Damon’s “Dr Dee” Opera Premieres
The rock songwriter Damon Albarn (pictured), of Blur and Gorillaz, has composed an opera about an Elizabethan alchemist, and my friend Dee Sushi is not going to be happy about the title. “Dr Dee: An English Opera,†created by Mr. Albarn and its director, Rufus Norris, had its premiere on Friday night at the Palace Theater as part of the Manchester International Festival, which commissioned it along with the English National Opera and London 2012. Its title character, John Dee (1527-1608 or 1609), was the historical figure who was probably a model for Shakespeare’s wizard Prospero and for Christopher Marlowe’s Dr. Faustus. Listen to some of the tunes here.
