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Jaw-droppingly Compelling
A Sciarrino and Maxwell Davies double bill
from Music Theatre Wales,
by MIKE WHEELER
The regular visits by Music Theatre Wales have always been highlights of past Buxton Festivals, but few have been as jaw-droppingly compelling as their latest productions, staged here as a one-off double-bill before going their separate ways ( Buxton Opera House, Buxton, UK, 16 July 2013).
'The Killing Flower' is Salvatore Sciarrino's own suggested English title for his opera Luci mie traditrici. Composed between 1996 and 1998, it was receiving its UK premiere, in a translation by Paolo Loreto 'set to the music' by Kit Hesketh-Harvey.
The scenario is based on the story of the composer Carlo Gesualdo (c 1563-1613), famous for murdering his wife and her lover, and for the tortured chromaticism of his music...
Copyright © 30 July 2013
Mike Wheeler,
Derby UK
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