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FULL THE TRIAL OF JEAN RHYS (Elfyn Jones) London 2012 Linda Hirst, Julia Weatherley, Sarah Denbee
Information on the Performance
- Work Title: The Trial Of Jean Rhys
- Composer: Jones Elfyn
- Libretto: Eleanor Knight Libretto Text, Libretto Index
- Venue & Opera Company: World’s End Opera, London, UK
- Recorded: August 9 & 10, 2012
- Type: Staged Opera Live
- Singers: Linda Hirst, Julia Weatherley, Sarah Denbee, Stephan Ulberini, James Williams, Tom McKenna
- Conductor:
- Orchestra:
- Stage Director: Toria Banks
- Stage Designer: Halla Groves-Raines
- Costume Designer:
Information about the Recording
- Published by: Tête à Tête
- Date Published: 2012
- Format: Streaming
- Quality Video: 4 Audio:4
- Subtitles: nosubs
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THIS PERFORMANCE
When Jean Rhys lost a husband she didn’t always notice straight away. Married three times, she was all but consumed by drink and self-destruction as her masterpiece Wide Sargasso Sea slowly took shape. The Trial of Jean Rhys portrays her inelegant struggle and looks into the darkness at the heart of one of the twentieth century’s most extraordinary writers.
Scenes from this work in progress have appeared as part of the Royal Opera House’s Exposure programme.
Genesis
This piece was developed with support from ROH2, through their composers’ and librettists’ courses in 2010-11. Short excerpts were shown at ROH Exposure in 2011, Opera Europa 2011 and Exposure:Opera in 2012. We are currently seeking offers from potential producers to take the work to full production.
Synopsis
The Trial of Jean Rhys is set in the condemned bungalow in Devon where Rhys spent her last years, haunted by gossiping neighbours and embittered by the literary success that came, in her words, ‘too late’. Looking back over her past as she awaits the arrival of a reporter, she puts herself on trial, niggling away at love, loneliness, success and failure, and weaving it all, finally, into the narrative of her semi-autobiographical novel, Wide Sargasso Sea. Her companion is local farmer and taxi-driver Sam Greenslade on whom she relies for meals, odd-jobs, cigarettes and whisky.