Gawain (opera)

Gawain
Opera by Harrison Birtwistle
The composer in 2008
LibrettistDavid Harsent
LanguageEnglish
Based onSir Gawain and the Green Knight
Premiere
30 May 1991 (1991-05-30)

Gawain is an opera with music by Harrison Birtwistle to a libretto by David Harsent. The story is based on the Middle English romance Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The opera was a commission from the Royal Opera House, London, where it was first performed on 30 May 1991.[1][2] Rhian Samuel has published a detailed analysis of the opera.[3] Birtwistle revised it in 1994, and the premiere of the revised version was given at the Royal Opera House on 20 April 1994.[4]

  1. ^ Bye, Antony, "Birtwistle's Gawain" (May 1991). The Musical Times, 132 (1779): pp. 231, 233.
  2. ^ Samuels, Robert, "First Performances: Birtwistle's Gawain" (September 1991). Tempo (New Ser.), 178: pp. 32-33.
  3. ^ Samuel. Rhian, "Birtwistle's Gawain: An Essay and a Diary" (July 1992). Cambridge Opera Journal, 4 (2): pp. 163-178.
  4. ^ Adlington, Robert, "Birtwistle: Gawain" (1994). The Musical Times, 135 (1817): p. 463.