Phyllis Tate (1911-1987)
The Lodger, opéra en 2 actes

Owen Brannigan, basse
Johanna Peters, mezzo-soprano
Marion Studholme, soprano
Joseph Ward, baryton
Alexander Young, ténor
John Thornley, ténor
Ranken Bushby, basse-baryton
Trevor Anthony, baryton
Anthony Jacobs, récitant
BBC Northern Singers
Stephen Wilkinson, direction
BBC Northern Orchestra
Charles Groves, direction

The Lodger was commissioned by the Royal Academy of Music and first performed there in July 1960. This revised score, adapted for the BBC, was the opera’s first broadcast. The Lodger forms part of a select group of British stage works with a horrific or supernatural theme. In Tate’s opera, what she referred to as ‘the sinister element’ is subtle and suggested rather than exaggerated or gratuitous and moments of genuine tension are juxtaposed with other non-sensational elements such as the burgeoning romance between Daisy and Joe and the local colour of the chorus’s music hall number. The composer’s natural gift for extended, lyrical lines and her capacity to build and dispel tension assist in lending distinction to an atmospheric and cogently constructed piece of music theatre.