Released 1988 Length 57:05 Written 1986 Composer Michael Nyman Language English | Recorded 1987 Label CBS Masterworks First performance 27 October 1986 Librettist Christopher Rawlence | |
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Genre Opera, Contemporary classical music, minimalism Producer David Cunningham, Michael Nyman Adapted from The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat Similar Love Counts, Facing Goya, Noises - Sounds & Sweet Airs, Florencia en el Amazonas, The Death of Klinghoffer | ||
Bass matthew trevi o sings the river from the man who mistook his wife for a hat
The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat is a one-act chamber opera by Michael Nyman to an English-language libretto by Christopher Rawlence, adapted from the case study of the same name by Oliver Sacks by Nyman, Rawlence, and Michael Morris. It was first performed at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London, on 27 October 1986.
Contents
- Bass matthew trevi o sings the river from the man who mistook his wife for a hat
- The man who mistook his wife for a hat michael nyman
- Synopsis
- Film
- Recording
- References
The minimalist score makes use of songs by Robert Schumann, in particular, "Ich grolle nicht" from Dichterliebe, in which Dr. S. accompanies Dr. P., singing the ossia as a descant. Mrs. P. plays the piano, the actor actually playing if possible.
The man who mistook his wife for a hat michael nyman
Synopsis
The plot concerns the investigation by a neurologist of the condition of a singer who suffers from visual agnosia. According to the liner notes, Morris, Rawlence, and Nyman had to spend much time convincing the real Mrs. P. (whose husband is implied to have been a known name) that they were not proposing a musical (her word) that would trivialize her late husband's situation in order to gain her consent.
Film
Rawlence made a film version in 1987. It made brief omissions from the music (most notably the self-referential line, "That's Nyman! Can't mistake his body rhythm," when Dr. P. is watching television) and added documentary segments with Sacks and pathologist John Tighe working with the actual Dr. P.'s brain. They reveal that his condition was the result of Alzheimer's Disease that atypically affected only one portion of his brain until its latter stages. Unusually for an opera film not shot on a theatre stage, the singing was recorded live on-set by boom operators.
Returning from the original cast were Emile Belcourt as Dr. S. and Frederick Westcott as Dr. P. Patricia Hooper replaced Sarah Leonard as Mrs. P. The Michael Nyman Band appeared on-screen as Dr. P.'s students. Originally distributed on VHS by Films, Inc., its rarity has caused it to become a popular bootleg favorite.
Recording
CBS Masterworks MK44669 (1987); Emile Belcourt (tenor), Sarah Leonard (soprano), Frederick Westcott (baritone), Alexander Balanescu (first violin), Jonathan Carney (second violin), Kate Musker (viola), Moray Welsh (first cello), Anthony Hinnigan (second cello), Helen Tunstall (harp), conducted by the composer. Carney, Musker, and Hinnigan, who will make up the first lineup of the Balanescu Quartet, make their first of many appearances on a Nyman album with this release.