Crabtree (the libretto) - Tom Jenks

“Tom Jenks’ libretto, Crabtree, is an intense story of love, loss and betrayal in the highest tradition of operatic tragedy. The emotionally complex Crabtree, huddled in the kimono of his dressing gown, his tender heart deceived by the ones he trusted most, is a Butterfly for our times: his final aria as affecting as the ‘mad song’ in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor. This is a work that might move an audience to tears that only a superior brand of kitchen towel could deal with.” Patricia Farrell