers as the Duchess.
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