Five poems by or about Wagner

Wagner (Rupert Brooke)
The Return of Napoleon to Paris (Wagner)
Le silence deja funebre (Mallarme)
The Death of Wagner (Swinburne)
Epitaph (Wagner)

Length / Year
15' / 1983

Instrumentation
soprano/pfte

Reviews
" . . . a striking new work by John Metcalf . . . Through a series of texts as diverse as they are penetrating the composer has created what is ostensibly a song cycle of impressions each hinting obliquely at a number of Wagner-related issues. . . . There is no doubt that he writes very skillfully for the voice . . . compelling and provocative . . . "
Edward Seckerson - The Guardian

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Performance History
First performance
Alte Oper Frankfurt
8th September 1983
Kathryn Harries - soprano
Michael Pollock - piano

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