King Priam Priam to be killed by Neoptolemus, Achilles' son. Troy is in ruins. Priam refuses to leave his city, and one by one his family leaves him. His last farewell is with Helen, to whom he speaks gently. There is a moment of stillness before Achilles' son appears to strike the killing blow and Hermes, the drama over, departs for Olympus. 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
Troy: Fall of a City the fire-haunted dreams of Cassandra, and about mankind’s ancient rush towards betrayal." A review from the same day by Rupert Hawksley for "The Daily Telegraph" tentatively praised "Troy: Fall of a City" for its more thoughtful, psychologically complicated interpretation of the Trojan War in sharp contrast to the 2004 film "Troy", which Hawksley derided as a "shallow flex-fest". Nonetheless, Hawksley criticized the characters' occasionally stilted dialogue. He concluded, ""Troy: Fall of a City" might just be a fresh, psychologically knotty take on one of the greatest tales of them all." Also on the same day, Camilla Long, reviewing for "The