Located in the UK
Located in the USA
Located in Europe
- Geoffrey Bush
The Equation (1967)
- Novello & Co Ltd (World)
Commissioned by the Sacred Music Drama Society
Unavailable for performance.
Programme Note
SYNOPSIS
At the time of the Roman siege of Jerusalem in 70 AD, two pairs of friends find themselves in opposing camps – Marcus and Junius, Roman officers, inspired by the Imperial ideals of law and government, justice and truth; and Simon and David, members of the fanatical Resistance, convinced that a Jewish victory will bring peace on earth and a fulfilment of the vision of Isaiah – ‘the lion shall lie down with the lamb and a little child shall lead them’. As the curtain falls, the Roman Marcus and the Jew Simon have each lost their friend (killed by their opposite numbers in a sortie into enemy territory) and have learned that in all wars, whatever the motive and whatever the place – whether it is Jerusalem or Vietnam – there can only be one solution to the equation: X equals nothing.
At the time of the Roman siege of Jerusalem in 70 AD, two pairs of friends find themselves in opposing camps – Marcus and Junius, Roman officers, inspired by the Imperial ideals of law and government, justice and truth; and Simon and David, members of the fanatical Resistance, convinced that a Jewish victory will bring peace on earth and a fulfilment of the vision of Isaiah – ‘the lion shall lie down with the lamb and a little child shall lead them’. As the curtain falls, the Roman Marcus and the Jew Simon have each lost their friend (killed by their opposite numbers in a sortie into enemy territory) and have learned that in all wars, whatever the motive and whatever the place – whether it is Jerusalem or Vietnam – there can only be one solution to the equation: X equals nothing.