MacMillan, James: Inés de Castro (1991-95) 124'
an opera in two acts
Music Text
Libretto after the play 'Inés de Castro' by John Clifford (E)
Scoring
S,2M,T,BBar,B; chorus 2(II=picc).2(II=corA).2(II=Ebcl,bcl).2(II=dbn)-4.3.3.1-timp.perc(4): BD/2tam-t(bowed)/2cowbells/2wdbl/log dr/vib(bowed)/crot/t.bells/2lg handbells/sizzle cym/mark tree/clash cyms/gong/susp.cym/thundersheet with superball/finger cyms/anvil/xyl/flexatone/SD/2bongos/ 4tom-t/5tpl.bl/glsp/tgl/bass lion's roar/metal sheet or plate-harp-pft (=cel)-strings.
Abbreviations (PDF).
Territory
This work is available from Boosey & Hawkes for the world.

For full details on this stagework, including synopsis and roles, please visit our Opera section.
World Premiere
8/23/1996
Edinburgh Festival
Jonathan Moore, director / Helen Field/Jeffrey Lawton/Stafford Dean/Scottish Opera / Richard Armstrong CBE
Press Quotes
"...a classic example of the fusion of a brilliant musical score with gut wrenching theatre... It is gripping from start to finish... Underpinning it all is music that has everything - floating lyricism, overpowering emotion, and a fundamental Wagnerian concept of encapsulating and driving the narrative."
The Scotsman
"Inés de Castro is a complex, ambitious work, a modern attempt at grand opera in the tradition of Verdi and Mussorgsky... Mr MacMillan is a serious gifted composer with a public that cares deeply about his work - the first such creature in Britain since the death of Benjamin Britten."
The Wall Street Journal
an opera in two acts
Music Text
Libretto after the play 'Inés de Castro' by John Clifford (E)
Scoring
S,2M,T,BBar,B; chorus 2(II=picc).2(II=corA).2(II=Ebcl,bcl).2(II=dbn)-4.3.3.1-timp.perc(4): BD/2tam-t(bowed)/2cowbells/2wdbl/log dr/vib(bowed)/crot/t.bells/2lg handbells/sizzle cym/mark tree/clash cyms/gong/susp.cym/thundersheet with superball/finger cyms/anvil/xyl/flexatone/SD/2bongos/ 4tom-t/5tpl.bl/glsp/tgl/bass lion's roar/metal sheet or plate-harp-pft (=cel)-strings.
Abbreviations (PDF).
Territory
This work is available from Boosey & Hawkes for the world.

For full details on this stagework, including synopsis and roles, please visit our Opera section.
World Premiere
8/23/1996
Edinburgh Festival
Jonathan Moore, director / Helen Field/Jeffrey Lawton/Stafford Dean/Scottish Opera / Richard Armstrong CBE
Press Quotes
"...a classic example of the fusion of a brilliant musical score with gut wrenching theatre... It is gripping from start to finish... Underpinning it all is music that has everything - floating lyricism, overpowering emotion, and a fundamental Wagnerian concept of encapsulating and driving the narrative."
The Scotsman
"Inés de Castro is a complex, ambitious work, a modern attempt at grand opera in the tradition of Verdi and Mussorgsky... Mr MacMillan is a serious gifted composer with a public that cares deeply about his work - the first such creature in Britain since the death of Benjamin Britten."
The Wall Street Journal
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