Look Who it Was Random video

Discovered by Rufus Wainwright!

1,652 views · Published 9 October 2018 · 3:29 · Indexed 30 September 2026

Channel: Michael Levy · 2018 · Music

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I am delighted to finally be able to officially announce, that Rufus Wainwright will be arranging an excerpt of one of my ancient-themed lyre compositions, "Hymn to Zeus", in two scenes of his ancient Roman-themed second opera, "Hadrian" - produced by the Canadian Opera Company and which premiered in at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto on Saturday 13th October, 2018!

This presentation features my original recording for solo lyre of "Hymn to Zeus" which Rufus has adapted for the opera, along a slideshow of some precious snippets of behind the scenes footage taken during of the production and rehearsals of "Hadrian".

The full story of my collaboration with Rufus Wainwright and the main inspiration of my ancient-themed lyre music can be found in "The Globe and Mail"; one of the largest daily newspapers in Canada:

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/music/article-a-ditty-for-a-deity-composer-michael-levy-on-having-lyre-composition/

My official credits, to be printed in the score and in the program on the main crediting page along with all cast and creative, for the performances of "Hadrian" at the Canadian Opera Company and in programs at all subsequent productions, in perpetuity, are:

"Ancient Lyre music adapted from a theme, Hymn to Zeus, by Michael Levy. Used by permission"

On 27th April 2017, I was contacted by Cori Ellison, who is serving on behalf of Canadian Opera in Toronto as the dramaturg for the production of ‘Hadrian’:

“Mr. Wainwright has become acquainted with your work, particularly the 'Hymn to Zeus', and would very much like to incorporate a few musical quotations from that piece and perhaps some others in his opera. Might you be amenable to that?”

A telephone conference was arranged between myself, Rufus and Cori on 25th May 2017, whilst Rufus was still on tour in Bergen! During the course of the conversation, Rufus told me he particularly liked my composition, “Hymn to Zeus” (track 3 from my 2010 independently released album, “Apollo’s Lyre”) which he described in our telephone conference as “...a really beautiful melody”. 

In short, Rufus is going to arrange an excerpt of my original composition for solo lyre, "Hymn to Zeus" in Act II, scene 4; when Hadrian recalls first meeting his lover, Antonious and later, in Act III, scene 8  -- when he remembers learning of Antonious's death.

Rufus informed me that in these 2 scenes in which he would quote my composition, he would arrange it for harp; plucked “près de la table” (near the soundboard), in order to best capture the more guitar-like timbre of my recreated ancient lyre heard in my original recording:

https://michaellevy.bandcamp.com/track/hymn-to-zeus-composition-in-the-ancient-greek-dorian-mode

“Hymn to Zeus” is a piece composed for lyre, in the intense ancient Greek Dorian Mode; the equivalent intervals as E-E on the white notes of the piano (and misnamed the “Phrygian” mode by scholars in the early Middle Ages). This was also the favourite musical mode of Plato himself, who thought the Dorian mode was the only mode of true moral worth. It has a distinctively introspective and haunting meditative quality.

As an independent artist, to find one of my own compositions featured in such an epic-scaled production as “Hadrian” truly feels to me, like a ‘Libation to Apollo’ – in my efforts to bring his long-forgotten lyres and ancient musical magic, back to life in the 21st century and beyond!

Further details can be found in my website news bulletin:

http://ancientlyre.com/newsbulletins/discovered_by_rufus_wainwright/

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