News
The Mask of Orpheus
Hailed at its premiere at the London Coliseum in 1986 as the most important
musical and theatrical event of the decade, The Mask of Orpheus is
undoubtedly a key work in Harrison Birtwistle's output. His subsequent
stage and concert pieces demand to be evaluated in its light.
Increasingly, it is also viewed as a key work in the development of
opera since the Second World War, a work that pushed at the boundaries
of what was possible in lyrical theatre. In its imaginative fusion of
music, song, drama, myth, mime and electronics, it has become a beacon
for many younger composers, and the object of wide critical and scholarly attention.
Jonathan Cross's new book - which has just been published by Ashgate in the 'Landmarks in Music Since 1950' series - begins with a detailed study of this 'lyric tragedy' by placing it in the wider context of the reception of the Orpheus myth. In particular, the significance of Orpheus for the twentieth century is discussed, and this provides the backdrop for an examination of Birtwistle's preoccupation with the story in a variety of works across his creative life. The sources and genesis of The Mask of Orpheus are explored. This is followed by a close reading of the work's three acts, analysing their structure and meaning, investigating the relationship between music, text and drama, drawing on Zinovieff's textual drafts and Birtwistle's compositional sketches. The book concludes by suggesting a range of contexts within which The Mask of Orpheus might be understood. Its central themes of time, memory and identity, loss, mourning and melancholy, touch a deep sensibility in late-modern society and culture. Interviews with the librettist and composer round off the study.
Copies of the book are already available in Blackwell's Music Shop and via other good high street and online retailers!
Jonathan Cross has also recently been appointed to the newly formed Editorial Board for Grove Music Online, which brings together a range of Grove publications, including the New Grove Dictionary of Music, Grove Opera, Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments and Grove Dictionary of American Music. Jonathan is one of four Associate Editors whose role will be to help guide policy as Grove develops its online format within the wider context of OUP's electronic reference resources.