BBC Television Shakespeare the distance is the backcloth, which is impressionistic." The backcloths were used to suggest locale without photographic representationalism; they imply air, water, sea, hills, a city, but never actually show anything specific. Geoff Feld won Best Cameraman at the 1981 BAFTAs for his work on this episode. The "Prefaces to Shakespeare" episode for "The Merchant of Venice" was presented by Timothy West who had played Shylock in a 1980 Old Vic production which he also directed. The "Shakespeare in Perspective" episode was presented by playwright and screenwriter Wolf Mankowitz. Cast In line with producer Jonathan Miller's aesthetic policy, director Elijah
The Merchant of Venice (opera) The Merchant of Venice (opera) The Merchant of Venice is an opera by André Tchaikowsky (1935–1982) to a libretto, based on the Shakespeare play, by John O'Brien. Written between 1968 and 1982, it was first performed in 2013 at the Bregenz Festival. The British premiere was presented by the Welsh National Opera in September 2016. Tchaikowsky, who was based in England after the 1950s, was a great admirer of Shakespeare, and was able to recite large stretches of his works from memory. His compositions include settings of seven of Shakespeare's "Sonnets", songs from "The Tempest", and incidental music for "Hamlet".