1 Your back garden 5 November effort just isn’t in the same league T" .: :n: xi.
.ili‘r,’rir,ll.i,' 9.11:", ."’z _::,'»{,..'.ll. linurrxir Halli-“m: inpwt
{tIlI‘iLl/tll ,r > w". «4'. -." I .;' ,_:,':
2 You’d feel daft not t e one of the 250,000 people watching it IH: Purim»; Sim-f
(1,:ial‘..'..‘~ l MM Him-i i, may 3:» .m:
Ililflllxiflf; < fi,ir:_>;,.i-<, Min; i.:t:.1.:: Will-UH", ‘.;:7>t,izii: ;i<>:'~'.:. thin-“Vi a?
II?!" (Lily. Ill‘mflltilll HM. ':, :i ,(l. DINJI fri' fl‘.<‘>t;:2 ‘.'.".’; rib??? "law limkmtt; Iii IH? ( firmly-r“. 3 You can hear it all on your trannie in the comfort of your own home Wulx, E ("1:13; ui- ' "' i H " "' l)it>.iil.,(i:.t mats the: :nmu’: .111.“- ' H n' ' ' Intramim'xt; truii‘: Illa? Huiir‘. ;>-.:.:;;i<: lll‘.’(,ll‘.'t,‘(I. IIlt,‘ t:oiix:‘ii2'it;;v‘, (ill the mum: (ml NOV/(llka st; Ezuyiiuiaix, 4 The orchestra is rather good too AINVJIAIII Ilii; Suifihffl‘. (Ifmmlw Orchestra new: (tut Ii, sm-
~ THE CRIMEA Illt‘ Illi?‘.‘.(>l~\:\. “it”. im‘: tiltrll Hearts A”_powerful Indie poetics out \znii .itlu' 21.2.11. WW I iiii‘lnirgl‘. Stripped bare
I)t).'l‘.t‘(l".fI1l<‘I(7' Cairn. \“Jlilixif'i. ‘.'.’"o
THE ASSASSIN TREE
Stuart MacRae adds opera to his burgeoning list of accomplishments
I'nir; I‘tx‘X". .i l llt}‘.'.( 3K5} .iir‘. :lil‘ilis'
boyhood. Iliit; was}; ciitmcv 2:;
Five years ago, the ElF presented a retrospective of the music of Stuart MacRae. Remarkably, he was only 25. The next year, following its highly successful Proms premiere, his violin concerto was prominent. This year, things have moved on even further for Inverness-born MacRae. He has been commissioned by the Festival, along with Royal Opera House and Scottish Opera, to write his first opera.
Entitled The Assassin Tree, the opera is set in ancient Rome and is about the culture surrounding the goddess Diana. ‘There is a grove that gives sanctuary to her,‘ explains MacRae, 'which contains a tree representing her. It's protected by the King of the Wood, an armed priest. We've made a fictionalised version of the story.’ Writer Simon Armitage has produced the libretto, filling out a number of the characters in the process. ‘I let him get SIMON RATTLE AND THE -« : " .2: '-«: " - ' ‘ 1 on with it,‘ says MacRae, ‘and from there it was a matter of responding to BERLIN PH'LHARMONIC , ' . ' . : : ' » ;' " his libretto, while simultaneously keeping the mystical and archaic The big guns collect for McMaster s . ~ atmosphere of the Story.
send off . . As soon as he knew about the commussron, MacRae soaked up every
I)lt‘I\UIlt?‘.'E§ Ho'wn ,2'7t1.,’i./'e.', 5 It’s the final event for outgoing EIF Director, Brian McMaster After (I recon! ’9 ,ixi'sa Sir H'Igill return: at the and .3-7 We; \‘mv'ss i ustmil. Icilk about govt; out with p: tia'igg. than” Mar" i‘r‘fl'i'k‘z‘fi 870:": Gd’dt’l‘fi. 4:5 480.”. ‘:?r"“ V
N.an -.v '3».- Ei-a' " "' .' :~: .‘ ;: " : opera performance he could. ‘I saw many productions,’ he explains, ‘some " y * "1-.1 r 1‘ : y . :1 .: '- : by composers whose work I knew already, like Birtwistle, Janacek and ..:; t" '\ .z'x-xf 21w "2 ' -." r" -.v 2- .' :' v - r ' :"- Bartok. But I also looked back to early opera, to Monteverdi, to see how ‘ "rm ".2 E1. j'\ ~ ' ' :_:' t w : . i z " 1' ; -' '2' - the genre started.‘ Whereas early opera is divided into recitatives and .'.-.>-.=« " :l .::;‘. 1+1 ~ -.' 2" _: -.' ' ° " -- . : : --: arias, MacRae decided not to go down that route and he describes his u. .. . ' ' ". *' 2* 2" :-v: '- ~ a ..: w : " :I ' 1' " ' work as ‘through composed.‘ \l.‘\'_asf-q-h :12". . T" r: :43 °' w :'.~." : :1-- " -.' - ' "- For MacRae, the opportunity to write an opera is one he appreciates
'.-."« 1' ~.='_-;-' ._ "" . v _:"_I 1 5:? .' " -.' -v . ; :.° -.' enormously. ‘lt‘s a great privilege,” he says, ‘and, looking back, a very good _ ::.a : a.» 1" : :' ~ .' : 1' ' :z .' time to have started. I've actually got a bit addicted to opera as an art form A," .ai‘i‘c t".a°. . ;.- C: :. :-.' ; :- : -.' : -- .9 : now and would love to write some more.’ (Carol Main) .‘o'tt'o\.t='s.a .a‘. Rant-es '. ' :'--: .' :' ‘ ' ': :> I ~ .:.. - " -' "- " ' -' " *'
THE LIST FESTIVAL MAGAZINE 91