Knot Garden, The, is an opera in three acts by the English composer Sir Michael Tippett to his own libretto (text). The opera received its first performance at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London, on Dec. 2, 1970.
The story of The Knot Garden turns on the psychological problems connected with the relationships between various individuals within a group of seven people. There is no plot as such. Tippett, as in most of his operas, seeks to explore conflicts—in this case, psychological ones—and how they may be resolved through reconciliation.
The action takes place over one day in the walled garden of a house near a large city. The garden is a knot garden—a formal garden with a very intricate layout. Its design changes during the opera in accordance with changes in the “inner situation” (that is, the relationships within the group). Sometimes it is a rose garden, a traditional meeting place for lovers. During Act II, it is a maze, in which the characters wander without guidance looking for the right person and try to pair off without success.
In the opera, Faber, a practical man of business, and his wife Thea have invited Mangus, a psychoanalyst, to treat their adolescent ward Flora. Mangus quickly realizes that the problems lie not with Flora but in the marriage between Faber and Thea. Faber has become too preoccupied with business and public affairs, while Thea has withdrawn into herself. As a result, a rift has developed between them. Other guests arrive to complicate the situation. They are a gay couple—Mel, a Black writer, and Dov, a white musician—and Thea’s sister Denise, a political revolutionary who has been tortured.
Mangus sets up a series of contrived situations to help resolve their difficulties. These culminate in an elaborate and surreal charade based on William Shakespeare’s play The Tempest. By the end of the opera, the individuals are about to embark on a new phase of their lives. Mel leaves the house with Denise, Faber and Thea have renewed their marriage, Flora has grown up and achieved independence, and Dov is left to set out upon a journey. Tippett recorded this journey in Songs for Dov (1970), a cycle of songs for solo voice and small orchestra, which arose out of the opera.
