King Priam is a tragic opera in three acts by the English composer Sir Michael Tippett (see Tippett, Sir Michael ). Tippett himself wrote the libretto (text), which was based on the ancient Greek epic the Iliad. The opera received its first performance in Coventry, England, on May 29, 1962.
Tippett takes as his theme in this opera the idea that fate and freedom are a contradiction. People are free to choose their fate, but the gods will speak or act through whatever fate they select. Priam is the king of the ancient city of Troy. His wife Hecuba has had a dream, which is interpreted by an old man. Urged on by Hecuba, Priam orders his baby son Paris to be put to death because the old man has prophesied that Paris will cause his father’s death. Years later, while out hunting with his older son Hector, he discovers that his order was not obeyed. Paris is still alive. In joy, Priam takes Paris back to Troy. In the next scene, Paris, now a young man, quarrels with Hector and leaves Troy to take Helen from Sparta, where she was the wife of the Spartan king. The god Hermes arranges the judgment of Paris. The young man is called upon to choose the most beautiful among three goddesses—Hera, Aphrodite, and Athene (played by the same singers who take the roles of Hecuba, Helen, and Hector’s wife, Andromache). He chooses Aphrodite (that is, Helen).
In the war that follows, the Greeks besiege Troy. Achilles, the Greek champion, sulks in his tent. The Trojans force the Greeks back and set fire to many of their ships. But Hector and Paris quarrel again, and the Trojans lose their advantage. Achilles’s friend Patroclus puts on Achilles’s armor but is slain by Hector. The rejoicing of the Trojans is interrupted by Achilles’s bloodthirsty war cry. As the final act opens, Hecuba, Andromache, and Helen reflect upon their roles in the war. Paris brings news to Priam that Achilles has killed Hector. Priam goes to the Greeks to beg his son’s body, and Achilles expresses pity for him. After these events, Priam withdraws into himself. In the final scene, he waits for death in front of an altar and is slain by Achilles’s son.
