''Vision of Lear'' is the first opera by Toshio Hosokawa which premiered at the

Munich Biennale The Munich Biennale () is a contemporary opera and music theatre festival in the city of Munich. The full German name is ''Internationales Festival für neues Musiktheater'', literally: International Festival for New Music Theater. The biennial f ...

in 1998. The opera in two acts is an adaptation of Shakespeare's ''

King Lear ''The Tragedy of King Lear'', often shortened to ''King Lear'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is loosely based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his ...

'', including elements from the traditional Japanese Noh theatre. The

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 ...

was written in English by

Tadashi Suzuki is a Japanese avant-garde theatre director, writer, and philosopher. He is the founder and director of the Suzuki Company of Toga (SCOT), and organizer of Japan’s first international theatre festival (Toga Festival). With American director ...

History

Toshio Hosokawa composed his first opera in 1997 and 1998 on a commission of the City of Munich for its 1998

. The

was written in English by

, based on Shakespeare's play ''

''. The opera in two acts includes elements from the traditional Japanese Noh theatre. The world premiere at the Carl-Orff-Saal of the Gasteig on 19 April 1998, as part of the festival, was staged by Suzuki who was also responsible for stage, costume, and lighting design. It was performed by the Xsemble Munich, conducted by , in a co-production of the Biennale and the Shizuoka Performing Arts Center. The UK premiere was given in the Linbury Studio of the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is a theatre in Covent Garden, central London. The building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. The ROH is the main home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orch ...

on 31 January 2002, staged by director Harry Ross and designer Mike Jardine, and conducted by Gregory Rose, with Nicholas Garrett in the title role.

Roles

Supporting roles are: Servant/Captain/Gentleman, sung by one tenor, two nurses, played by actors, and an optional children's choir or female choir.

Plot

The Lear story is framed by a situation in which a nurse reads from Shakespeare's play to an old man. His memories of his life, and the events in the drama connect. He has visions of bringing Goneril and Regan to court, and speaks in Lear's words to imagined figures from the drama. His life ends with a vision of Lear dying with Cordelia's corpse in his arms. The nurse keeps reading.

References

External links

* H. E. Elsom
All is dull and deadly
(review of UK premiere) concertonet.com 2002 {{Authority control Operas 1998 operas English-language operas Operas based on King Lear