''The Last Supper'' is an opera with music by Sir

Harrison Birtwistle Sir Harrison Birtwistle (15 July 1934 – 18 April 2022) was an English composer of contemporary classical music best known for his operas, often based on mythological subjects. Among his many compositions, his better known works include ''Th ...

to an English and Latin libretto by

Robin Blaser Robin Francis Blaser (May 18, 1925 – May 7, 2009) was an author and poet in both the United States and Canada. Personal background Born in Denver, Colorado, Blaser grew up in Idaho, and came to Berkeley, California, in 1944. There he met Jack ...

. Birtwistle composed the music over the period written in 1998-1999. The world premiere was given by the

Berlin State Opera The (), also known as the Berlin State Opera (german: Staatsoper Berlin), is a listed building on Unter den Linden boulevard in the historic center of Berlin, Germany. The opera house was built by order of Prussian king Frederick the Great from ...

on 18 April 2000, with the production directed by

Martin Duncan Martin David Anson Duncan (born 12 July 1948) is an English director, actor, composer, and choreographer. Duncan was artistic director of the Nottingham Playhouse from 1994 to 1999 and joint artistic director of the Chichester Festival Theatre fr ...

and conducted by

Daniel Barenboim Daniel Barenboim (; in he, דניאל בארנבוים, born 15 November 1942) is an Argentine-born classical pianist and conductor based in Berlin. He has been since 1992 General Music Director of the Berlin State Opera and "Staatskapellmeist ...

.Griffiths, Paul, "First Performances, Berlin: Birtwistle's ''The Last Supper''" (July 2000). ''Tempo'' (New Ser.), 213: pp. 41-42. It was subsequently performed by the

Glyndebourne Touring Opera Glyndebourne Festival Opera is an annual list of opera festivals, opera festival held at Glyndebourne, an English country house near Lewes, in East Sussex, England. History Under the supervision of the Christie family, the festival has been hel ...

in October/November 2000 and the following summer at the 2001 Glyndebourne Festival. Many of the original cast returned for two concert performances at the Piccolo Teatro Studio Expo, Milan and the Teatro Valdocco, Turin on 4–5 September 2008 with th
London Sinfonietta
conducted by

Elgar Howarth Elgar Howarth (born 4 November 1935), is an English conductor, composer and trumpeter. Biography Howarth was born at Cannock, Staffordshire. He was educated in the 1950s at Manchester University and the Royal Manchester College of Music (the ...

as part of th
Settembre Musica
festival.

Roles

Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, names and titles), was ...

(baritone) * Judas (tenor) * Ghost (soprano) * Little James (countertenor) * James (countertenor) * Thomas (tenor) * Andrew (tenor) * Simon (tenor) * Bartholomew (tenor) * Philip (baritone) * John (baritone) * Matthew (bass-baritone) * Thaddeus (bass) *

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

(bass) ''Choral parts'' * ''Chorus Mysticus'' (amplified); 3 sopranos, 3 mezzo-sopranos, 3 altos * ''Chorus Resonus'' (pre-recorded); 3 sopranos, 3 mezzo-sopranos, 3 altos * Chorus in Visions I-III (pre-recorded); 3 sopranos, 3 mezzo-sopranos, 3 altos, 3 tenors, 3 baritones, 3 basses Original cast * Christ: William Dazeley * Judas: Tom Randle * Ghost:

Susan Bickley Susan Bickley is a British mezzo-soprano singer who performs in opera, Baroque and contemporary classical music. Personal life and education Susan Rochford Bickley was born into a Welsh family in Liverpool, England. Her father was a primary sch ...

* Little James: Stephen Wallace * James: Andrew Watts * Thomas: Michael Hart-Davis * Andrew: Colin Judson * Simon: Hilton Marlton * Bartholomew: Christopher Lemmings * Philip: Adrian Powter * John: Andrew Rupp * Matthew: Paul Reeves * Thaddeus: Simon Kirkbride * Peter: Geoffrey Moses

Synopsis

The story is a contemporary retelling of the "

Last Supper Image:The Last Supper - Leonardo Da Vinci - High Resolution 32x16.jpg, 400px, alt=''The Last Supper'' by Leonardo da Vinci - Clickable Image, Depictions of the Last Supper in Christian art have been undertaken by artistic masters for centuries, ...

" story. It involves a character (Ghost) who represents ourselves/the audience. Ghost invites Christ and his disciples to supper. The ensuing drama juxtaposes the old and new, Jewish and Christian to raise questions about the myth/story of the Last Supper and its meaning in our modern context. The opera ends in the Garden of Olives with Christ asking, "Whom do you seek?" and then a cock crows.

References

External links

Boosey & Hawkes page on the opera

{{DEFAULTSORT:Last Supper Operas by Harrison Birtwistle English-language operas Operas 2000 operas Opera world premieres at the Berlin State Opera Operas based on the Bible Operas based on real people Operas set in the 1st century Depictions of Jesus in music Latin-language operas Last Supper Multiple-language operas