In addition to the standard operatic repertoire, Davis conducted a number of modern and unfamiliar operas, including Tippett's "The Knot Garden" and "The Ice Break" (of which he is the dedicatee), and Alexander Zemlinsky's "The Dwarf" and "Eine florentinische Tragödie". With later stage directors at Covent Garden, Davis preferred to work with those who respected the libretto: "I have a hankering for producers who don't feel jealous of composers for being better than they are, and want to impose their, often admittedly clever, ideas on the work in hand." Davis hoped that Götz Friedrich, with whom he worked on Wagner's "Ring" cycle, would take on the role of principal producer vacated by Hall, "but it seemed that nobody wanted to commit themselves."