Roundhouse,London
Baritone Eric Greene conveys with dignity the struggle of Guyanese poet and independence campaigner Martin Carter in this one-hour operaHannah Kendall’s hour-long first opera is a chamber-sized piece with just one principal, an atmospheric off-stage female refrain of three (members of the Juice Vocal Ensemble) and a skilful four-piece instrumental group, or consisting of string trio plus harp,efficiently conducted by Rebecca Miller. Kendall and her librettist Tessa McWatt share a Guyanese background with their subject.
The poet and activist Martin Carter was among those who struggled for what was then British Guiana to become an independent state which eventually happened in 1966. Drawing on his life and poetry, The Knife of Dawn shows us Carter in one of his two periods in prison in the early 50s for his political involvement.
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Source: theguardian.com