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Intense modern opera about love-hate conflicts has American premiere

By Wilma Salisbury..

Staff Writer

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EVANSTON, Ill. A brilIII. liant opera by a distinguished British composer received its American pre-

miere last weekend here at Northwestern University.

"The Knot Garden"" (1970) by Sir Michael Tip pett is not a traditional opera with superstar singing roles and a ballet in the second act. It does not adopt the metaphoric style of operas by Benjamin Britten, nor does it advance into the advant-garde world of stage works by Penderecki or Berio.

Rather, it is an intensely theatrical modern music. drama which explores through an eclectic compositional style the complex love-hate relationships

among seven credible individuals.

Act I, "Confrontation," introduces the cast of characters. They are: Faber, a hardworking businessman in the throes of the middle-

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The music, inseparable from the drama, is as heterogeneous and associative as the characters who sing it.

The sources are remarkably diverse. Tippett quotes a Schubert Lied, a protest song and a Negro spiritual. He borrowed chord spacings from Stravinsky, sonorities from Messiaen and rhythms from jazz. He writes vocal lines that fit word inflections perfectly.

age identity crisis; Thea, his wife, who escapes from her unfulfilling marriage by retreating into her gardening activities; Flora, their adolescent ward who fears the real or imagined sexual advances of Faber; Dov, a gentle homosexual musician who is seeking a lasting relationship; Mel, his black lover, who is a professional writer and a totally sensual man; Denise, Thea's sister, who is a revolutionary fight-He the torture she has suffered er physically deformed by for her cause, and Mangus, a psychoanalyst who has been engaged to help Flora deal with her fears.

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In A ct II, "Labyrinth,' the characters are thrust into a rapid series of personal confrontations. They discover conflicts between their inner selves and their outer realities. They hurt one another. They are confused.

In Act III, "Charade," the individuals act out roles

from "The Tempest" by Shakespeare as a form of therapy. At the end, the tensions are resolved and a happy beginning is reached.

The libretto, written by the composer, is blunt in language. and resembles a Pinter play in its mood of uneasiness.

employs a conservative harmonic style abundant in dissonant intervals and rich în contrapuntal techniques.

Tippett's orchestra, an important force in the drama, includes a jazz set, electric guitar and extensive percussion. Instrumental timbres, recurring themes and invertible motives contribute significantly to the complex development and transformation of the characters.

Some of the materials sound stale. Yet, the various elements are woven into a highly individual fabrie of emotional intensity, musical inventiveness and dramatic strength.

The Northwestern University student musicians could not begin to plumb the depths or meet all the vir-

tuoso demands of Tippett's score. Though the instrumentalists were competent, the singers were uneven and the words incomprehensible.

The staging, however, with its multilevel set, raked floor, swirling turntables, scrim projections, strobe lights, blackouts and overhanging magic net of mirrors, gave an idea of how effective a professional production' could be. (Fortunately, a score and an excellent recording by the original Covent Garden cast have been made available in advance.)

Sir Michael, who is spend-

ing a month in the United ing and conducting concerts States and Canada attendof his music, was present

for both sold-out perform-

ances.