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
The Music of Francis Poulenc on texts by contemporary authors. His religious music includes the Mass in G major, the Stabat Mater and Gloria. The composer had written a catalogue of his works in 1921, which is reproduced in Schmidt's book. According to this list, the first noted piece was in 1914 "Processional pour la crémation d'un mandarin" for piano, now lost or destroyed. Poulenc completed his last work, his Oboe Sonata, in 1962. Piano, chamber music and songs As a professional pianist, Poulenc wrote many pieces for his own instrument. He was a prolific writer of works of chamber music, often with piano, and