Powder Her Face is a chamber opera in two acts, Op. 14 (1995) by the British composer Thomas Adès (b. 1971). The English libretto is by Philip Hensher. Running time is 2 hours 20 minutes. It was commissioned by the Almeida Opera, a part of London's Almeida Theatre, for performances at the Cheltenham Music Festival.
The subject of the opera is the "Dirty Duchess", Margaret, Duchess of Argyll whose sexual exploits were the stuff of scandal and goss...
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Powder Her Face is a chamber opera in two acts, Op. 14 (1995) by the British composer Thomas Adès (b. 1971). The English libretto is by Philip Hensher. Running time is 2 hours 20 minutes. It was commissioned by the Almeida Opera, a part of London's Almeida Theatre, for performances at the Cheltenham Music Festival.
The subject of the opera is the "Dirty Duchess", Margaret, Duchess of Argyll whose sexual exploits were the stuff of scandal and gossip in Britain in 1963 during her divorce proceedings. The opera is explicit in its language and detail.
It was first performed on July 1, 1995 in Cheltenham, with Jill Gómez in the leading role. Reviews were generally good, but the opera became notorious for its musical depiction of fellatio: British radio station Classic FM considered it unsuitable for transmission.
The music of the opera combines influences ranging from Alban Berg, Igor Stravinsky and Benjamin Britten to Kurt Weill and the tangos of Ástor Piazzolla in a witty, camp and...
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