Jonathan DoveCBE (born 18 July 1959) is an English composer of opera, choral works, plays, films, and orchestral and chamber music. He has arranged a number of operas for English Touring Opera and the City of Birmingham Touring Opera (now Birmingham Opera Company), including in 1990 an 18-player two-evening adaptation of Wagner'sDer Ring des Nibelungen for CBTO. He was Artistic Director of the Spitalfields Festival from 2001 to 2006.
Dove was born in London; both his parents were architects. He studied music at the University of Cambridge, under Robin Holloway, and afterwards worked as a freelance arranger and accompanist until 1987, when he was employed by Glyndebourne Opera.[1]
The Enchanted Pig, libretto by Alasdair Middleton, was premièred at the Young Vic, London in December 2006 and toured parts of the UK in early 2006.[6][7]
Life Is a Dream, a full-scale opera with a libretto by Alasdair Middleton based on the play by Pedro Calderón de la Barca, was premiered by Birmingham Opera Company in March 2012.[13]
Tobias and the Angel (church opera), to a libretto by David Lan (1999). Premiered at St Matthew's, Perry Beeches.[14]
The Palace in the Sky (community opera) (2000)
L'altra Euridice (2002)
When She Died... (Death of a Princess) (television opera, commemorating the fifth anniversary of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales) (2002)
Man on the Moon (television opera, about Buzz Aldrin, second man to walk on the Moon, and the effects the experience had on him and his marriage) (2006)
Hear Our Voice (community opera) in partnership with Matthew King (2006), libretto by Tertia Sefton-Green. http://www.hmdt.org.uk/inschool_hearourvoice_1.html
Stargazer (a trombone concerto written for Ian Bousfield)
Köthener Messe, for choir and chamber ensemble
Out of Winter (song-cycle)
"Seek Him that maketh the Seven Stars" (choral work; setting of Amos 5:8)
His Dark Materials Part I & II (incidental music) (2003)
On Spital Fields (community cantata) (2005)
Hojoki – "An Account of my Hut" (Counter-Tenor and Orchestra)
I am the day (Carol – SATB)
Vadam et circuibo civitatem
Missa Brevis
Ecce Beatam Lucem (composed for Ralph Allwood and the 1997 Eton Choral Course[18])
There Was a Child (oratorio for soprano, tenor, chorus, and children's choirs) (2009)
In Damascus, a song-cycle for tenor and string quartet inspired by the Syrian refugee crisis, commissioned by the Sacconi Quartet and performed by the Sacconi Quartet and Mark Padmore.[19]
^"University of Warwick Symphony Orchestra: Flight". warwick.ac.uk. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
^"Spectacle and song take flight". The Sydney Morning Herald. 6 March 2006. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
^"Past nominees and winners | Helpmann Awards". www.helpmannawards.com.au. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
^"The Young Vic and The Opera Group | Theatricalia". theatricalia.com. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
^"Production of The Enchanted Pig | Theatricalia". theatricalia.com. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
^"Adventures of Pinocchio | Opera Scotland". operascotland.org. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
^"Minnesota Opera's The Adventures of Pinocchio Program by Minnesota Opera - Issuu". issuu.com. 17 June 2014. p. 10. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
^"British Youth Opera | Closed: 12 September 2008". Official London Theatre. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
^Hall, George (6 April 2015). "Swanhunter review – moments of stratsopheric vocalism and charming animal puppets". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
^"Heritage Opera | Opera Scotland". operascotland.org. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
^Clements, Andrew (22 March 2012). "Life Is a Dream – review". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
^Mynheer, Nicholas (7 October 2011). "Blog – Mynheer-art: the fine art site of painter and sculptor Nicholas Mynheer". Retrieved 8 December 2016.
^"The Monster in the Maze review – Dove’s score is lively and direct", The Guardian, 6 July 2015. Retrieved 23 March 2016
^"2023 Season". Opera Holland Park. September 2022. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
^"Nine Lessons and Carols 2000". Provost and Fellows of King's College, Cambridge. 2000. Archived from the original on 8 August 2007. Retrieved 1 January 2008.
^"Programme notes for Ecce Beatam Lucem". Gerontius.net. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
^"In Damascus". jonathandove.com. 2016. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
^London Piano Festival 2019 Programme Notes p 22
^In Exile, Lyrita SRCD413 recording, reviewed at MusicWeb International