Surf Wiki
Save to docs
general/english-language-operas

From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base

The Love of the Nightingale (opera)

2007 opera by Richard Mills

The Love of the Nightingale (opera)
Summary

2007 opera by Richard Mills

The Love of the Nightingale is an opera in two acts by Richard Mills. The libretto by Timberlake Wertenbaker is based on her play of the same name. It is an adaptation of the ancient Greek legend of the rape of Philomela by her brother-in-law Tereus, and the gruesome revenge undertaken by Philomela and her sister Procne.

It premiered on 10 February 2007 at His Majesty's Theatre, Perth, Western Australia, in a co-production of Perth International Arts Festival, West Australian Opera, Queensland Music Festival, Opera Queensland, Queensland Performing Arts Centre and Victorian Opera. The Perth production received four Helpmann Awards in 2007: for Best Music Direction to Richard Mills; Best Female Performer in an Opera to Emma Matthews; Best Male Performer in a Supporting Role in an Opera to James Egglestone; and Best Female Performer in a Supporting Role in an Opera to Orla Boylan. The production was shown later that year at the Playhouse, Queensland Performing Arts Centre, Brisbane, and at Her Majesty's Theatre, Melbourne, with Richard Gill conducting.

In October 2011, Opera Australia produced the opera at the Sydney Opera House with Emma Matthews (Philomele), Anke Höppner (Procne), Elizabeth Campbell (Niobe), Richard Anderson (Tereus), the composer conducting.

Roles

RoleVoice typeRichard Mills]]
ProcnesopranoOrla Boylan
PhilomelesopranoEmma Matthews
Niobe/Nurse/Narratormezzo-sopranoElizabeth Campbell
TereusbaritoneDouglas McNicol
Captain/Hippolytus/NarratortenorJames Egglestone
ItystrebleAdrian Maydwell
Echo/AphroditesopranoSara Macliver
HerosopranoTamsyn Stock-Stafford
IrissopranoSarah-Janet Dougiamas
Helen/PhaedrasopranoAnnabelle Chaffey
June/The Queenmezzo-sopranoFiona Campbell
1st Soldier/King PandiontenorAdrian McEniery
2nd SoldierbaritoneJames Clayton
Wrestlersmute roles
Younger Itysmute role
Chorus
West Australian Symphony Orchestra
DirectorLindy Hume
DesignDan Potra
LightingNigel Levings
CostumesKate Hawley

Synopsis

The play is a myth about men and women and the condition and experience of women in a patriarchy: fate, sexual conflict, suffering, female desire, the Apollonian and Dionysian and metamorphosis are its elements, but in the words of the drama, "We cannot rephrase it for you. If we could, why would we bother to show you the myth?"

Act 1

Scene 12:Thrace/A Shore—Both sisters are on stage, juxtaposing their viewpoints. Philomele grieves the death of the captain and commiserates with Niobe. Procne awaits the arrival of Tereus and Philomele with the Thracian women. Tereus succumbs to Aphrodite, symbolically succumbing to lust.

Act 2

Scene 10:The work concludes with a postlude of metamorphosis; Itys questioning Philomele about her new life and Philomele, Procne and Tereus telling why they had to transform.

Differences between play and opera

Themes: The Love of the Nightingale by Timberlake Wertenbaker positions the viewer to consider specifically the abuse of women and authority by men, and their supposed inability to "ask questions" and tendency to block out all forms of criticism. The play takes a far more feminist outlook on the Ancient Greek myth. The opera's thematic function can be considered to not specifically be the abuse of women and authority by men, but rather the general abuse of power and the lack of criticism of authority in society. The concept that violence stems from silence is also dealt with in the opera, with greater scrutiny than in the play.

Plot: Minor plot details are changed in the opera. The role of Niobe's servant is truncated as well as the majority of dialogue being truncated from the play.

Awards

!colspan=3 style="border-top: 5px solid #FFF179;"|Helpmann Awards

References

References

  1. link. (19 July 2008)
  2. [https://www.australianstage.com.au/20070716523/reviews/brisbane/the-love-of-the-nightingale-%7C-opera-queensland.html Brisbane review] by Eric White, ''AustralianStage'', 15 July 2007
  3. [https://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/art-and-design/the-love-of-the-nightingale-20070727-ge5g6u.html Melbourne review] by Robin Usher, ''[[The Age]]'', 27 July 2007
  4. [http://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/whatson/the_love_of_the_nightingale.aspx ''The Love of the Nightingale''], [[Sydney Opera House]]
  5. Opera Australia, ''The Love of the Nightingale'' synopsis and cast list, Sydney, 29 October 2011.
  6. World premiere programme booklet
Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

english-language-operas operas 2007-operas greek-mythology operas-by-richard-mills operas-based-on-works-by-sophocles operas-based-on-plays
Want to explore this topic further?

Ask Mako anything about The Love of the Nightingale (opera) — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.

Research with Mako

Free with your Surf account

Content sourced from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.

Report