With The Tempest, Thomas Adès composed one of the most striking and successful operas of recent years. From the turbulent orchestral prelude with which it begins to Ariel’s stratospheric yet ethereal ‘Five fathoms deep’ and the radiant quintet of reconciliation in its final act, its composer conjures up a wholly compelling musical world. Responding to librettist Meredith Oakes’ clear, unfussy refashioning of Shakespeare into formalised rhyme schemes, Adès has created a new kind of tonal language that is both direct and communicative but also indelibly contemporary.