''Ruth'' is a 1956 sacred opera in English by

Lennox Berkeley Sir Lennox Randal Francis Berkeley (12 May 190326 December 1989) was an English composer. Biography Berkeley was born on 12 May 1903 in Oxford, England, the younger child and only son of Aline Carla (1863–1935), daughter of Sir James Char ...

to a libretto by

Eric Crozier Eric Crozier OBE (14 November 19147 September 1994) was a British theatrical director, opera librettist and producer, long associated with Benjamin Britten. Early life and career Crozier was born in London and studied at the Royal Academy of Dra ...

after the Old Testament

Book of Ruth The Book of Ruth ( he, מגילת רות, ''Megilath Ruth'', "the Scroll of Ruth", one of the Five Megillot) is included in the third division, or the Writings (Ketuvim), of the Hebrew Bible. In most Christian canons it is treated as one of the ...

. Premiered at the Scala Theatre, London.

Recording

*''Ruth'',

Jean Rigby Jean Rigby (born 22 December 1954) is an English opera and concert singer. A mezzo-soprano, she is a long-time principal with the English National Opera. Biography Born in Fleetwood, Lancashire, Rigby studied at the Birmingham School of Music and ...

(mezzo-soprano), Mark Tucker (tenor),

Yvonne Kenny Yvonne Kenny AM (born 25 November 1950) is an Australian soprano, particularly associated with Handel, Mozart and bel canto roles. Biography Born in Sydney, she first studied at the University of Sydney in science, hoping to become a biochemi ...

(soprano),

Claire Rutter Claire Rutter (born 1972 in South Shields) is an English operatic soprano.Kutsch, Karl-Josef and Riemens, Leo (2004)"Rutter, Claire" ''Großes Sängerlexikon'' (4th edition), Vol. 4, p. 4070. Walter de Gruyter. Biography Claire Rutter studie ...

(soprano),

Roderick Williams Roderick Gregory Coleman Williams OBE (born 1965) is a British baritone and composer. Biography Williams was born in North London to a Welsh father and a Jamaican mother. He attended Christ Church Cathedral School in Oxford and Haberdashers' ...

(baritone) Joyful Company of Singers,

City of London Sinfonia City of London Sinfonia (CLS) is an English chamber orchestra based in London. CLS performs regularly across the city of London in venues from East London clubs to traditional Central London concert halls. CLS is orchestra-in-residence at Opera ...

, Richard Hickox ChandosThe Gramophone - Volume 83, Issue 2 - Page 61 2005 - I should like to receive Lennox Berkeley's opera Ruth, since I have waited for this first recording for almost 50 years. Its sensitively drawn biblical drama, with a fine cast under Richard Hickox, is a reflection of the composer's own religious ...

References

{{Portal bar, Classical music, Opera, Music Operas 1956 operas Operas by Lennox Berkeley