In the Wings

Laura Stanfield Prichard surveys TOSCA, a fierce battle of wills set against the backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars.

The Marriage of Figaro is a masterful blend of comedic and tragic elements, playing with operatic conventions and introducing innovative musical elements. In the words of Johannes Brahms, “…each number in Figaro is a miracle; it is totally beyond me how anyone could create anything so perfect; nothing like it was ever done again….”

After Mark-Anthony Turnage studied at Tanglewood Music Center with Hans Werner Henze in 1983, Henze arranged a commission from him for the Munich Biennale, and thus Greek premiered in 1988. The “then unknown, twenty-five-year-old English composer” had “never written a piece longer than fifteen minutes,” but established a growing international reputation after the enthusiastic reception to Greek’s world premiere. Greek won two awards and was a highlight of the 1988 Edinburgh Festival.

Greek: A story written by a supervillain. This contemporary English opera is based on the 1980 play of the same title by actor and playwright Steven Berkoff. Greek: Where it’s at: Turnage’s opera Greek was premiered in the Carl-Orff-Hall of Munich’s Gasteig complex.