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
S. S. Millard S. S. Millard Sam S. Millard (also known as Elid Stanch) was a filmmaker of the 1920s through the 1950s and 1960s. Nicknamed "Steamship", he was one of the Forty Thieves of exploiters. Considered an early father of the roadshow-style exploitation film circuit, his film productions and presentations laid the groundwork for a number of later exploitation films. Millard's actual date and place of birth is unknown, but it is believed he is of Romanian descent, and was once able to pass off as Romanian nobility to a former Romanian queen. While a financially successful individual, he often gave an