Troilus and Cressida (opera)

Troilus and Cressida is the first of the two operas by William Walton. The libretto was by Christopher Hassall, his own first opera libretto, based on Geoffrey Chaucer's poem Troilus and Criseyde. Walton dedicated the score to his wife, Susana.

The genesis of the opera dated back to the mid-1940s, after the success of Benjamin Britten's first great operatic success, Peter Grimes. Walton intended to counter this work with an opera of his own, and Alice Wimbourne, Walton's companion at the time, suggested the story of Troilus and Cressida as a subject. Wimbourne had suggested Hassell as librettist, in spite of the fact that he had never written an opera libretto. During the course of composition, Walton and Hassell carried out an extensive correspondence. Walton edited passages by Hassell from the libretto that he deemed inappropriate, or in his own coined term, "Novelloismo". The opera took seven years to complete.

The opera debuted at Covent Garden, London on 3 December 1954 conducted by Sir Malcolm Sargent, and directed by George Devine. It was only a moderate success, and various factors were proposed to assess blame for the lacklustre performance, including the conductor not having thoroughly learned the score in advance.

The US première took place on 7 October 1955 at San Francisco Opera, conducted by Erich Leinsdorf, with Walton in attendance. The cast included Richard Lewis as Troilus, Dorothy Kirsten as Cressida, Giorgio Tozzi as Calkas, Carl Palangi as Antenor, Ernest McChesney as Pandarus, and Frances Bible as Evadne. The New York premiere was presented by New York City Opera on 21 October 1955. La Scala Milan staged the work in January 1956. Covent Garden revived the piece in 1963, with Sargent again conducting.

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