The Minotaur
The Minotaur is an opera in two acts, with 13 scenes by English composer Harrison Birtwistle to a libretto by poet David Harsent, commissioned by the Royal Opera House in London. The work, a retelling of the Greek myth of the Minotaur, premiered at the Royal Opera House on 15 April 2008 under the stage direction of Stephen Langridge. The score is modernistic, and the scenes fall into three types: bullfights; scenes between Ariadne and Theseus; and dream sequences for the Minotaur, in which the creature has the gift of speech. The opera lasts about 140 minutes.
Movements
- One: Arrival
- Toccata 1
- Two: The Choice
- Three: The Labyrinth
- Four: Ariadne
- Five: The Labyrinth
- Toccata 2
- Six: The Minotaur Dreams
- Seven: The Labyrinth
- Eight: A Proposition
- Toccata 3
- Nine: The Minotaur Dreams
- Ten: The Oracle at Psychro
- Eleven: A Blind Bargain
- Twelve: The Labyrinth
- Thirteen: The Death of the Minotaur