Work
The Musicians of Bremen
comic opera in one act
About
A comic opera in one act which was professionally staged in 1996.
It played to enthusiastic audiences and reviewers, including Timothy Jones who commented that it was: "lean, witty and self-contained - wonderfully rhythmic, but spiky and astringent as the need arose". Ian Dando's review concluded: "Honest music with its sleeves rolled up", while John Pattinson's noted: "His orchestral resourcefulness is considerable and The Musicians of Bremen teems with interesting and colourful ideas all of which seemed to work like a charm. Ryan has developed a happy knack of being able to write effectively for voices or instruments". Elric Hooper's review included the following: "Christchurch ... contains some of NZ's best kept artistic secrets. One of them is Tony Ryan."
Text note
Libretto by Tony Ryan after Grimm