''Arden Must Die'' () is an

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

by Alexander Goehr. It premiered on 5 March 1967 at the Hamburg State Opera, conducted by

Charles Mackerras Mackerras in 2005 Sir Alan Charles MacLaurin Mackerras (; 1925 2010) was an Australian conductor. He was an authority on the operas of Janáček and Mozart, and the comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan. He was long associated with the Engli ...

and directed by Egon Monk. Playbill, general rehearsal The German libretto was written by Erich Fried, with an English version by Geoffrey Skelton. It tells the story of the murder of

Thomas Arden Thomas Arden (1508–1550) was Mayor of Faversham, Kent, England. He was murdered by his wife, Alice, and her lover, Richard Moseby. This would inspire the Elizabethan play, ''Arden of Faversham'', which in turn was the basis of the opera '' A ...

by his wife Alice and her lover Mosbie. The libretto draws on two sixteenth-century accounts of the murder, namely the version by chronicler

Raphael Holinshed Raphael Holinshed ( – before 24 April 1582) was an English chronicler, who was most famous for his work on ''The Chronicles of England, Scotlande, and Irelande'', commonly known as ''Holinshed's Chronicles''. It was the "first complete printe ...

and the anonymous play ''

Arden of Faversham ''Arden of Faversham'' (original spelling: ''Arden of Feversham'') is an Elizabethan play, entered into the Register of the Stationers Company on 3 April 1592, and printed later that same year by Edward White. It depicts the real-life murde ...

''. The British première was at Sadler's Wells Theatre, London, on 17 April 1974, conducted by

Meredith Davies (Albert) Meredith Davies CBE (30 July 1922 – 9 March 2005) was a British conductor, renowned for his advocacy of English music by composers such as Benjamin Britten, Frederick Delius and Ralph Vaughan Williams. His co-conducting, with the com ...

References

{{Portal bar, Opera 1967 operas Cultural depictions of British men English-language operas German-language operas Operas Operas about politicians Operas based on plays Operas based on real people Operas by Alexander Goehr Operas set in England Operas set in the 16th century