Powder Her Face
E606223
Powder Her Face is a contemporary chamber opera by British composer Thomas Adès, notorious for its darkly comic portrayal of the scandal-ridden Duchess of Argyll and its explicit, avant-garde treatment of sex and power.
Statements (48)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
chamber opera
ⓘ
contemporary opera ⓘ |
| basedOn | life of the Duchess of Argyll ⓘ |
| centralCharacter | Duchess of Argyll NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| character |
The Duchess
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
The Electrician NERFINISHED ⓘ The Maid NERFINISHED ⓘ The Waiter NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| commissionedBy |
Almeida Opera
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Cheltenham Festival NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| composer | Thomas Adès NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| conductorAtPremiere | Thomas Adès NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| controversy | censorship and broadcast restrictions due to explicit content ⓘ |
| countryOfOrigin | United Kingdom ⓘ |
| duration | approximately 2 hours ⓘ |
| firstPerformanceType | concert staging ⓘ |
| firstProductionCompany | Almeida Opera NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| firstUSProductionYear | 1998 ⓘ |
| genre |
dark comedy
ⓘ
opera ⓘ |
| hasRecording | 1998 EMI recording conducted by Thomas Adès ⓘ |
| language | English ⓘ |
| librettist | Philip Hensher NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| notableFor |
avant-garde musical style
ⓘ
explicit sexual content ⓘ portrayal of sex and power ⓘ |
| numberOfActs | 2 ⓘ |
| orchestrationType | chamber ensemble ⓘ |
| premiereCity | Cheltenham NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| premiereCountry | United Kingdom NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| premiereDate | 1995-06-01 ⓘ |
| premierePlace | Cheltenham Festival NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| publisher | Faber Music NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| setting | a luxury hotel suite ⓘ |
| structure | two-act opera ⓘ |
| style |
eclectic
ⓘ
postmodern ⓘ |
| subject | Margaret Campbell, Duchess of Argyll NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| subsequentPerformanceType | fully staged production ⓘ |
| theme |
class and privilege
ⓘ
power dynamics ⓘ public humiliation ⓘ sexual scandal ⓘ |
| timeSetting | from the 1930s to the 1990s ⓘ |
| uses |
cabaret elements
ⓘ
pastiches of popular music ⓘ tango rhythms ⓘ |
| vocalForces | small cast of singers ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.