For a general discussion of the mythological character, see Priam.
King Priam
Opera by Michael Tippett
Librettist
Tippett
Language
English
Based on
Homer's Iliad
Premiere
29 May 1962 (1962-05-29)
Arts festival in Coventry
King Priam is an opera by Michael Tippett, to his own libretto. The story is based on Homer's Iliad, except the birth and childhood of Paris, which are taken from the Fabulae of Hyginus.
The premiere was on 29 May 1962, at Coventry. The opera was composed for an arts festival held in conjunction with the reconsecration of the rebuilt Coventry Cathedral, for which Benjamin Britten also wrote his War Requiem, which was first performed in the Cathedral the day after the premiere of King Priam.
The first Covent Garden performance was on 5 June, conducted by John Pritchard.[1] It was premiered in Germany at the Badisches Staatstheater in 1963 (in a translation by Walter Bergmann),[2] in Greece at the 1985 Athens Festival, in France at the Opéra de Nancy et de Lorraine in 1988, in Italy at Batignano in 1990, and in the United States San Francisco Opera Center Showcase in 1994. In 2014 the work was revived by English Touring Opera, with a reduced orchestration by Iain Farrington, the first performance of this version being given at the Linbury Studio Theatre at the Royal Opera House on 13 February 2014.[3]
As epigraph to the score Tippett placed the German words "Es möge uns das Schicksal gönnen, dass wir das innere Ohr von dem Munde der Seele nicht abwenden," or, "May Fate grant that we never turn our inner ear away from our soul's lips." These words conclude a 1912 essay on the paintings of Arnold Schoenberg by Wassily Kandinsky.[4]
^Porter, Andrew, "Michael Tippett's New Opera" (July 1962). The Musical Times, 103 (1433): pp. 469-470.
^'Tippett's King Priam on a German Stage' in The Times, 30 January 1963, p. 13
^English Touring Opera Programme, Spring 2014, p. 12.
^Essay Die Bilder (in German) on Arnold Schoenberg Centre website, accessed 23.2.2014.
In Greek mythology, Priam (/ˈpraɪ.əm/; Greek: Πρίαμος, pronounced [prí.amos]) was the legendary and last king of Troy during the Trojan War. He was the...
KingPriam is an opera by Michael Tippett, to his own libretto. The story is based on Homer's Iliad, except the birth and childhood of Paris, which are...
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companies upon the Trojan plain. When news of the Achaean deployment reaches KingPriam, the Trojans respond in a sortie upon the plain. (3) The armies approach...
Ἀσκάνιος) was a legendary king of Alba Longa (1176-1138 BC) and is the son of the Trojan hero Aeneas and Creusa, daughter of Priam. He is a character in Roman...
was a first cousin of KingPriam of Troy (both being grandsons of Ilus, founder of Troy), making Aeneas a second cousin to Priam's children (such as Hector...
was a Trojan Prince and warrior of Troy. He was the first-born son of KingPriam and Queen Hecuba, making him a prince of the royal house and heir to his...
of impending disaster, are not believed. Cassandra was a daughter of KingPriam and Queen Hecuba of Troy. Her elder brother was Hector, the hero of the...
mythology, Polites (Ancient Greek: Πολίτης) was the legitimate son of KingPriam and Queen Hecuba and was known for his swiftness. He was a prince of Troy...
the Trojan War, KingPriam was frightened for his youngest son Polydorus's safety since Polydorus could not fight for himself. Priam sent the child, along...
Orange Prize for Fiction. The book is narrated by Patroclus, the son of King Menoetius. He is presented as a potential suitor to Helen of Troy. He is...
bore Aesacus to KingPriam of Troy on the 'shady ridges of Mt. Ida' . Otherwise, the mother of Aesacus was called Arisbe, daughter of King Merops of Percote...
Homer's Iliad, Altes was the father of Laothoe, one of the many wives of KingPriam. In other accounts, Altes is also said to be the father of the Argonaut...
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daughter of Priam who fell in love with Acamas, son of Theseus. Lycaon (Λυκάων), a son of Priam and Laothoe, daughter of the Lelegian king Altes; not to...
was a gentle and clever seer. He was also a Trojan prince as the son of KingPriam and Queen Hecuba of Troy, and the twin brother of the prophetess Cassandra...
city of Salamis on Cyprus. Through his mother, Teucer was the nephew of KingPriam of Troy and the cousin of Hector and Paris—all of whom he fought against...
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