The Merchant of Venice (opera) In his will he left his skull to the Royal Shakespeare Company for use in productions of "Hamlet". Tchaikowsky met the theatre director John O'Brien in 1968 and they agreed to attempt an opera on "The Merchant". O'Brien has noted "At first it seemed odd that [Tchaikowsky], as a Jew, would want to take Shylock on, particularly at a time when there was a feeling that Shakespeare was anti-Semitic, which is a nonsensical thing anyway." Most of the opera was written by 1978, and following discussions with the music critic Hans Keller, Tchaikowsky decided to submit it for consideration to
Shakespeare by the Sea, Newfoundland the Sea Festival Inc. is a registered charity (No. 891781841RR0001) with the Canada Revenue Agency and is a member of the Shakespeare Theatre Association and the Institute of Outdoor Drama.<br><br> 1993 The Tempest 1994 King Lear 1995 Twelfth Night 1996 Macbeth and Romeo & Juliet 1997 Macbeth, Hamlet, I Hate Hamlet and Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead 1998 A Midsummer Night's Dream 1999 Much Ado About Nothing and Richard III 2000 The Mousetrap, Julius Caesar (play), Love's Labour's Lost 2001 Dial M for Murder, Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Merchant of Venice and A Streetcar Named Desire (play) 2002 The