The Midsummer Marriage is an opera in three acts, with music and libretto by Michael Tippett. The work's first performance was at Covent Garden, 27 January 1955, conducted by John Pritchard. The reception of the opera was controversial, over perceived confusion as to the libretto and Tippett's use of symbols and psychological references.
Tippett extracted the Four Ritual Dances from the opera as a separate concert work. The premiere performance was recorded, and has been issued on compact disc. Covent Garden first revived the work in 1968 conducted by Colin Davis with the Ritual dances choreographed by Gillian Lynne and in 1970, where the production formed the basis of the first commercial recording.
Read more about The Midsummer Marriage: Story Background, Scoring, Roles, Synopsis, Recording
Famous quotes containing the words midsummer and/or marriage:
“Merry Margaret,
As midsummer flower,
Gentle as falcon
Or hawk of the tower:”
—John Skelton (1460?–1529)
“Men commonly couple with their idea of marriage a slight degree at least of sensuality; but every lover, the world over, believes in its inconceivable purity.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)