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
Coventry Cathedral and presented to Coventry Cathedral by the ship's Captain and colleagues. The cross was subsequently presented first to the next in 1988 until she was decommissioned in 2002, and then to , which is affiliated to Coventry, during her commissioning ceremony on 6 May 2011 by Captain David Hart-Dyke, the commanding officer of "Coventry" when she was sunk. BBC broadcast a documentary in 1962 entitled "Act of Faith", narrated by Leo Genn, detailed the history of Coventry Cathedral, its destruction and rebuilding. The precentor of the new Coventry Cathedral at the opening service was Joseph Poole. The service was televised