The Midsummer Marriage the work in 1968 conducted by Colin Davis with the Ritual Dances choreographed by Gillian Lynne and in 1970, where the production formed the basis of the first commercial recording. Tippett extracted the "Four Ritual Dances" from the opera as a separate concert work. The story of "The Midsummer Marriage" was consciously modeled after Mozart's "The Magic Flute". Both trace the path to marriage of one "royal" and one "common" couple: Jenifer and Mark correspond to Pamina and Tamino, the earthy Jack and Bella to Papageno and Papagena. King Fisher stands in for the Queen of the Night, the Ancients
Laurence Dale Laurence Dale Laurence Dale (born 1957) is an English tenor, artistic director and conductor. Laurence Dale studied singing at London's Guildhall School of Music and Drama with Rudolf Piernay and the Mozarteum in Salzburg. Early leading roles included that of Hilarion in the Gilbert and Sullivan opera "Princess Ida" with the London Symphony Orchestra and the Ambrosian Opera Chorus in 1982, and Ramiro in Rossini's opera "La Cenerentola" with the Glyndebourne Festival Opera in 1983. Amongst many Mozartian rôles, as well as baroque and romantic, his portrayal of Tamino, with which he opened Mozart year in Salzburg in 1991 was