Operas

For further stage works see Musicals and Children's Music and Shows. Production photographs will be added at a later date.

PERELANDRA (1964)

Opera in 3 Acts. Libretto: David Marsh after C.S.Lewis Written: 1960-64.

Sci-fi allegory of the Adam & Eve story. Professor Ransom is plucked from earth and taken to the paradise planet Perelandra to combat evil in the form of another earthling, Weston.

First performances in concert 1964: Guildhall, Cambridge 14th June, Oxford Town Hall June 16th, Mermaid Theatre, London 21st June. Cast: Hervey Allan, John Noble, Neil Jenkins, Elaine Hewit, Michael Rippon. Conductor: Norman Hearn.

Revised in 2 acts 1969: Performances: Roberts Hall, Haverford College, Pennsylvania 20th - 22nd Nov, New York 24th Nov 1969.

MUSIC & LYRICS: OPERAS

THE MAN WITH A 1,000 FACES

Libretto: Colin Wilson 1964.

A fake fairground mystic uses a variety of disguises and all the latest hocus-pocus to seduce his female clients.

First performance: Malthouse Theatre, Hassocks 1990.

MUSIC & LYRICS: OPERAS

THE VISITORS

The Visitors, Arthur Scholey after Tolstoy, 1987.

Andrew is a patient in a psychiatric hospital following the tragic death of his wife and children. His brother Christopher, with his family ('the visitors'), attempt to penetrate his despair by the re-enactment of a favourite childhood story. The characters, compelled to participate, find themselves caught up in a tale, which parallels actual events. The opera shifts between two planes of reality.

First performance: Malthouse Theatre, Hassocks 1989.USA concerts Oberlin 1987. Concert Brighton Festival May 1988, Georgian Theatre Richmond, Harrogate Theatre. Battersea Arts Centre, London 25th August, 1991.

MUSIC & LYRICS: OPERAS

CANDLETREE

Arthur Scholey 1980.

A Christmas Opera based on the legend of St Boniface and the first Christmas tree.

First performance: Saint Botolph, London 21st December 1989.

MUSIC & LYRICS: OPERAS