James Fenton Writes:

Collected here are texts for three musical pieces. "The Fall of Jerusalem" is an oratorio commissioned for the millennium. The music is by Dominic Muldowney. The text is based on Josephus's account of the events leading up to Masada. "Haroun and the Sea of Stories" is an opera, premiered in 2004 by the New York City Opera. The music is by Charles Wuorinen. The text is an adaptation of the children's book with which Salman Rushdie made his reply to the famous fatwa. "The Love Bomb" was written as an original, libretto for a composer who decided he didn't want it. I hope that in due course we will find someone to commission John Harle, the English saxophonist and composer, to write it. The story is about a suicide cult. All of these poetic texts are intended to be of interest on the page as well as in performance, and I have included "The Love Bomb" among my Selected Poems.

From the Publisher:

James Fenton’s new book consists of three dramatic pieces, all commissioned to be performed with music: two libretti and the text of an oratorio. Different pieces for different kinds of music and different kinds of staging. Yet all three share the same underlying theme – fanaticism.

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Reviews and Critical Discussions

Keller, Johanna. 'The Fatwa That Begat an Opera.' New York Times (31 October 2004): 26 (2 pgs).

Matthews, David. 'The Unperformed.' Times Literary Supplement 5259 (16 January 2004): 22.