Ian McEwan, or Shall We Die?

Anastasia Logotheti (Deree-The American College of Greece)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.09: English Writing and Culture: Postwar and Contemporary Britain , 1945-present.
Vol. editors: Gina Lyle (University of York), Graham MacPhee (University of Manchester), Kerry Myler (Birmingham Newman University), Jenni Ramone (The Nottingham Trent University)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1983

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Music (any)
- Classical Music
  - Oratorio

Resources

Save to Bookshelf

Recommended Reading

Best known for his award-winning fiction in which music often features, Ian McEwan has collaborated as a librettist with composer Michael Berkeley (see note 1) twice: for the oratorio

Or Shall We Die?

and the opera

For You

. At the time of each of these collaborations with Berkeley McEwan was at different stages of his literary career. The librettos have received little critical attention; they are usually mentioned in studies of McEwan’s fiction (for instance, in Groes, Malcolm, and Head) in relation to themes dominant throughout McEwan’s work.

Or Shall We Die? (1983)

Or Shall We Die? (1983)

The pacifist oratorio Or Shall We Die? was commissioned by the London Symphony Orchestra and premiered at the Royal Festival Hall in London in 1983. The work lasts fifty minutes and has been composed

Please log in to consult the article in its entirety. If you are a member (student of staff) of a subscribing institution (see List), you should be able to access the LE on campus directly (without the need to log in), and off-campus either via the institutional log in we offer, or via your institution's remote access facilities, or by creating a personal user account with your institutional email address. If you are not a member of a subscribing institution, you will need to purchase a personal subscription. For more information on how to subscribe as an individual user, please see under Individual Subcriptions.

2005 words

Citation: Logotheti, Anastasia. "or Shall We Die?". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 20 August 2018 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=3016, accessed 25 November 2024.]

View recommended reading for this article

Ian McEwan, or Shall We Die?

Dates

Places

Genres and Modes

Resources

Save this article

Leave Feedback