Tobias and the Angel (Jonathan Dove)
Encyclopedia
Tobias and the Angel is a community
opera
by Jonathan Dove
, with a libretto by David Lan
. The story is based on the Book of Tobit
from the Biblical Apocrypha
.
The opera premiered in 1999 at Christ Church Highbury Fields in London
as the first 'Walkabout' production of the Young Vic theatre during its refurbishment. It was revived by the Young Vic as its first production when it reopened in 2006. The North American premiere of Tobias and the Angel will be presented by Opera Vivente http://www.operavivente.org (Baltimore, Maryland), February 28 through March 2, 2008. The cast will feature internationally renowned countertenor David Walker http://home.earthlink.net/~david.walker/ as the Angel: David Walker is an artist closely linked to the music of Jonathan Dove, having become a definitive interpreter of the role of the Refugee in Dove's opera Flight.
A recording of Tobias and the Angel with the original cast from the 2006 Old Vic performance was released on Chandos records in August 2010.
) chooses to break the law by giving him a proper burial. The next morning Tobit is blinded by a group of sparrows (played by a children's chorus) who throw their droppings in his eyes. Remembering that he is owed money by Raguel, a relative in Ecbatana
, he sends his son Tobias to reclaim it. A stranger offers to help guide Tobias on his way. On the way, the stranger encourages Tobias, who is something of a good-for-nothing and only interested in dancing, to pay attention to the world around him - to listen to the songs of the trees, the mountains, the river. In the river, they are attacked by a giant fish. Hearing its hidden song, Tobias is able to overcome it, and the stranger tells him to take its heart and gall.
In Ecbatana, meanwhile, Sarah, Raguel's daughter, is held under the spell of a devil, Ashmodeus, who kills her husband on their wedding night. When Tobias arrives, he falls in love with Sarah. The stranger, however, has eyes only for the unseen devil, and he instructs Tobias to use the fish's heart to break Ashmodeus' spell. This enables Tobias to wed Sarah without being killed, and they return to Nineveh. Tobias uses the gall to cure Tobit's blindness, and the stranger reveals himself as the angel Raphael.
Community theatre
Community theatre refers to theatrical performance made in relation to particular communities—its usage includes theatre made by, with, and for a community...
opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
by Jonathan Dove
Jonathan Dove
Jonathan Dove is a British composer of opera, choral works, plays, films, and orchestral and chamber music. He has arranged a number of operas for English Touring Opera and the City of Birmingham Touring Opera , including in 1990 a famous 18-player two-evening adaptation of Wagner's Der Ring des...
, with a libretto by David Lan
David Lan
David Lan is an English playwright, filmmaker and theatre director.Born in Cape Town, South Africa in 1952, he emigrated to London in 1972. Since 2000 he has been artistic director of the Young Vic theatre in London's South Bank.-Career:...
. The story is based on the Book of Tobit
Book of Tobit
The Book of Tobit is a book of scripture that is part of the Catholic and Orthodox biblical canon, pronounced canonical by the Council of Carthage of 397 and confirmed for Roman Catholics by the Council of Trent...
from the Biblical Apocrypha
Biblical apocrypha
The word "apocrypha" is today often used to refer to the collection of ancient books printed in some editions of the Bible in a separate section between the Old and New Testaments...
.
The opera premiered in 1999 at Christ Church Highbury Fields 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...
as the first 'Walkabout' production of the Young Vic theatre during its refurbishment. It was revived by the Young Vic as its first production when it reopened in 2006. The North American premiere of Tobias and the Angel will be presented by Opera Vivente http://www.operavivente.org (Baltimore, Maryland), February 28 through March 2, 2008. The cast will feature internationally renowned countertenor David Walker http://home.earthlink.net/~david.walker/ as the Angel: David Walker is an artist closely linked to the music of Jonathan Dove, having become a definitive interpreter of the role of the Refugee in Dove's opera Flight.
A recording of Tobias and the Angel with the original cast from the 2006 Old Vic performance was released on Chandos records in August 2010.
Synopsis
When a fellow Jew is killed, Tobit (a Jewish man from NinevehNineveh
Nineveh was an ancient Assyrian city on the eastern bank of the Tigris River, and capital of the Neo Assyrian Empire. Its ruins are across the river from the modern-day major city of Mosul, in the Ninawa Governorate of Iraq....
) chooses to break the law by giving him a proper burial. The next morning Tobit is blinded by a group of sparrows (played by a children's chorus) who throw their droppings in his eyes. Remembering that he is owed money by Raguel, a relative in Ecbatana
Ecbatana
Ecbatana is supposed to be the capital of Astyages , which was taken by the Persian emperor Cyrus the Great in the sixth year of Nabonidus...
, he sends his son Tobias to reclaim it. A stranger offers to help guide Tobias on his way. On the way, the stranger encourages Tobias, who is something of a good-for-nothing and only interested in dancing, to pay attention to the world around him - to listen to the songs of the trees, the mountains, the river. In the river, they are attacked by a giant fish. Hearing its hidden song, Tobias is able to overcome it, and the stranger tells him to take its heart and gall.
In Ecbatana, meanwhile, Sarah, Raguel's daughter, is held under the spell of a devil, Ashmodeus, who kills her husband on their wedding night. When Tobias arrives, he falls in love with Sarah. The stranger, however, has eyes only for the unseen devil, and he instructs Tobias to use the fish's heart to break Ashmodeus' spell. This enables Tobias to wed Sarah without being killed, and they return to Nineveh. Tobias uses the gall to cure Tobit's blindness, and the stranger reveals himself as the angel Raphael.