The meek heroine of Jane Austen’s third novel reveals little of herself. It was in those absences that Jonathan Dove found inspiration for his chamber opera
When I first read Mansfield Park, I heard music. That doesn’t always happen when I read, and it certainly didn’t happen with Jane Austen’s other novels. But there’s something about this particular book that provoked musical ideas.
Music is often involved in Austen’s stories: there are dances and private concerts, many of her heroines play the piano (as did Austen herself) and some of them sing. In Mansfield Park, Fanny Price’s opponent Mary Crawford plays that dangerously romantic instrument, the harp.
Source: Opera News from the UK Guardian
