Miss Julie (Alwyn opera)

Not to be confused with Miss Julie (Rorem opera), the 1965 opera by Ned Rorem, or Julie (opera), the 2005 opera by Philippe Boesmans.

Miss Julie is an opera in two acts by William Alwyn with a libretto by the composer, based on the play Miss Julie by Swedish playwright August Strindberg.

Performance history

The opera was premiered as a BBC Radio 3 broadcast on 16 July 1977. It received its staged premiere on 23 January 1979 at Kingsway Hall in London. This production run was recorded by Lyrita (see section recordings). More recently, the opera was performed at the Norwich Triennial Festival in October 1997.

Roles

One addition that Alwyn made to the Strindberg original was the creation of the character of Ulrik, the gamekeeper.

Role	Voice type	Premiere cast BBC broadcast, 16 July 1977 (Conductor: )	Premiere cast Kingsway Hall, 23 January 1979 (Conductor: Vilem Tausky)
Miss Julie	soprano	Jill Gomez	Jill Gomez
Jean, manservant of the Count, Miss Julie's father	baritone	Benjamin Luxon	Benjamin Luxon
Kristin, the cook	mezzo-soprano	Della Jones	Della Jones
Ulrik, the gamekeeper	tenor	Anthony Rolfe Johnson	John Mitchinson

Synopsis

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 her and Jean escaping from the estate to live their lives together, but the differences between their social classes are too much to overcome. At one point, Ulrik, the gamekeeper, shoots Miss Julie's dog. Jean eventually turns harshly on Miss Julie, to the point where he tells her to slit her wrists, as her mother had committed suicide prior. The opera ends as Miss Julie leaves the scene, presumably to take her own life.

Recording

In 1992 Lyrita re-released on CD the recording made during the Kingsway Hall premiere production run on 23, 24, 25 and 26 January 1979. Vilem Tausky conducted the Philharmonia Orchestra.