''Entanglement'' is a one-act

chamber opera Chamber opera is a designation for operas written to be performed with a chamber ensemble rather than a full orchestra. Early 20th-century operas of this type include Paul Hindemith's ''Cardillac'' (1926). Earlier small-scale operas such as Pergoles ...

by the British composer Charlotte Bray and the librettist

Amy Rosenthal Amy Rosenthal (born 1974) is a British playwright from Muswell Hill, London. She is a recipient of ''The Sunday Times'' Drama Award. Biography Amy Rosenthal was born in 1974, the daughter of dramatist Jack Rosenthal and actress Maureen Lipman ...

. The work was commissioned by the Nova Music Opera and was first performed on 6 July 2015 at the

Cheltenham Music Festival The Cheltenham Music Festival is a British music festival, held annually in Cheltenham in the summer months (June, July) since 1945. The festival is renowned for premieres of contemporary music, hosting over 250 music premieres as of July 200 ...

, with the conductor George Vass leading soprano Kirsty Hopkins, baritone Howard Croft, tenor Greg Tassell, and the Nova Music Opera Ensemble. Bray, Charlotte (2015)
Entanglement: Program Note
Retrieved January 7, 2016.

Background

Bray described the inspiration for ''Entanglement'' in the score program notes, writing:

Composition

''Entangled'' is written in a single act and has a duration of roughly 40 minutes.

Instrumentation

The work is scored for a

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

, tenor, and

baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...

, and a chamber ensemble comprising

flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...

, percussion, violin, cello, and double bass.

Roles

Reception

Reviewing the world premiere, Rian Evans of '' The Guardian'' praised the opera, writing, "Bray and Rosenthal are at pains to go deeper into Ellis's story than her defence team did at the time, emphasising her abusive relationship with the shallow Blakely (tenor Greg Tassell), her anger at being rejected by his friends, and the apparent complicity of a former lover, Desmond Cussen (baritone Howard Quilla Croft), whose gun was her weapon. The tangled question is reopened: was this a crime of passion or a cold-blooded murder? Kirsty Hopkins commanded attention as the peroxide-blonde Ellis, steely and needy, implying an impassive and obsessive nature alongside moments of maternal behaviour." Richard Bratby of '' The Arts Desk'' also praised the work, opining: He added, "Simply staged by director Richard Williams with minimal lighting and back-projected captions, and eloquently conducted by Vass, Entanglement created characters that live with you after the drama has ended: a sure-fire sign that it needs to be seen again, and soon." However, Richard Morrison of '' The Times'' was more critical of the work, remarking, "With lurid subjects ripped from the tabloid headlines of 60 years ago, this new operatic double bill at the Cheltenham Festival should have been more gripping than it was."

References

{{italic title Operas by Charlotte Bray 2015 operas Operas set in England One-act operas Operas based on actual events Operas based on real people Operas set in the 20th century Cultural depictions of Ruth Ellis