Lea is keen to point out a few modern composers who’ve attempted it, including Thomas Adès Tempest, and Brett Dean’s Hamlet, and hinted at a Macbeth adaptation that might or might not be in development 😉. I do think it’s partially just because it’s about reputation because they are so famous as plays, you wouldn’t want it to be the one that didn’t do it justice. So if you’re a composer wanting to set a piece of Shakespeare, it must be a very, very long, very arduous process to make sure that you get it “right” – either because you yourself love Shakespeare, or because you know that there are so many people out there who are scholars of Shakespeare, who know everything one can know about it, and the way that he intended the characters to be (even though that can be up for interpretation no matter who you are). Either because you yourself love Shakespeare or because you know that there are so many people out there who are “Shakespeare works are very dense, and lend themselves to years of research and development. So if you’re a composer wanting to set a piece of Shakespeare, it’s a very, very long, very arduous process to make sure that you get the right. “Shakespeare works are very dense, and lend themselves to years of research and development. After Falstaff, Otello, and the Dream, it’s a short list. In light of Lea’s obvious fondness for the Bard, I ask her if she had an opinion on why there are relatively few successful Shakespeare adaptations. To me, the Dream has always been a very evocative and living piece, and for someone who’s loved the play for years, a really beautiful way of setting it to music.”
L – Librettist & Tenor Peter Pears, R- Composer Benjamin Britten
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