The Midsummer Marriage
opera by Michael Tippett
The Midsummer Marriage is an opera in three acts, with music and libretto by Michael Tippett. The work's first performance was at Covent Garden, on 27 January 1955, conducted by John Pritchard. The reception of the opera was controversial, over confusion as to the libretto and Tippett's use of symbols and psychological references. The opera has received at least 10 more productions, in England, Wales, Scotland, Germany, Sweden and the United States, including two more at the Royal Opera House.
The premiere performance was recorded, and has been issued on compact disc. Covent Garden revived the work in 1968, conducted by Colin Davis, with the Ritual Dances choreographed by Gillian Lynne and in 1970, when the production formed the basis of the first commercial recording. Tippett extracted the Four Ritual Dances from the opera as a separate concert work.
Story background
The story of The Midsummer Marriage was consciously modeled after Mozart's The Magic Flute. Both trace the path to marriage of one "royal" and one "common" couple: Jenifer and Mark correspond to Pamina and Tamino, the earthy Jack and Bella to Papageno and Papagena. King Fisher stands in for the Queen of the Night, the Ancients for Sarastro and his priests, and so on.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “The Midsummer Marriage” is opera by Michael Tippett. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Midsummer, Marriage and opera, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “opera by Michael Tippett” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Attribution, date and provenance are strongest when supported by the original work, a catalogue record and documented transmission. The source revision retrieved here is dated Oct 31, 2024. The linked authority identifier is Q3521869. VIAF identifies the subject as 263455672. The Library of Congress control number is no2013006309. 1 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1955, 1968 and 1970.
Rights, attribution and provenance may remain disputed even when a general reference summary presents a stable account. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
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The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.
Three-step research path
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- Expand the search: follow The Midsummer Marriage primary sources, The Midsummer Marriage archive and Midsummer research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “The Midsummer Marriage” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.