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Written on Skin
Written on Skin is an opera by the British composer George Benjamin, with a libretto written by Martin Crimp.
Benjamin's first full-length opera, it was premiered at the 2012 Aix-en-Provence Festival by the Mahler Chamber Orchestra as a commission from five opera centres, and received its British premiere at the Royal Opera House in London in March 2013 and its Paris premiere at the Opéra-Comique in November that year; Benjamin conducted for all of these premiere seasons.
The libretto by Martin Crimp, who also wrote the libretto for Benjamin's first opera Into The Little Hill, is based on legend of the troubadour Guillaume de Cabestanh; the story is also repeated in The Decameron of Giovanni Boccaccio. The action takes place in 13th-century Provence.
The opera is divided into 15 scenes. The Protector (a rich land-owner) pays the Boy (an artist) to create and illustrate a manuscript about his family. The Boy and the Protector's wife Agnès are attracted to each other. Incensed by the reawakened independence of his wife, the Protector murders the Boy and forces Agnès unwittingly to eat his heart. Agnès commits suicide. 'Angels' comment throughout on the action from a modern-day perspective.
The success of the opera in performance motivated the Royal Opera to commission a second full-length opera by Crimp and Benjamin, Lessons in Love and Violence, premiered at the Royal Opera House in May 2018. The opera was given in several productions, such as the Oper Frankfurt in 2026, directed by Tatjana Gürbaca and conducted by Erik Nielsen, with Bo Skovhus as The Protector, Elizabeth Reiter as Agnès, and Iurii Iushkevich as First Angel/The Boy.
Part I
The chorus takes us back to 800 years ago, when books were "written on skin," and introduces the protagonists: the Protector (a wealthy landowner) "addicted to purity and violence" and Agnès, his wife, his "property." One of the angels transforms into the Boy, a manuscript illuminator.
The Protector asks the Boy to create a book celebrating his life, showing his enemies in Hell and his family in Paradise. The Boy shows the Protector a sample of his work. Agnès distrusts the Boy and is skeptical of the creation of images picturing their lives, but her objections are overruled by the Protector.
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Written on Skin
Written on Skin is an opera by the British composer George Benjamin, with a libretto written by Martin Crimp.
Benjamin's first full-length opera, it was premiered at the 2012 Aix-en-Provence Festival by the Mahler Chamber Orchestra as a commission from five opera centres, and received its British premiere at the Royal Opera House in London in March 2013 and its Paris premiere at the Opéra-Comique in November that year; Benjamin conducted for all of these premiere seasons.
The libretto by Martin Crimp, who also wrote the libretto for Benjamin's first opera Into The Little Hill, is based on legend of the troubadour Guillaume de Cabestanh; the story is also repeated in The Decameron of Giovanni Boccaccio. The action takes place in 13th-century Provence.
The opera is divided into 15 scenes. The Protector (a rich land-owner) pays the Boy (an artist) to create and illustrate a manuscript about his family. The Boy and the Protector's wife Agnès are attracted to each other. Incensed by the reawakened independence of his wife, the Protector murders the Boy and forces Agnès unwittingly to eat his heart. Agnès commits suicide. 'Angels' comment throughout on the action from a modern-day perspective.
The success of the opera in performance motivated the Royal Opera to commission a second full-length opera by Crimp and Benjamin, Lessons in Love and Violence, premiered at the Royal Opera House in May 2018. The opera was given in several productions, such as the Oper Frankfurt in 2026, directed by Tatjana Gürbaca and conducted by Erik Nielsen, with Bo Skovhus as The Protector, Elizabeth Reiter as Agnès, and Iurii Iushkevich as First Angel/The Boy.
Part I
The chorus takes us back to 800 years ago, when books were "written on skin," and introduces the protagonists: the Protector (a wealthy landowner) "addicted to purity and violence" and Agnès, his wife, his "property." One of the angels transforms into the Boy, a manuscript illuminator.
The Protector asks the Boy to create a book celebrating his life, showing his enemies in Hell and his family in Paradise. The Boy shows the Protector a sample of his work. Agnès distrusts the Boy and is skeptical of the creation of images picturing their lives, but her objections are overruled by the Protector.