Steve Schwartz <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>I doubt it has much to do with his life, since most people don't know a lot
>about Delius's life.
I had the impression that he spent some time in Florida and then later
lived in France.
>1. Much of Delius's achievement is in opera. Most opera houses don't do
>operas in English, including those companies in English-speaking countries.
>About the only English opera that gets performed is by Britten.
The English National Opera, that perform mostly in English, did Fennimore
and Gerda a few years back. It was rather a surreal production with
someone dying in a piano and paint being thrown against a white backdrop.
This rather distracted from the music.
>2. Delius's music is very difficult to perform, not because it's so complex
>but because it's so individual. Very few conductors have been "with" him,
>Beecham and Barbirolli two notable exceptions.
The Mass of Life is worth listening to.
Tim Horwood