On 16 November, our annual Royal Opera House event drew a capacity crowd of 16 Stanford alumns and guests to Covent Garden to see the revival of Tippett's first opera "The Midsummer Marriage". First performed 50 years ago, the work's Jungian symbolism and Greek influences met with general incomprehension. Besides the fervour of the music, pointing up Wagnerian parallels, the opera also comprised evocative choruses and ritual dances. The Royal Opera has assembled a well-balanced cast to bring out the underlying message that opposites - light/shadow, spiritual/social, banal/ethereal - have to be reconciled in the interest of wholeness. As always on this occasion, we not only had some of the best seats in the house but also an exclusive private function area in the Floral Hall during the intervals, in which alumns and guests met for wine and nibbles and discussed the meaning of the "The Midsummer Marriage" in more detail.
Event review contributed by Event Committee.