''Bang!'' is an

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

for young people by

John Rutter Sir John Milford Rutter (born 24 September 1945) is an English composer, conductor, editor, arranger, and record producer, mainly of choral music. Biography Born on 24 September 1945 in London, the son of an industrial chemist and his wife, R ...

to an English

libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...

by David Richard Grant. The opera was written for the Trinity Boys Choir, and the ensemble premiered the work at the Fairfield Halls, Croydon under conductor

David Squibb David Squibb (28 November 1935 – 21 April 2010) was Director of Music at Trinity School of John Whitgift. He is most known for founding Trinity School Boys Choir, one of the busiest and most successful school choirs in the world. It has a high p ...

on 14 March 1975.

Synopsis

The story is based on

The Gunpowder Plot The Gunpowder Plot of 1605, in earlier centuries often called the Gunpowder Treason Plot or the Jesuit Treason, was an unsuccessful attempted regicide against King James VI of Scotland and I of England by a group of English Roman Catholic ...

of 1605. The

Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

were persecuted by

James I of England James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 unti ...

, so they plotted to blow up the

Palace of Westminster The Palace of Westminster is the meeting place of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is located in London, England. It is commonly called the Houses of Parliament after the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two legislative ch ...

. The story is narrated by the elusive Father Garnet, leader of the

Jesuits The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

Recordings

* Rutter - Bang! Trinity Boys Choir, Ex Trinitate Orchestra, conducted by David Squibb (Herald HAVPCD 283, 2003).

References

Operas by John Rutter English-language operas Children's operas 1975 operas Operas {{english-opera-stub