Myfanwy Piper
Encyclopedia
Mary Myfanwy Piper was a British
art critic
and opera librettist.
Myfanwy Evans was born into a Welsh family in London
. She attended North London Collegiate School
and read English Language and Literature at St Hugh's College, Oxford
. She married the artist John Piper
, with whom she lived in rural surroundings at Fawley Bottom
near Henley-on-Thames
for much of her life. She collaborated with the British composer Benjamin Britten
on several of his operas as well as with Welsh composer Alun Hoddinott
on most of his operatic works.
She was a friend of the poet John Betjeman
who wrote several poems addressing her, such as Myfanwy and Myfanwy at Oxford.
Together, John and Myfanwy Piper started an artistic dynasty. The most important was their eldest son, Edward Piper
(1938–1990). Also son Sebastian Piper
(painter and musician), and their grandchildren, Luke Piper
(painter) and Henry Piper
(sculptor).
She died at her home in Fawley Bottom
in 1997.
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
art critic
Art critic
An art critic is a person who specializes in evaluating art. Their written critiques, or reviews, are published in newspapers, magazines, books and on web sites...
and opera librettist.
Myfanwy Evans was born into a Welsh family in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. She attended North London Collegiate School
North London Collegiate School
North London Collegiate School is an independent day school for girls founded in 1850 in Camden Town, and now in the London Borough of Harrow.The Good Schools Guide called the school an "Academically stunning outer London school in a glorious setting which, in 2003, demonstrated its refusal to rest...
and read English Language and Literature at St Hugh's College, Oxford
St Hugh's College, Oxford
St Hugh's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford. It is located on a fourteen and a half acre site on St Margaret's Road, to the North of the city centre. It was founded in 1886 as a women's college, and accepted its first male students in its centenary year in 1986...
. She married the artist John Piper
John Piper (artist)
John Egerton Christmas Piper, CH was a 20th-century English painter and printmaker. For much of his life he lived at Fawley Bottom in Buckinghamshire, near Henley-on-Thames.-Life:...
, with whom she lived in rural surroundings at Fawley Bottom
Fawley Bottom
Fawley Bottom is a very small village in south Buckinghamshire, England, north of Henley-on-Thames.The artist John Piper and his wife, the librettist Myfanwy Piper, were notable long-term residents of Fawley Bottom Farmhouse in the 20th century, from the mid 1930s for the rest of their lives in the...
near Henley-on-Thames
Henley-on-Thames
Henley-on-Thames is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in South Oxfordshire, England, about 10 miles downstream and north-east from Reading, 10 miles upstream and west from Maidenhead...
for much of her life. She collaborated with the British composer Benjamin Britten
Benjamin Britten
Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He showed talent from an early age, and first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy Was Born in 1934. With the premiere of his opera Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to...
on several of his operas as well as with Welsh composer Alun Hoddinott
Alun Hoddinott
Alun Hoddinott CBE , was a Welsh composer of classical music, one of the first to receive international recognition.-Life and works:...
on most of his operatic works.
She was a friend of the poet John Betjeman
John Betjeman
Sir John Betjeman, CBE was an English poet, writer and broadcaster who described himself in Who's Who as a "poet and hack".He was a founding member of the Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architecture...
who wrote several poems addressing her, such as Myfanwy and Myfanwy at Oxford.
Together, John and Myfanwy Piper started an artistic dynasty. The most important was their eldest son, Edward Piper
Edward Piper
Edward Blake Christmas Piper was an English painter.Edward Piper was the eldest son of the artist John Piper and his wife Myfanwy. He was educated at Lancing College and later studied under Howard Hodgkin at the Bath Academy of Art in Corsham and later at the Slade School in London.He produced...
(1938–1990). Also son Sebastian Piper
Sebastian Piper
Sebastian Piper is an English painter, musician, and photographer.Seb Piper is the son of the artist John Piper and the librettist Myfanwy Piper and the younger brother of Edward Piper....
(painter and musician), and their grandchildren, Luke Piper
Luke Piper
Luke Piper is an English landscape painter, especially in watercolours.Luke Piper is the son of the painter Edward Piper. He is also the eldest grandson of another artist, John Piper. He grew up in Frome, Somerset and is still based in the county...
(painter) and Henry Piper
Henry Piper
Henry Piper is an English sculptor.Henry Piper studied philosophy at the University of Sussex, UK. He is a son of the painter Edward Piper and a grandson of the 20th century landscape artist, John Piper. His brother Luke is also a painter....
