The Minotaur.

Music A revival of Harrison Birtwistle’s 2005 opera The Minotaur opened at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden last week. The Stage interviews the performer who originated the role Sir John Tomlinson, who judging by the photograph performed the piece in one of the most uncomfortable ways imaginable:

"Based on the Greek myth of a half-man, half-bull imprisoned in the labyrinth and fed sacrificial innocents, librettist David Harsent’s Minotaur is an emotionally tormented creature. “It’s all about the dichotomy between human and animal. Often the animal is the innocent part, with muscle and instincts; the human part can distort those things and is more often to blame for the rapes, murders and destruction the Minotaur reaps.” Tomlinson compares the text to his “benchmark English libretto”, EM Forster’s Billy Budd. “That’s great text to sing: pithy, economic, etched – you can almost chew the words. David is really in that tradition with The Minotaur.”"

The ROH has an introduction with copious clips, including this one which makes it look utterly barmy.