A Night at the Chinese Opera
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| A Night at the Chinese Opera | |
|---|---|
| Opera by Judith Weir | |
| Librettist | Weir |
| Language | English |
| Based on | The Orphan of Zhao |
| Premiere | |
A Night at the Chinese Opera is an opera in three acts by Judith Weir, who also wrote the libretto. Aside from an earlier opera for children, this was Weir's first full-scale opera, written on commission from the BBC for performance by Kent Opera. Weir incorporated an early Chinese play of the Yuan dynasty, The Orphan of Zhao, as the centrepiece of Act 2 of her opera.[1][2]
The work received its premiere on 8 July 1987 at the Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham, England.[3] The Opera magazine critic noted that "few new operas have recently made so diverting a first impression as A Night at the Chinese Opera, partly on its intrinsic musico-dramatic merits, partly through the style of production".[4]
The outer acts are fully scored for the chamber orchestra in 'closed-forms' such as aria, sextet, seven-part motet but the Yuan play is mostly scored for flute, lower strings and percussion.[4]
| Role | Voice type | Premiere cast, Cheltenham Music Festival, 8 July 1987 (Conductor: Andrew Parrott)[4] |
|---|---|---|
| Little Moon / Actor | soprano | Meryl Drower |
| Mrs Chin / Old Crone | mezzo-soprano | Enid Hartle |
| An Actor | soprano | Frances Lynch |
| Chao Lin as a boy | Diccon Cooper | |
| Military Governor | countertenor | Michael Chance |
| Old P'eng / Mountain Dweller | tenor | David Johnston |
| Nightwatchman / Marco Polo | tenor | Tomos Ellis |
| Chao Lin | baritone | Gwion Thomas |
| An Actor | baritone | Alan Oke |
| Chao Sun / Fireman | baritone | Stuart Buchanan |
| Mongolian Soldier | baritone | Jonathan Best |
Performance history
Kent Opera subsequently took the opera on tour to Dartford, Canterbury, Plymouth, Southsea and Eastbourne during their 1987–88 season.[5] Santa Fe Opera gave the US premiere of the opera in July 1989.[6][7] The second British production was at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall on 26 February 1999 as a semi-staged concert. A third British production was by the Royal Academy of Music in March 2006.[8][9] The first staged production in Scotland, at Scottish Opera, was in April 2008.[10] British Youth Opera performed it during September 2012.[11]
The Kent Opera production was recorded for television by the BBC in 1988, directed by Barrie Gavin.[12]
