Tavener, who died in 2013 at the age of 69, was the one of the most acclaimed British composers of the post-war years. Already admired by many, he came to a wider public when his Song for Athene was sung at the funeral service for Princess Diana in 1997. Since then his name has been inextricably linked with music of a profound and spiritual nature.
His fans range from the Prince of Wales to the Beatles and Bjork, and it was Prince Charles who helped lobby for the work's first staging.
Sir John Tavener's music is noted for its spirituality
Tavener completed his final opera, Krishna, in 2005. For 14 years it has remained in manuscript form only. The Indian-born British soprano Patricia Rosario, whose soaring voice has often been called upon for performances of Tavener's ethereal vocal lines, is a huge admirer of the piece. In a fascinating interview on BBC's In Tune she speaks admiringly of the opera. Based on an Indian religious story, the score is both luxurious and ascetic.
Krishna will be performed for the first time ever in June 2024 at Grange Park Opera’s Theatre in the Woods. It will be directed by one of the elder statesmen of opera, Sir David Pountney, and was scheduled by the opera company's founder Wasfi Kani.
Grange Park Opera in its Surrey home owned by television personality Bamber Gascoigne, is developing a strand of new work. Scheduled for this year's season, now abandoned for 2020, was The Life and Death of Alexander Livinenko, a new opera by Anthony Bolton that is sure to see the light of day before too long.
| What | John Tavener's Krishna, Grange Park Opera |
| Where | Grange Park Opera, West Horsley Place, West Horsley,, Leatherhead, KT24 6AW | MAP |
| Nearest tube | Waterloo (underground) |
| Price | £TBC |
| Website | Click here for more information |