Composer George Benjamin says that he wouldn't have written operas without the inspiration of librettist Martin Crimp, and here it's easy to understand why. Crimp has a real knack for writing listener-friendly lines whose ideas are easily grasped, and although the Chandos booklet does not include a libretto, it doesn't seem likely that you'll need one. More than that, he seems to get what opera is about in a way that so many contemporary librettists don't. Across the stage, in compact fashion, flow passionate love, marital ...
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Composer George Benjamin says that he wouldn't have written operas without the inspiration of librettist Martin Crimp, and here it's easy to understand why. Crimp has a real knack for writing listener-friendly lines whose ideas are easily grasped, and although the Chandos booklet does not include a libretto, it doesn't seem likely that you'll need one. More than that, he seems to get what opera is about in a way that so many contemporary librettists don't. Across the stage, in compact fashion, flow passionate love, marital discord, court intrigue: all great operatic themes. Crimp's libretto for Lessons in Love and Violence is based on the life of English King Edward II, although he is referred to only as "The King." He actually follows a play by Shakespeare's contemporary Christopher Marlowe, which joins the story of Edward's relationship with the nobleman Piers Gavestan to its dire aftermath. The Edward-Gaveston link is presented as a gay love affair, an idea that goes back to medieval times (accepted...
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