''Tobias and the Angel'', described by its composer as a "church opera", is a

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, t ...

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

in one act by

Jonathan Dove Jonathan Dove (born 18 July 1959) is an English composer of opera, choral works, plays, films, and orchestral and chamber music. He has arranged a number of operas for English Touring Opera and the City of Birmingham Touring Opera (now Birmi ...

, with a

libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major li ...

David Lan David Lan is a South African-born British playwright, theatre producer and director and a social anthropologist. Career Born in Cape Town, he trained as an actor and gained a BA at the University of Cape Town. He has lived in London since 197 ...

. It premiered on 7 July 1999 in London at Christ Church Highbury. The story is based on the

Book of Tobit The Book of Tobit () ''Tōbith'' or ''Tōbit'' ( and spellings are also attested) itself from he, טובי ''Tovi'' "my good"; Book of Tobias in the Vulgate from the Greek ''Tōbias'', itself from the Hebrew ''Tovyah'' "Yah is good", also k ...

from the

Biblical apocrypha The biblical apocrypha (from the grc, ἀπόκρυφος, translit=apókruphos, lit=hidden) denotes the collection of apocryphal ancient books thought to have been written some time between 200 BC and AD 400. The Roman Catholic, Eastern Ort ...

Performance history

''Tobias and the Angel'' had its world premiere on 7 July 1999 at Christ Church Highbury in London. The production by Almeida Opera was conducted by David Parry and directed by Kate Brown. The following year the opera was performed at St Matthew's Church, Perry Beeches, in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

in a new production conducted by

Brad Cohen Brad Cohen is an American motivational speaker, teacher, school administrator, and author who has severe Tourette syndrome (TS).Fussell, James A. (December 5, 2008)."One man's faith spurs Tourette sufferer to inspire others".''The Kansas City Star'' ...

and again directed by Kate Brown. It subsequently became the first touring production of the

Young Vic The Young Vic Theatre is a performing arts venue located on The Cut, near the South Bank, in the London Borough of Lambeth. The Young Vic was established by Frank Dunlop in 1970. Kwame Kwei-Armah has been Artistic Director since February 201 ...

theatre during its refurbishment and was revived by the theatre as its first production when it reopened in 2006. The North American premiere of ''Tobias and the Angel'' was presented by Opera Vivente at the Emmanuel Episcopal Church in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...

on 28 February 2008. The cast featured countertenor David Walker as the Angel. Walker is an artist closely linked to the music of Jonathan Dove and has been a frequent interpreter of the role of the Refugee in Dove's opera ''

Flight Flight or flying is the process by which an object moves through a space without contacting any planetary surface, either within an atmosphere (i.e. air flight or aviation) or through the vacuum of outer space (i.e. spaceflight). This can be a ...

''.Debelle, Penelope (22 February 2006)
"Taking a flight into hell"
''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

''. Retrieved 11 September 2012. In October 2012 it was the inaugural production of the new Highbury Opera Theatre (HOT) at Union Chapel, London, conducted by Scott Stroman and directed by Louise Radinger. A recording of ''Tobias and the Angel'' conducted by

David Charles Abell David Charles Abell (born 1958) is an American orchestral conductor, multi-instrumentalist, and musicologist. Described as “a protean talent” with “impeccable and inspired” skill as a conductor, he is active in symphonic music, opera and ...

with the original cast from the 2006 Young Vic performance was released on

Chandos Records Chandos Records is a British independent classical music recording company based in Colchester. It was founded in 1979 by Brian Couzens.Clarke, Colin (January 2011)
"Dove: ''Tobias and the Angel'' (Chandos 10606)"
'' Fanfare (magazine), Fanfare''. Retrieved 11 September 2012 . The score was published by

Edition Peters Edition Peters is a classical music publisher founded in Leipzig, Germany in 1800. History The company came into being on 1 December 1800 when the Viennese composer Franz Anton Hoffmeister (1754–1812) and the local organist Ambrosius Kühnel ...

in 2000.

Roles

Verrocchio workshop - Tobias and the Angel - NG

Synopsis

When a fellow Jew is killed, Tobit (a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

man from

Nineveh Nineveh (; akk, ; Biblical Hebrew: '; ar, نَيْنَوَىٰ '; syr, ܢܝܼܢܘܹܐ, Nīnwē) was an ancient Assyrian city of Upper Mesopotamia, located in the modern-day city of Mosul in northern Iraq. It is located on the eastern ba ...

) chooses to break the law by giving him a proper burial. The next morning Tobit is blinded by a group of sparrows (played by a children's chorus) who throw their droppings in his eyes. Remembering that he is owed money by Raguel, a relative in

Ecbatana Ecbatana ( peo, 𐏃𐎥𐎶𐎫𐎠𐎴 ''Hagmatāna'' or ''Haŋmatāna'', literally "the place of gathering" according to Darius I's inscription at Bisotun; Persian: هگمتانه; Middle Persian: 𐭠𐭧𐭬𐭲𐭠𐭭; Parthian: 𐭀� ...

, he sends his son Tobias to reclaim it. A stranger offers to help guide Tobias on his way. On the way, the stranger encourages Tobias, who is something of a good-for-nothing and only interested in dancing, to pay attention to the world around him – to listen to the songs of the trees, the mountains, the river. In the river, they are attacked by a giant fish. Hearing its hidden song, Tobias is able to overcome it, and the stranger tells him to take its heart and gall. In Ecbatana, meanwhile, Sara, Raguel's daughter, is held under the spell of a devil, Ashmodeus, who kills her husband on their wedding night. When Tobias arrives, he falls in love with Sara. The stranger, however, has eyes only for the unseen devil, and he instructs Tobias to use the fish's heart to break Ashmodeus' spell. This enables Tobias to wed Sara without being killed, and they return to Nineveh. Tobias uses the gall to cure Tobit's blindness, and the stranger reveals himself as the angel Raphael.

References

External links

Liner notes for the Chandos recording of ''Tobias and the Angel''
with detailed synopsis and information about the score
Programme notes by Jonathan Dove
(

)
''Tobias and the Angel''
on the official website of Kate Brown, director of the 1999 world premiere * {{Authority control Operas by Jonathan Dove Operas English-language operas 1999 operas Operas based on the Bible