The Lighthouse (opera)

The Lighthouse
Chamber opera by Peter Maxwell Davies
The composer in 2012
Premiere	2 September 1980 (1980-09-02) Edinburgh

The Lighthouse is a chamber opera with words and music by Peter Maxwell Davies.

The scenario was inspired by a true story. In December 1900 a lighthouse supply ship called the Hesperus, based in Stromness, Orkney, went on its routine tour of duty to the Flannan Isles in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. The lighthouse was empty - all three beds and the table looked as if they had been left in a hurry and the lamp, though out, was in perfect working order, but the men had disappeared into thin air. The composer has taken liberties, and changed the name of the lighthouse to Fladda, this being not a usual name in the Western Isles of Scotland, to avoid offence or distress to any relatives of those concerned in the original incident.

It was first performed in Edinburgh, Scotland, on 2 September 1980 as part of the Edinburgh Festival. The singers were Neil Mackie (tenor), Michael Rippon (baritone) and David Wilson-Johnson (bass-baritone) with The Fires of London conducted by Richard Dufallo.

In 1983 the Boston Shakespeare Company presented a production directed by Peter Sellars featuring Michael Brown (tenor), Sanford Sylvan (baritone), Kenneth Bell (bass), conducted by David Hoose, video by Michael Nishball, costumes by Ellen McCartney and lighting by James F. Ingalls. Writing for The New York Times, John Rockwell described the production as "superbly realized musically and thrilling as theater." Another Boston company, Boston Lyric Opera gave two performances in February 2012.