ABSTRACT
Concerned with the plight of the brilliant but flawed footballer Terry Bond, Playing Away received its premiere at the Grand Theatre in Leeds in May 1994. With a libretto by Howard Brenton, this Opera North production was directed by David Pountney and conducted by Paul Daniel. According to the Frankfurter Rundschau (May 24, 1994), ‘a daily myth has, in an artificially processed and at the same time entertainingly pugnacious manner, found its way onto the musical stage. The first ever football opera can be duly added to the annals of theatre history – original and no less overdue’. In 2007, a revised version of the opera was performed at the prestigious Bregenzer Festspiel in Austria. I spoke with its composer Benedict Mason about the work’s composition, content and reception.
