Miss Julie

This article is about the opera by William Alwyn. For other works, see Miss Julie (disambiguation). Miss Julie is an opera by William Alwyn with a libretto by the composer, based on the play Miss Julie by Swedish playwright August Strindberg. The opera was premiered as a BBC broadcast in 1977, from the Lyrita studio recording made for the occasion. More recently, the opera was performed at the Norwich Triennial Festival in October 1997. One addit... more

This article is about the opera by William Alwyn. For other works, see Miss Julie (disambiguation). Miss Julie is an opera by William Alwyn with a libretto by the composer, based on the play Miss Julie by Swedish playwright August Strindberg. The opera was premiered as a BBC broadcast in 1977, from the Lyrita studio recording made for the occasion. More recently, the opera was performed at the Norwich Triennial Festival in October 1997. One addition that Alwyn made to the Strindberg original was the creation of the character of Ulrik, the gamekeeper. The action is set on an estate of a Swedish count, during Midsommarafton (Midsummer's Eve). The count's daughter, Miss Julie, is attracted to her father's valet, Jean, in spite of the differences in their social stations. Jean is nominally involved romantically with the estate's cook, Kristin. The sexual tension between Miss Julie and Jean builds to the point where they consummate their relationship one evening. Miss Julie has dreams of... less