Video of Scene 1 (live performance, Loré Lixenberg, Riverside Studios Hammersmith 2009)
An unaccompanied one-woman opera based on the life of the English medieval mystic housewife Margery Kempe as recounted in her autobiography, The Book of Margery Kempe.
First performances: Concert - Loré Lixenberg, Riverside Studios, Hammersmith, London (
Tête-à- Tête: The Opera Festival), 8 August 2008, supported by the Bliss Trust/PRS Foundation.
Stage
- Loré Lixenberg, Riverside Studios, Hammersmith, London (
Tête-à- Tête: The Opera Festival), 1/2 August 2009, supported by the RVW Trust. Designer: Paul Burgess; technical director: Marius Rønning.
'Brian Inglis’ opera The Song of Margery Kempe [is] based on the autobiography of a medieval housewife and visionary. It is written for a single, unaccompanied singer and opens quite simply with the plainchant hymn Veni, Creator Spiritus, and that persistent little tune entwines its way through the entire piece. Life was far from unexciting in 15th century Norfolk, and Margery endures visions of demons as well as confronting a trial for heresy before her spiritual journey reaches inner peace and entry to paradise.' (Serena Fenwick, www.musicalpointers.com, August 2008)
This work is discussed in a paper published by Middlesex University. Click here to read more.
It is also discussed in an article in Religions journal.
Click here to read more.