| The Transposed Heads | |
|---|---|
| Opera by Peggy Glanville-Hicks | |
&sq=Qlik&lang=&file=File:The_Hindu_Goddess_Kali_LACMA_M.83.48_(7_of_9).jpg) The goddess Kali whose transposition of the male protagonists' heads leads to tragedy | |
| Librettist | Peggy Glanville-Hicks |
| Language | English |
| Based on | The novella Die vertauschten Köpfe by Thomas Mann |
| Premiere | 3 April 1954 Columbia Auditorium, Louisville, Kentucky |
The Transposed Heads is an opera in one act with six scenes composed by Peggy Glanville-Hicks. She also wrote the libretto which was adapted from Lowe-Porter's English translation of Thomas Mann's novella, Die vertauschten Köpfe. It was a commission from the Louisville Philharmonic Society and premiered on 3 April 1954 at the Columbia Auditorium in Louisville, Kentucky.[1][a]
Set in India, the story centers on the love triangle between Sita, her husband Shridaman, and Shridaman's friend Nanda. During a fraught episode in a temple to Kali, each of the male protagonists beheads himself. Kali brings them back to life but with the heads on the wrong bodies. Living with the mix-up ultimately results in Shridaman and Nanda committing suicide again and Sita throwing herself on their joint funeral pyre.
- ^ Radic, Thérèse (1992)."Transposed Heads, The". The New Grove Dictionary of Opera. Online version retrieved 1 March 2018 (subscription required for full access).
- ^ The Courier-Journal . (28 March 1954). "Bomhard To Stage Opera", p. 75. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
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