The Knot Garden

Archive Listings for The Knot Garden

T325329689 (CLWYD05) In celebration of the composer's centenary.Producer Music Theatre Wales. Producer Royal Opera House. Director Michael McCarthy. Conductor Michael Rafferty. Lighting Ace McCarron. Design Jane Wilson. Design Louise Wilson. Performer Helen Field. Performer Jeremy Huw Williams. Performer Gwion Thomas. Performer Elizabeth Watts. Performer Lucy Schaufer. Performer Christopher Lemmings. Performer Rodney Clarke.
8 Jul 05 to 9 Jul 05	New Theatre, Cardiff :: V823 listing details L01887535902
5 Jul 05	Clwyd Theatr Cymru, Mold :: V810 listing details L1838020216
3 Jun 05	Theatre Royal, Bath :: V854 listing details L01386415409
10 May 05	The Anvil, Basingstoke :: V765 listing details L1803161463
30 Apr 05 to 4 May 05	Royal Opera House, West End :: V377 listing details L01429413047
T584547117 (SCOTTOP04) Sung in English. Running time 2 hours (one interval)Company Scottish Opera. Conductor Richard Armstrong. Director Antony McDonald. Design Antony McDonald. Design Juliette Blondelle (associate). Lighting Giuseppe di Iorio. Performer Peter Savidge (Mangus). Performer Jane Irwin (Thea). Performer Rachel Nicholls (Flora). Performer Hilton Marlton (Dov). Performer Derrick Parker (Mel). Performer Rachel Hynes (Denise).
19 Jan 05 to 29 Jan 05	Theatre Royal, Glasgow :: V623 listing details L01068275458
Other listings
14 Jul 05 to 21 Jul 05	The Opera House, Buxton :: V424 listing details L1963994851

Details

Opera or Operetta :: The Knot Garden, with a libretto by the composer, has a typically enigmatic title. The elaborate Elizabethan Knot Garden often resembled a maze - and the reference to Shakespeare s time is underlined by numerous references to The Tempest. The enchantment and isolation, which are such powerful themes in Shakespeare s play, are put into a late twentieth-century context by Tippett. To this is added a web of psychological disturbance - where the maze of the garden becomes a metaphor for the labyrinth of human thoughts and relationships. The cast includes an analyst, Mangus, whose role as Master of Ceremonies in the final act is decisive. The Knot Garden was brave and controversial at the time of its first performance in 1970. Two of the main characters - the bisexual black writer Mel and his white friend Dov, a musician - are probably the first openly gay couple to appear in an opera. It is their relationship, grown fragile, around which much of the plot revolves. First performed in 1970, Tippett s third opera involves a psychological exploration of a group of contemporary characters, and frequently invokes parallels with The Tempest. One of Tippett s most eclectic scores, it shows the influence of jazz, and even of the pop music of the 1960s (an electric guitar is included in the orchestra) as well as one of Tippett s great loves, the songs of Franz Schubert.

Music

Michael Tippett