A Feast in the Time of Plague (Woolf opera)

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This article is about the 2020 opera by Alex Woolf. For the 1900 opera of a similar title by César Cui, see A Feast in Time of Plague (Cui opera).

A Feast in the Time of Plague is a 2020 opera by Alex Woolf to a libretto by David Pountney, loosely based on the "little tragedy" of the same name by Aleksandr Pushkin.[1]

Background[]

The opera was commissioned by Grange Park Opera during the COVID-19 pandemic. Pountney described how he came to write the libretto whilst in lockdown in Wales

I responded to Pushkin’s little fragment by creating 12 – because of the Last Supper – very varied characters who arrive voluntarily and most of whom depart involuntarily – i.e. they die. In between they capture the defiance and solidarity that we have all experienced during these strange times. The virus exposes truths about all of us in surprising ways. A Feast in the Time of Plague captures this – as well as the essential lesson that we must carry on laughing.[1]

The 25-year old Woolf wrote the music in six weeks.[1] The premiere performance took place at Grange Park Opera on 12 September 2020, accompanied by the composer playing piano in the wings.[2]

Roles[]

Role Voice type Premiere cast[1]
Grange Park Opera, 12 September 2020
(Conductor: Toby Purser)
Elena soprano
Frederic, her butler tenor Peter Hoare
Joyce, the cook contralto Anne-Marie Owens
Lidochka, Elena's daughter soprano Soraya Mafi
Claire, a clairvoyant soprano Susan Bullock
Antoine, a playboy baritone Simon Keenlyside
McGuire, grandmother soprano Janis Kelly
Pius, an informer tenor Jeff Lloyd Roberts
Karl, a radical bohemian baritone Will Dazeley
Death/Policeman/Judas bass Clive Bayley
Adina, newly wed to Pat soprano Sarah Minns
Pat, newly wed to Adina baritone Harry Thatcher

Synopsis[]

The opera is in two sections, Arrivals and Departures. "Twelve archetypes – from cook to policeman to dewy newlyweds – gather for a last supper, each offering their own thoughts on risk, life and death."[2]

Reception[]

The critic of The Guardian commented that it could benefit from longer-term reconsideration and rewriting, but in the meantime "enjoy it as it is: a coup, achieved in an instant with flair, hard work and brilliant team spirit."[2] Rupert Christiansen, writing in the Daily Telegraph, gave the opera four stars (out of five), describing it as "intriguing [and] fabulously performed."[3] The reviewer for The Stage noted that "[e]veryone gets his or her turn, and if some of the individual numbers go on too long – the parody pastiches would make greater impact if shorter – there’s certainly a huge amount of talent on stage."[4]

External links[]

The production was filmed and can be viewed on YouTube[5]

Notes[]

  1. ^ a b c d "A Feast in the Time of Plague". Grange Park Opera. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
  2. ^ a b c Maddocks, Fiona (19 September 2020). "The week in classical: A Feast in the Time of Plague; Fidelio; Alban Gerhardt and Markus Becker – review". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  3. ^ Christiansen, Rupert (14 September 2020). "A Feast in the Time of Plague, Grange Park, review: fantasy Last Supper with lots to get your teeth into". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  4. ^ "A Feast in the Time of Plague". The Stage. 2020-09-15. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  5. ^ Arrivals and Departures. Accessed 20 July 2021
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