Judith Weir Judith Weir Judith Weir (born 11 May 1954) is a British composer and Master of the Queen's Music. Weir was born in Cambridge, England, to Scottish parents. She studied with Sir John Tavener whilst at school (North London Collegiate School) and subsequently with Robin Holloway at King's College, Cambridge, graduating in 1976. Her music often draws on sources from medieval history, as well as the traditional stories and music of her parents' homeland, Scotland. Although she has achieved international recognition for her orchestral and chamber works, Weir is best known for her operas and theatrical works. From 1995 to 2000,
Armida (Weir) Armida (Weir) Armida is an opera by British composer Judith Weir. It premiered on 25 December 2005 as a television broadcast on the UK station, Channel 4 which had commissioned the work. The English libretto, also written by Weir, is loosely based on the story of Rinaldo and Armida, in Torquato Tasso's 1581 epic poem set in the First Crusade, "La Gerusalemme liberata" ("Jerusalem Delivered"). Armida had been a highly popular subject for operas in the 18th and early 19th Centuries, but only rarely afterwards. In Weir's 50-minute-long opera, the setting is updated to a modern Middle-East conflict which alludes