Quiros single work   musical theatre  
Note: Libretto by Brian Bell.
Issue Details: First known date: 1982... 1982 Quiros
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Notes

  • Opera composed by Peter Sculthorpe with libretto by Brian Bell. First performed on ABC television and radio on 1 July 1982. (Film/videotape not available) Score and audio tape available from Faber Music, London.

    Sculthorpe was influenced by the historical writings of Manning Clark and Kenneth Gordon McIntyre.

  • In an article 'Quiros Was Our First Antihero. It's a Very Australian Story' published in the Sydney Morning Herald, 14-15 October 2006, Steve Meacham writes that 'Nugget Coombs ... suggested in the mid-'60s that he [Sculthorpe] write an opera about... Spanish explorer Pedro Fernandez De Quiros. James McAuley had already written his epic poem, Captain Quiros, and there was talk of the two men collaborating, though in the end Sculthorpe felt McAuley's take on the story was too steeped in Catholic symbolism... The idea was revived when theABC approached Sculthorpe to write a televised opera to mark its 50th anniversary in 1982, with Brain Bell providing the libretto.'

  • An orchestral suite entitled Captain Quiros for Orchestra, adapted by Sculthorpe from his 1982 opera, was first performed at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, 27 October 2006.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

Works about this Work

Quiros Was Our First Antihero. It's a Very Australian Story Steve Meacham , 2006 single work column
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 14-15 October 2006; (p. 4-5)
A Musical Vision of Australia Deborah Hayes , 1998 single work criticism
— Appears in: Antipodes , December vol. 12 no. 2 1998; (p. 73-80)
Quiros Was Our First Antihero. It's a Very Australian Story Steve Meacham , 2006 single work column
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 14-15 October 2006; (p. 4-5)
A Musical Vision of Australia Deborah Hayes , 1998 single work criticism
— Appears in: Antipodes , December vol. 12 no. 2 1998; (p. 73-80)
Last amended 19 Oct 2006 14:13:56
Settings:
  • Pacific Ocean,
  • c
    Spain,
    c
    Western Europe, Europe,
  • c
    Solomon Islands,
    c
    South Pacific, Pacific Region,
  • 1595-1596
  • 1605-1606
  • 1614
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