The Shackled King by John Casken

Sir John Tomlinson, who has been striding the world’s opera stages for several decades, notably in the role of Wotan in Wagner’s Ring, has long been contemplating the role of Shakespeare’s Lear and sees parallels between the two characters. This drama by John Casken affords him the opportunity to incarnate the aging, delusional king in a setting that incorporates Shakespeare’s text in a range of declamation from speech to song.

John Casken was awarded the inaugural Tippett Medal for The Shackled King in 2022.

Previous reviews

‘Tomlinson’s titanic, heart-rending performance’, ‘Madylus was an engaging stage presence’ (Daily Telegraph), Counterpoise ‘at the top of their game’ (Gramophone), ‘superb, unmissable’ (Independent)

‘Madylus excelled as Cordelia, seeking reconciliation though with mixed feelings for her father… the dark lament of the epilogue, as [Sir John Tomlinson as Lear] discovered both his companions dead, was heart-rending. There was some spectacular pianism from Anna Tilbrook, who also conducted.’ (Opera)

The Shackled King

Duration: 50 mins
King Lear (bass) – Sir John Tomlinson
Cordelia, Goneril, Regan, Fool (mezzo-soprano) – Rozanna Madylus

Musicians:           
Saxophone(s) – Kyle Horch
Trumpet – Sam Ewens
Violin – Fenella Humphreys
Piano – Anna Tilbrook 

Programme Note by John Casken

The Shackled King

Text by Shakespeare, adapted from King Lear

The Shackled King is a condensed version of Shakespeare’s great play King Lear, taking the very essence of it, namely Lear’s estrangement from his daughter Cordelia and their reconciliation.

The work is for two singers with a small ensemble. The role of Lear is sung by a bass, and Cordelia by a mezzo-soprano who also briefly plays the two sisters, Goneril and Regan, in the scene in which Lear divides his kingdom. The mezzo-soprano also sings the part of the King’s philosophical friend, the Fool who enables the King to emerge from madness to discover wisdom and recognise some hard truths.

The sequence of events is not chronological, and although all the words are Shakespeare’s, the text takes liberties with the sequence of events. The work starts at the end of the play where the King and Cordelia are in prison, he hardly recognising his daughter. Through a series of flashbacks the story is told, but returns to the present, in prison, a number of times. Musically, the work begins in a dark place and the grief-stricken and angry King is battered by the storm along the way. At the same time, there are tender and tragic moments when the King acknowledges what he has lost in banishing Cordelia, and lighter moments too with the Fool’s humour and jocular wisdom.

The singing style for both singers embraces the full range from naturally spoken, to rhythmicised speech, to heightened and exaggerated speech with approximate pitches, to half-sung/half-spoken (‘sprechgesang’), to fully sung lines. Such a range allows for the delivery of Shakespearean text as a fluid continuum from one into the other, suggested by the moods of the lines.

The work is shaped in the following way:

Prologue:        Lear and Cordelia in prison

Sc.1:                Lear and Cordelia re-live the story and the division of the kingdom (prison scene briefly recalled)

Sc.2:                Lear is alone with the Fool

                        (prison scene briefly recalled)

Sc.3:                Lear and the Fool in the storm and hovel

Sc.4:                Lear and Cordelia in prison

Epilogue:        Lear realises that Cordelia is dead and his Fool hanged

The work is called The Shackled King because the shackle not only suggests imprisonment, but the King is also undeniably tied to his daughter. He is also constrained by the actions and consequences from that fateful day when he divided his kingdom and bound by the weight of responsibility.

Performances

10 December 2020
Online premiere of film version at Shakespeare and Music Conference

11 December 2020
Second showing of film version at Shakespeare and Music Conference

23 July 2021
World Premiere of live version at Buxton Festival

24 June 2022
Northern Aldborough Festival

9 May 2023
Newbury Spring Festival