John Milton; Few writers in the English canon have had as controversial and lasting impact as he has.

A staunch anti-royalist, he lived through a tumultuous time in British politics, when Cavaliers and Roundheads fought to defend their beliefs. Never one to shy away from voicing his opinions, Milton spent his early years writing poetry and essays advocating for progressive issues of the time. By 1652 however, Milton had succumbed entirely to blindness, an affliction that stopped his work almost entirely, driving him into reclusion where he forced his two daughters to read to him aloud in languages they themselves could not understand for hours at a time. 

In 1654, divine inspiration struck, and Milton began dictating the work that would make him immortal. A work of breathtaking audacity, it attempts to ‘justify the ways of God to humankind’. Furious at his failed coup against God, the devil sits and ponders other methods of destruction before alighting on God’s most treasured creations. Milton brings Lucifer out of the shadows and into the forefront of our imaginations. He presents to us an Antichrist with deeply human qualities, bordering on the sympathetic. Despite its undeniably dense language, Paradise Lost has been enjoyed the world over, offering a perspective on Biblical narratives that challenge our preconceptions and delight with beauty and poetry. 

William Spaulding

American conductor William Spaulding is known in the international opera world as chorus director in several major opera houses, among them the Liceu in Barcelona, the Deutsche Oper in Berlin, and since 2016, London’s Royal Opera at Covent Garden. As Kapellmeister of the Deutsche Oper Berlin, he has conducted performances of works such as ‘The Barber of Seville’, ‘Nabucco’, ‘Carmen’, and Verdi's ‘Requiem’.

William's fascination with Milton began as simple curiosity.

Lockdown afforded the opportunity to dig deeper. "The author is striving for what he calls ‘musical delight’ in the preface. I wanted to know more about this connection to music. Reading aloud, I discovered that the human qualities of the story unfolded gloriously as audible speech. It began to ‘feel’ like an opera to me. I performed the results in studio settings, gradually expanding the programme to its present form, which traces a cohesive narrative across all twelve books. I am deeply indebted to the director Keith Warner for his invaluable guidance during this journey.”