The Minotaur (opera)
| The Minotaur | |
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| Opera by Harrison Birtwistle | |
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The composer in 2008
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| Librettist | David Harsent |
| Language | English |
| Based on | Minotaur |
| Premiere | 15 April 2008 Royal Opera House, London |
The Minotaur is an opera in two acts, with 13 scenes by English composer Harrison Birtwistle to a libretto by poet David Harsent, commissioned by the Royal Opera House in London. The work, a retelling of the Greek myth of the Minotaur, premiered at the Royal Opera House on 15 April 2008 and was shown on BBC2 television on 7 June 2008. The score is modernistic, and the scenes fall into three types: bullfights; scenes between Ariadne and Theseus; and dream sequences for the Minotaur, in which the creature has the gift of speech. The opera lasts about 140 minutes, not counting the interval.
The opera was revived at the Royal Opera House for five performances in early 2013, featuring most of the original cast, most notably Christine Rice, John Tomlinson, Andrew Watts and Johan Reuter.
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.
Premiere production staff
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.
The last scene of The Minotaur echoes the death scene of Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov.
Scene 1: Arrival
Ariadne watches as a Greek ship arrives on the island of Crete, carrying the Innocents who will be sacrificed to the Minotaur: a monstrous creature, half-man, half-bull. Ariadne greets the Innocents and notices Theseus in the crowd. He has come to Crete to defeat the Minotaur.
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