For You is Michael Berkeley's third opera, so he is no newcomer to the genre. The libretto is the first by acclaimed novelist Ian McEwan, a longtime friend of the composer's. In an interview before this work's premiere, McEwan said he liked opera but thought the plots were generally uninteresting. No one could accuse the opera's interlocking sub-plots of sexual obsession and intrigue of lacking interest. The protagonist is a composer, and For You has an intriguing layer of complexity that comes from the interplay of the ...
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For You is Michael Berkeley's third opera, so he is no newcomer to the genre. The libretto is the first by acclaimed novelist Ian McEwan, a longtime friend of the composer's. In an interview before this work's premiere, McEwan said he liked opera but thought the plots were generally uninteresting. No one could accuse the opera's interlocking sub-plots of sexual obsession and intrigue of lacking interest. The protagonist is a composer, and For You has an intriguing layer of complexity that comes from the interplay of the opera's music and the music ostensibly written by the fictional character. Berkeley effectively exploits this conceit, with the climax of the opera coinciding with the music of the fictional composer's deliciously titled orchestral piece, Demonic Aubade. The musical language of For You is clearly indebted to Lulu, and Berkeley's orchestration is brilliant. Maria's second act aria is especially lovely and song-like. The excellent baritone Alan Opie is impressive as the egomaniacal...
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