The Midsummer Marriage

Michael Tippett
premiere in 1955, England

While the lyrics are dismantled in my sight due to the discontinuity of the lines--odd, it seems like adding some melodies to a normal speech,--the symbolic and surrealistic stage under the psychedelic neon-color lighting intrigues me throughout the opera. Props and performers move not only horizontally but also vertically so that the stage engages the audience in its full scale. When the singers don't sing, the opera becomes more adorable. Dramatic movements that dancers make in Act II express wildness of beasts very well and the accompanying music sounds more beautiful than any other parts. Perhaps the composer knew the weakness and the strength of his opera. He strived to initiate an "English" opera in the mid-20th century.

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