This is a list of operas specifically composed and produced for television performance. It does not include productions of the established opera repertoire subsequently broadcast on television.

Year of premiereCom­posedComposerOpera titleLibrettist and/or source(s)Television station
1938Spike HughesCinderella[1]Spike HughesBBC Television
1947Spike HughesSt Patrick's DayRichard Brinsley SheridanBBC Television
1951Gian Carlo MenottiAmahl and the Night VisitorsGian Carlo MenottiNBC
1952Malcolm ArnoldThe Dancing MasterJoe Mendoza, based on the play by William WycherleyBBC (rejected)[2]
1953Bohuslav MartinůThe MarriageBohuslav MartinůNBC
1953Bohuslav MartinůWhat Men Live ByBohuslav MartinůNBC
1954Bernard HerrmannA Christmas CarolMaxwell Anderson after Charles DickensCBS
1955Lukas FossGriffelkinAlastair ReidNBC
1955Walter KaufmannChristmas SlippersBetty MarshWinnipeg[3]
1956Norman Dello JoioThe Trial at RouenNorman Dello JoioNBC
1956Leonard KastleThe SwingLeonard KastleNBC
1956Arthur BenjaminMañanaCaryl BrahmsBBC Television[4]
1956Malcolm ArnoldThe Open WindowSidney GilliatBBC Television[5]
1957Joan TrimbleBlind Raftery[6]Cedric Cliffe, based on the novel by Donn-ByrneBBC Television
1957Stanley HollingsworthLa Grande BretècheStanley HollingsworthNBC
1959Richard ArnellThe Petrified PrincessRichard ArnellBBC Television
1959Guy HalahanThe Spur of the Moment[7]Joe Mendoza, after Frank Baker, Miss HargreavesBBC Television
1959Gian Carlo MenottiMaria GolovinGian Carlo MenottiNBC
1959Lee HoibyBeatriceMarci NardiWAVE
1959Ezra LadermanSarahClair RascomCBS
1959Heinrich SutermeisterSeraphine (Die stümme Apothekerin)Heinrich Sutermeister, after François Rabelais's Gargantua and PantagruelSchweizer Fernsehen
1959Henk BadingsSalto mortaleHenk Badings and Belcampo (Herman Pieter Schönfeld Wichers)Nederlandse Omroep Stichting
1959Paul AngererPasskontrolleORF
1960Arthur BlissTobias and the AngelChristopher HassallBBC Television[8]
1961Leonard KastleDeseretAnne Howard BaileyNBC
1961Jean ProdromidèsLes Perses (The Persians)Jean Prat, after AeschylusRTF
1962Igor StravinskyThe FloodRobert CraftCBS
1962Phyllis TateDark PilgrimagePhyllis TateBBC Television
1962Edwin ColemanA Christmas Carol[9]Margaret Burns Harris, after Charles DickensBBC Television
1962Riccardo MalipieroBattono alla portaDino BuzzatiRAI
1963Ben McPeekThe BargainBen McPeekCBC Television
1963Gian Carlo MenottiLabyrinthGian Carlo MenottiNBC
1963Carlisle FloydThe Sojourner and Mollie SinclairCarlisle FloydNCE
1963Ton de LeeuwAlcesteEuripidesNederlandse Omroep Stichting
1964Heinrich SutermeisterDas Gespenst von CantervilleHeinrich Sutermeister, after Oscar Wilde's "The Canterville Ghost"Mainz, ZDF
1965David AmramThe Final Ingredient[10]Arnold WeinsteinABC
1965Mark BucciThe HeroMark BucciNational Educational Television
1965Carl DavisThe Arrangement[11]Leo LehmanBBC Television
1965Gian Carlo MenottiMartin's LieGian Carlo MenottiCBS
1966R. Murray SchaferLovingR. Murray SchaferCBC Television
1966Kruno CipciDoktor Petelin[12]Fran ŽižekTV Ljubljana
1967Ezra LadermanThe Trials of GalileoJoe DarionCBS Television
1967Ingvar LidholmHolländaren (The Dutchman)after August StrindbergSveriges Television
1967Christopher WhelenSome Place of Darkness[13]John HopkinsBBC Television
1968Roman VladLa fantarcaGiuseppe Berto's La fantarca (1965)RAI
1968Norman KayThe Rose Affair[14]After the novel by Alun OwenBBC Television
1969Thomas EastwoodThe Rebel[15]Ronald DuncanBBC Television
1969Heinrich SutermeisterLa croisade des enfants (The Children's Crusade)Heinrich Sutermeister, after Marcel SchwobTvR
1970Jack BeesonMy Heart's in the HighlandsJack BeesonPBS
1971Heinrich SutermeisterDas FlaschenteufelKurt Weibel, after Robert Louis Stevenson's The Bottle ImpMainz, ZDF
19711969–70Benjamin BrittenOwen WingraveMyfanwy Piper, after Henry JamesBBC Two
1971Ezra LadermanAnd David WeptJoe Darion, after the Biblical story of David and BathshebaCBS Television[16][17]
1973John EatonMyshkin[18]Patrick Creagh after Dostoevsky's The IdiotPBS
1976Alun HoddinottMurder, The Magician[19]John MorganHTV
1976Godfrey RidoutThe Lost ChildJohn ReidCBC Television
1976Raymond PannellAberfan[20]Beverly PannellCBC Television
1977Carl DavisOrpheus in the Underworld[21]John WellsBBC Television
1978Norman KayA Christmas Carol[22]John Morgan, after Charles DickensHTV
1979Alun HoddinottThe Rajah's Diamond[23]Myfanwy Piper, from R. L. Stevenson's New Arabian NightsBBC Television
1982Peter SculthorpeQuiros[24]Brian BellABC Television
1984Robert AshleyPerfect LivesRobert AshleyChannel Four
1990Salvador BrotonsReverend EverymanGary Corseri, from Hofmannsthal's JedermannWFSU-TV[25]
1991Michael NymanLetters, Riddles and WritsJeremy Newson and Pat GavinBBC Television
1993Stewart CopelandHorse Opera[26]Jonathan MooreChannel Four
1993Anthony MooreCamera[27]Peter BlegvadChannel Four
19941991–92Gerald BarryThe Triumph of Beauty and DeceitMeredith OakesChannel Four
19941992Orlando GoughThe Empress[27]David Gale, from WedekindChannel Four
19951993Michael TorkeKing of Hearts[28]Christopher RawlenceChannel Four
1995Mike Westbrook Kate WestbrookGood Friday, 1663[29]Helen SimpsonChannel Four
2005Judith WeirArmidaJudith WeirChannel Four
2006Jonathan DoveMan on the MoonNicholas WrightChannel Four
2006Alexina LouieBurnt Toast: 8 Mini Comic Operas About LoveDan RedicanCBC Television
2015Elena Kats-CherninThe DivorceJoanna Murray-SmithABC TV (Australia)

