Damon Albarn became associated with the Manchester International Festival through a 2006 concert production by his band Gorillaz, Demon Days Live, a 2007 Chinese opera, , and a 2009 immersive theatre production, It Felt Like a Kiss, for which he wrote music. An opera titled Doctor Dee was originally planned as a collaboration between Albarn, Gorillaz partner Jamie Hewlett and comic book authorAlan Moore. According to Moore, he was approached by Albarn and Hewlett to collaborate on an opera featuring superheroes, but instead he suggested John Dee as a subject. He withdrew from the project when expected contributions from Albarn and Hewlett to his magazine Dodgem Logic failed to materialise. Moore is credited for "inspiration" in the opera's official programme and his incomplete libretto was published in Strange Attractor magazine.
Production
Dr Dee ran from 1 to 9 July 2011 at the Palace Theatre, Manchester. It was commissioned by the Manchester International Festival, English National Opera and the London 2012 Festival. It was subsequently performed from 26 June to 7 July 2012 at the London Coliseum, as part of the London 2012 Festival. The opera was scored for a band combining Elizabethan English instruments with the African kora and the distinctive drumming of Nigerian percussionist Tony Allen. Damon Albarn played acoustic guitar and harmonium and sang on a number of songs. A twenty-piece conventional orchestra was provided by the BBC Philharmonic and conducted by André de Ridder. John Dee, a non-singing part, was played by Bertie Carvel. Dee's wife, Katherine, was played by Anna Dennis. Francis Walsingham was played by Steven Page. Edward Kelley was played by Christopher Robson, whose singing was described as "sublime" by Albarn.
Reception
The Guardian gave the Manchester production four stars, saying that it "reaches to the heart of the tragedy of an overreaching intellect destroyed by a deal with a second-rate Mephistopheles". The Independent also awarded four stars, saying that the production was "mostly a triumph, but the opening dumb show and final song don't work". Rupert Christiansen in The Daily Telegraph gave the same star-rating, describing the opera as "fresh, original and heartfelt". The NME described it as "visually sumptuous and musically haunting".