(sculptor).
She died at her home in Fawley Bottom
Fawley Bottom
Fawley Bottom is a very small village in south Buckinghamshire, England, north of Henley-on-Thames.The artist John Piper and his wife, the librettist Myfanwy Piper, were notable long-term residents of Fawley Bottom Farmhouse in the 20th century, from the mid 1930s for the rest of their lives in the...
in 1997.
Opera libretti
- The Turn of the ScrewThe Turn of the Screw (opera)The Turn of the Screw is a 20th century English chamber opera composed by Benjamin Britten with a libretto by Myfanwy Piper, "wife of the artist John Piper, who had been a friend of the composer since 1935 and had provided designs for several of the operas". The libretto is based on the novella...
, Benjamin BrittenBenjamin BrittenEdward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He showed talent from an early age, and first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy Was Born in 1934. With the premiere of his opera Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to...
, 14 September 1954, Teatro La Fenice, VeniceVeniceVenice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
(based on the work of Henry JamesHenry JamesHenry James, OM was an American-born writer, regarded as one of the key figures of 19th-century literary realism. He was the son of Henry James, Sr., a clergyman, and the brother of philosopher and psychologist William James and diarist Alice James....
) - Owen WingraveOwen WingraveOwen Wingrave is an opera for television in two acts with music by Benjamin Britten, his Opus 85, and a libretto by Myfanwy Piper, after a short story by Henry James....
, Benjamin BrittenBenjamin BrittenEdward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He showed talent from an early age, and first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy Was Born in 1934. With the premiere of his opera Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to...
, 16 May 1971, BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
(based on the work of Henry James) - Death in VeniceDeath in Venice (opera)Death in Venice is an opera in two acts by Benjamin Britten, his last. The opera is based on the novella Death in Venice by Thomas Mann. Myfanwy Piper wrote the English libretto. It was first performed at Snape Maltings near Aldeburgh, England on 16 June 1973.The astringent score is marked by some...
, Benjamin BrittenBenjamin BrittenEdward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He showed talent from an early age, and first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy Was Born in 1934. With the premiere of his opera Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to...
, 16 June 1973, Aldeburgh FestivalAldeburgh FestivalThe Aldeburgh Festival is an English arts festival devoted mainly to classical music. It takes place each June in the Aldeburgh area of Suffolk, centred on the main concert hall at Snape Maltings...
, Snape, SuffolkSnape, SuffolkSnape is a small village in the English county of Suffolk, on the River Alde close to Aldeburgh. It has about 600 inhabitants. Snape is now best known for Snape Maltings, no longer in commercial use, but converted into a tourist centre together with a concert hall that hosts the major part of the...
(based on Der Tod in VenedigDeath in VeniceThe novella Death in Venice was written by the German author Thomas Mann, and was first published in 1913 as Der Tod in Venedig. The plot of the work presents a great writer suffering writer's block who visits Venice and is liberated and uplifted, then increasingly obsessed, by the sight of a...
by Thomas MannThomas MannThomas Mann was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and 1929 Nobel Prize laureate, known for his series of highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novellas, noted for their insight into the psychology of the artist and the intellectual...
) - Easter, Malcolm WilliamsonMalcolm WilliamsonMalcolm Benjamin Graham Christopher Williamson AO , CBE was an Australian composer. He was the Master of the Queen's Music from 1975 until his death.-Biography:...
- What the Old Man Does is Always Right, Alun HoddinottAlun HoddinottAlun Hoddinott CBE , was a Welsh composer of classical music, one of the first to receive international recognition.-Life and works:...
, 1977 - The Rajah's DiamondThe Rajah's DiamondThe Rajah's Diamond is a cycle of four short stories by Robert Louis Stevenson. First published in 1878 in a serial magazine they were republished in the first volume of New Arabian Nights...
, Alun HoddinottAlun HoddinottAlun Hoddinott CBE , was a Welsh composer of classical music, one of the first to receive international recognition.-Life and works:...
, 1979 - The Trumpet Major, Alun HoddinottAlun HoddinottAlun Hoddinott CBE , was a Welsh composer of classical music, one of the first to receive international recognition.-Life and works:...
, 1981
Play
- THE SEDUCER, Søren Kierkegaard play in 2 acts, based on Kierkegaard's on The Seducer’s Diary, 1843
External links
- Myfanwy Piper — Opera Libretti
- Picture in the National Portrait Gallery, LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...