Troilus and Cressida (opera) take her away, she pledges her loyalty one last time to Troilus, and stabs herself. Notes Sources Troilus and Cressida (opera) Troilus and Cressida is the first of the two operas by William Walton, and debuted in 1954. The libretto was by Christopher Hassall, his own first opera libretto, based on Geoffrey Chaucer's poem "Troilus and Criseyde". Walton dedicated the score to his wife, Susana. The genesis of the opera dated back to the mid-1940s, after the success of Benjamin Britten's first great operatic success, "Peter Grimes". Walton intended to counter this work with an opera of his own, and
Peter Grimes with John, the apprentice. She is horrified when she finds a bruise on his neck. When she confronts Grimes about it, he brusquely claims that it was an accident. Growing agitated at her mounting concern and interference, he strikes her and runs off with the boy. This does not go unseen: first Keene, Auntie, and Bob Boles, then the chorus comment on what has happened, the latter developing into a mob to investigate Grimes's hut. As the men march off, Ellen, Auntie, and the nieces sing sadly of the relationship of women with men. The fourth interlude (Passacaglia) follows as