See also

References

  1. ^ Wyver, John. "A tale of six Cinders, part 2: Cinderella (BBC, 1938, 1948, 1950)", Screen Plays, 12 January 2012
  2. ^ Alberge, Dalya. "Malcolm Arnold's The Dancing Master finally comes in from the cold", The Guardian, 11 October 2012
  3. ^ Margaret Ross Griffel (2012). Operas in English: A Dictionary, p. 91
  4. ^ 1 February 1956, Radio Times, issue 1681, 29 January 1956
  5. ^ 14 December 1956 Radio Times, issue 1726, 9 December 1956
  6. ^ Blind Raftery, Radio Times, issue 1749, 21 May 1957, pp. 6, 17
  7. ^ Radio Times, 14 June, 1959, p. 13
  8. ^ 19 May 1960, Radio Times, 15 May 1960
  9. ^ BBC Arts
  10. ^ The New York Times, 12 April, 1965
  11. ^ Radio Times, Issue 2168, 29 May, 1965
  12. ^ https://bsf.si/sl/film/doktor-petelin/#ekipa
  13. ^ Christopher Whelen. "Thoughts on Television Opera", in Composer 24 (1967), p. 17
  14. ^ Spence, Keith (1968). "Television". The Musical Times. 109 (1505): 656. doi:10.2307/952713. JSTOR 952713
  15. ^ 4 April 1969, Radio Times, issue 2368, 29 March 1969, p. 71
  16. ^
  17. ^ "Ezra Laderman", Milken Archive of Jewish Music
  18. ^ Wise Music
  19. ^ British Film Institute
  20. ^ Dzeguze, K. 'Situation tragedy', in Maclean's, 31 October, 1977
  21. ^ 5 June 1977, Radio Times, issue 2795, 4 June 1977, p. 29
  22. ^ "Norman Kay obituary". The Guardian. 30 May 2001. Retrieved 22 February 2010.
  23. ^ Radio Times Issue 2924, 24th November 1979
  24. ^ Quiros : opera, Australian Music Centre
  25. ^ Griffel, M. R., Operas in English: A Dictionary (2012), p. 413
  26. ^ The Independent, 6 October, 1993
  27. ^ The Independent, 14 February, 1994
  28. ^ Michaeltorke.com
  29. ^ Mike Westbrook website

Further reading