Alexander Goehr: "A Promised End"

"Goehr's special gift is to illuminate any score with exquisite colour...English Touring Opera mounted a skilful, well-cast staging by James Conway, expertly played by the Aurora Orchestra under the baton of Ryan Wigglesworth and with Roderick Earle in the title role.

Fiona Maddocks, The Observer, 17 October 2010

Alexander Goehr's final opera "A Promised End", is based on Shakspear's 'King Lear', the idea for which came to him in a dream….

"I take dreams very seriously. Many of my pieces begin in dreams." Goehr was researching Greek tragedy for a new stage work, "but I dreamt not the Greeks, but King Lear. And Lear staged as a Japanese Noh play! I woke up and thought: 'Why this?' I was in Jerusalem at the time, and I hadn't read or seen the Shakespeare in years, so I bought a secondhand copy. From the beginning I was very attracted to the idea [of an opera based on the play]…” (Goehr in and interview with Tom Service, The Guardian, 25 Sept 2010)

Some of the inspiration came from Paul Scofield's performance in Peter Brook's King Lear…

…and Grigori Kozintsev's film version of the Shakespeare play, with Shostakovich's music….

Telling Tom service about the opera, Goehr stated, “…It's about old men who get it wrong when they have power and influence – and then get into a mess. That's the reason I'm doing this opera…As an incipient old man myself, that's what interested me about the story. I mean, I can't do Romeo and Juliet now – I'm past that stage."

For the full interview with Tom Service click HERE

or

Watch a conversation about the opera with James Conway below

Part 1: King Lear

Part 2: Setting the text

Part 3: Performers

Goehr sees Promised End being the last opera he will write, "In all likelihood, this is the last time I'll write an opera – unless some chaps in suits come to me with an offer from the Royal Opera House, in which case I wouldn't say no." (Goehr in an interview with Tom Service, The Guardian, 25 Sept 2010)

His operatic output began with ‘Arden must die’ in 1967, which Goehr thinks of “as the only truly happy operatic experience of his career.” (Tom Service, The Guardian, 25 Sept 2010)

Watch an excerpt from a BBC documentary about his opera Arden Must Die (Arden Muss Sterben), filmed in 1967 when the opera premiered in Hamburg.

A Promised End is at the Linbury Studio Theatre at the Royal Opera House, London, on 9, 11, 14 and 16 October, then tours until 26 November. For the full schedule please click HERE