Phobias

This composer was a staunch pacifist who had moved to the USA in frustration as Europe moved inevitably towards the Second World War. He began this opera while in the United States. While his discovery of an old poem by a long-dead countryman provided the basic plot, his personal and political convictions also came into the picture, along with his general sympathy towards outsiders and misfits who are forced to live in a conformist society. The main character in this work is an outcast, deeply mistrustful and afraid of the society in which he lives. This is not an unreasonable fear, however, as the suspicions and gossip of the village slowly destroys his ability to live in peace...