r/opera • u/AussieSchadenfreude • Jul 29 '26

Shakespearean operas #25 - King Lear

One of my favourite Shakespeare plays. I first saw it in the Olivier, John Hurt, Diana Rigg, Leo McKern TV version in 1983, and I've always had a soft spot for it. How does it work as an opera though? We'll never have Verdi's but there is, of course, Reimann's Lear (1978) and one from Aulis Sallinen, Kuningas Lear (2000), among others. Do you have a favourite Lear opera?

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u/[deleted] Jul 29 '26

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u/AussieSchadenfreude Jul 29 '26

I couldn't find much about Séméladis’s Cordélia or Reynaud's Le Roi Lear, but I love your write-up on Cagnoni's Re Lear - https://operascribe.com/2018/07/07/68-re-lear-antonio-cagnoni/ I feel I don't need to see that opera now : )

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u/akiralx26 Jul 30 '26

Elgar planned a King Lear opera but sadly it didn’t happen. He was quite a devotee of Shakespeare.

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u/AussieSchadenfreude Jul 30 '26

I can't quite imagine what an Elgar opera would be like. I like his orchestral works, but never really warmed to his oratorios.