SHAKESPEARE

Synopsis

Duke Ellington composed incidental music for a Timon of Athens production at the Stratford (Ontario) Festival in 1963. Ellington’s sketches and partial score remained in the Stratford archives since then and have only recently been reconstructed, and recorded by Stanley Silverman and an ensemble of musicians associated with the Stratford Festival. Consisting of 20 pieces the music blends Afro-American jazz stylistics and social consciousness with the themes of Shakespeare’s play: greed, generosity, betrayal, revolution, reconciliation, and resurrection.

Country

United States

Medium

Audio

Year of release

1993

Credits

Music

Duke Ellington

Cast

Duke Ellington

Additional Details

Production type

Sound Recordings(Commercial)

Plays

Timon of Athens

Subjects

Music

Keywords

jazz; Shakespeare, William (1564-1616)

Notes

General

The score was originally performed by six musicians and premiered on July 29, 1963 in a production staged by the then Artistic Director of the Festival, Michael Langham. In later performances the instrumentation was increased, notably for performances at the Chichester Festival (opening April 8, 1964), the Stratford Festival’s remounting of the play (opening June 7 1991), and the subsequent production at the National Actors’ Theatre on Broadway in New York (opening November 4, 1993), the latter two productions again staged by Langham and starring Brian Bedford as Timon.

Archive

Name

British Library Sound Archive

Email

listening@bl.uk

Web

http://www.bl.uk/nsa External site opens in new window

Phone

020 7412 7676

Fax

020 7412 7441

Address

96 Euston Road
London
NW1 2DB

Online Retailer

Name

amazon.com

Web

http://www.amazon.com External site opens in new window