King Priam King Priam King Priam is an opera by Michael Tippett, to his own libretto. The story is based on Homer's "Iliad", except the birth and childhood of Paris, which are taken from the "Fabulae" of Hyginus. The premiere was on 29 May 1962, at Coventry. The opera was composed for an arts festival held in conjunction with the reconsecration of the rebuilt Coventry Cathedral, for which Benjamin Britten also wrote his "War Requiem", which was first performed in the Cathedral the day after the premiere of "King Priam". The first Covent Garden performance was on 5 June, conducted by John
William Coventry, 5th Earl of Coventry William Coventry, 5th Earl of Coventry William Coventry, 5th Earl of Coventry (c.1676 – 18 March 1751), known as William Coventry until 1719, was a British politician. Coventry was the son of Walter Coventry and his wife Anne (née Holcombe). His grandfather Walter Coventry was the youngest brother of Thomas Coventry, 1st Baron Coventry. He was elected to the House of Commons for Bridport in 1708, a seat he held until 1719, and served as Joint Clerk Comptroller of the Board of Green Cloth from 1717 to 1719. The latter year he succeeded his second cousin once removed as fifth