0:00:11 > 0:00:13Written On Skin is one of the most exciting
0:00:13 > 0:00:17and acclaimed new operas of recent years.
0:00:17 > 0:00:19This is a passionate and violent tale
0:00:19 > 0:00:21by two of Britain's greatest living artists -
0:00:21 > 0:00:26composer George Benjamin and the playwright Martin Crimp.
0:00:26 > 0:00:30Add to the mix the award-winning director Katie Mitchell,
0:00:30 > 0:00:31and you have something really special.
0:00:31 > 0:00:35In fact, when this opera was premiered last year in France,
0:00:35 > 0:00:37it received a standing ovation.
0:00:37 > 0:00:40Some people are calling it a modern masterpiece.
0:00:40 > 0:00:43Now, here at the Royal Opera, we are co-commissioners,
0:00:43 > 0:00:45so we're presenting the piece
0:00:45 > 0:00:48and there's been tremendous anticipation. We are very excited.
0:00:50 > 0:00:55The opera blends together a host of 21st century angels,
0:00:55 > 0:00:59together with a short story taken from medieval French literature,
0:00:59 > 0:01:03which tells of a powerful landowner, known only as the Protector,
0:01:04 > 0:01:07his wife, Agnes, and a visiting artist called the Boy,
0:01:09 > 0:01:13who become involved in a tortuous love triangle.
0:01:13 > 0:01:15# You will welcome him... #
0:01:19 > 0:01:23The story is associated with one of the most extraordinary periods
0:01:23 > 0:01:25in European history - the age of the troubadours -
0:01:25 > 0:01:28which is full of romance and mystery to me.
0:01:28 > 0:01:30It's the event, if you like, before the Renaissance,
0:01:30 > 0:01:33when European civilisation begins to open up again.
0:01:33 > 0:01:36Also, it did seem quite well suited to operatic treatment
0:01:36 > 0:01:40because it deals in very violent and passionate emotions,
0:01:40 > 0:01:42which seems to be the stuff of opera.
0:01:42 > 0:01:44# Written on skin... #
0:01:46 > 0:01:52I play Agnes, an intelligent but uneducated woman
0:01:52 > 0:01:55and quite oppressed by my husband.
0:01:55 > 0:01:57To make a long story short, I liberate myself
0:01:57 > 0:02:02by having an illicit sexual affair
0:02:02 > 0:02:05with a young man who comes into the house,
0:02:05 > 0:02:08who's been hired to paint an illuminated book.
0:02:09 > 0:02:13We wanted to maintain the 13th-century nature of the story.
0:02:15 > 0:02:18At the same time, neither of us had a taste
0:02:18 > 0:02:21for creating purely a medieval story,
0:02:21 > 0:02:25so I, in fact, created a framework around the story -
0:02:25 > 0:02:29a framework of contemporary angels, 21st-century angels,
0:02:31 > 0:02:36who set the story in motion, and, at moments, participate in it.
0:02:36 > 0:02:39And, in fact, Angel One becomes a major participant
0:02:42 > 0:02:46in the love story of the opera.
0:02:46 > 0:02:49He has lost his way in the universe,
0:02:49 > 0:02:52and is trying to find a way to find meaning.
0:02:52 > 0:02:57He re-enacts this story and participates in it
0:02:57 > 0:02:59to see what he can learn.
0:02:59 > 0:03:04And, he needs to experience, as a human being,
0:03:04 > 0:03:08these very powerful forces -
0:03:08 > 0:03:12deep sexual attraction to men and to women -
0:03:12 > 0:03:17the violence, being amidst lost people.
0:03:20 > 0:03:24Remember that the Boy is also there. You got lost in your own world...
0:03:24 > 0:03:30This piece is about love, death, despair and regret.
0:03:30 > 0:03:33For me, it's a fantastic story.
0:03:33 > 0:03:36It has very powerful and direct emotions in it.
0:03:36 > 0:03:39And the music is out of this world.
0:03:41 > 0:03:46I wanted the sound of the music to evoke the beauty
0:03:46 > 0:03:50of medieval illumination and the ravishing beauty
0:03:50 > 0:03:53of the colours in ancient manuscripts.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56I wanted a very diverse palette indeed,
0:03:56 > 0:04:00involving many familiar sounds but many very unfamiliar ones.
0:04:00 > 0:04:03I've used the extraordinary sound of the glass harmonica,
0:04:03 > 0:04:08in a way that the glass harmonica I don't think has been used before.
0:04:08 > 0:04:11I've waited three decades as a so-called professional composer
0:04:11 > 0:04:13to write something on this scale.
0:04:13 > 0:04:16It's the biggest, most important, thing I've done.
0:04:16 > 0:04:20The challenge is to make opera seem natural in the 21st-century,
0:04:20 > 0:04:24which is not necessarily so easy.
0:04:24 > 0:04:26George's music is extremely economical.
0:04:26 > 0:04:29His works tend to be on the short side.
0:04:30 > 0:04:35For an opera, when you count the minutes, a short opera.
0:04:35 > 0:04:39But, it packs a lot
0:04:39 > 0:04:44in that hour and a half. Just get ready.
0:04:44 > 0:04:46APPLAUSE
1:30:08 > 1:30:11APPLAUSE
1:30:32 > 1:30:33CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
1:30:50 > 1:30:52Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd