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Photo: Gunnie Moberg
Maxwell Davies, Peter
The Medium
(1981)Monodrama for mezzo-soprano solo
Duration: 50 minutes
English
Deutsch
Music Text
Text by the composer (E,G)
Abbreviations (PDF)
Publisher
Boosey & Hawkes
Territory
This work is available from Boosey & Hawkes
for the world.
Availability
World Premiere
21/06/1981Academy Hall, Stromness, Orkney
David William, director
Company: Mary Thomas, mezzo-soprano
Roles
MEZZO-SOPRANO |
Time and Place
Anywhere
Synopsis
We presume ourselves to be in a fairground booth, where a palmist awaits her clients - except that right from the start she behaves oddly, suggesting that we are eavesdropping all the while on her imaginary world. As the piece proceeds, so this imaginary world becomes more and more intense, violent and macabre, thrilled through with religious hysteria and sexual fantasy. It is, vocally and dramatically, a hugely demanding showpiece for the singer, who carries the entire weight of the work alone.
Paul Griffiths
Moods
Poetic
Subjects