For You

by Ian McEwan

Charles Frieth, preeminent composer, conductor and prodigious womaniser, is preparing for a performance of one of his early works, and the world premiere of "Demonic Aubade". Obstinate and myopic, he is oblivious to the growing turmoil around him; his wife's poor health and dissatisfaction; the exhausted efforts of his secretary; and, the disquieting diligence of his housekeeper, Maria. As the first performance draws near, the maestro is suddenly awoken to the chaos, and as Charles struggles to regain control of his life, a terrible tragedy begins to unfold. "For You" is a beautifully wrought and compelling libretto - It is Ian McEwan at his very best.

Genres: Fiction, Plays, Drama, British Literature, English Literature

68 pages, Paperback

First published June 5, 2008

About the author

Ian McEwan studied at the University of Sussex, where he received a BA degree in English Literature in 1970 and later received his MA degree in English Literature at the University of East Anglia.

McEwan's works have earned him worldwide critical acclaim. He won the Somerset Maugham Award in 1976 for his first collection of short stories First Love, Last Rites; the Whitbread Novel Award (1987) and the Prix Fémina Etranger (1993) for The Child in Time; and Germany's Shakespeare Prize in 1999. He has been shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize for Fiction numerous times, winning the award for Amsterdam in 1998. His novel Atonement received the WH Smith Literary Award (2002), National Book Critics' Circle Fiction Award (2003), Los Angeles Times Prize for Fiction (2003), and the Santiago Prize for the European Novel (2004). He was awarded a CBE in 2000. In 2006, he won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for his novel Saturday and his novel On Chesil Beach was named Galaxy Book of the Year at the 2008 British Book Awards where McEwan was also named Reader's Digest Author of the Year.

McEwan lives in London.

Reviews

[Frannie Pan]

Un famoso compositore e direttore d’orchestra che porta a casa il proprio lavoro.

“Umiliazione, poi perdono ed infine seduzione”

Una moglie prigioniera di privilegi e bugie.

“Mi spaventa il momento di abbandono
quella prova generale di morte.”

Un dottore protettivo della sua fonte di gioia.

“[…] ma chi mai perdonerà il mio abuso
professionale di potere, chi potrà guarire
il mio febbrile bisogno di mentire?”

Una serva follemente innamorata del proprio padrone.

“Lasciami strofinare il peso della tua angoscia,
lascia che lavi via le bugie del tuo passato.”


Una piccola tragedia greca animata da musica, passioni, tradimenti ed una conclusione scoppiata in un improvviso fortissimo, seguito da un sussurro appena accennato ed il silenzio assordante di una sospensione che precede l’applauso di fine spettacolo.

Sono stata colpita dalla forza dirompente dei sentimenti e dei canti corali, dal ritmo incalzane e poetico, dai giochi di parole e dall’assoluta maestria nella scelta di vocaboli che richiamano le professioni ed i ruoli dei personaggi in questo libretto.
Lo stile di McEwan è immaginifico, è riuscito ad accompagnarmi ad assistere ad uno spettacolo teatrale messo in scena nella mia mente dove i personaggi hanno preso vita su un doppiamente fittizio palcoscenico.

L’edizione con il testo originale a fronte dell’Einaudi mi ha regalato l’imperdibile possibilità di poter leggere il copione due volte, di operare un confronto e apprezzare la bravura della traduttrice Susanna Basso che è riuscita a conservare in italiano la scioltezza ed ironia McEwan quasi senza perdere un colpo, sebbene l’originale resti un capolavoro.

Consigliatissimo agli amanti della musica e del teatro! Sicuramente non sarà la mia ultima opera teatrale né tantomeno l’ultimo libro che leggerò di Ian McEwan.

[Hella]

Non esisterà mai un suo libro che non sia un colpo allo stomaco, e un capolavoro di fine scrittura e sottile crudeltà.
Non si può non amarlo. E io lo amo... da morire.

[Benja]

For You is a "libretto for Michael Berkeley's opera", whatever that means. I can't quite visualize the staging. I read it as a quickie two-act play, or even a TV script, since it's so melodramatic. It reads like a boiled-down pitch for a lengthier, better Ian McEwan novel: a composer and womaniser rediscovers his musical calling when he falls for the horn (hehe) in his orchestra. Meanwhile his sickly wife may or may not have the hots for her doctor, and his housekeeper nurses an obsession the maestro doesn't know he's fanning. You recognize the McEwan archetypes in them; the manic housekeeper in particular rings close to Enduring Love's Jed Parry.

I enjoyed the writing and the dry-wit exchanges at face value; there's some marvel in how deftly and effortlessly McEwan conjures such intricate web of self-defeating wont. But between the awkwardness of the presentation and the pervasive feeling that this is a mere sketch, I wouldn't rank it very highly in the author's oeuvre.

[Maria]

I would probably give this a higher rating if I could listen to the Opera this is made for. The fact this was a combined work only makes me more desperate to get a hold of the recording.

[Ivana]

Words, words and words.....Even if one cannot imagine this piece , libretto, on scene of a theatre somewhere....., every time I read Ian McEwan I am falling in lowe with his writing, sentences again ......

Then at last the idea came with roar of delighted applause
and with loud praise, and giddy fame,
profiles, parties, open doors.
And he grew to the shape of a lion ,
his musical ambition swelled,
while she shrank to the size
of a household mouse........................

[Steffi]

Geschichte eines alternden Komponisten, der seine geliebte, kränkliche Frau liebt, aber ständig betrügt. Sie und ihr Arzt verlieben sich ineinander, während die Haushälterin den Komponisten liebt und ihre eigenen Pläne verfolgt. Schön zu lesen, die Inszenierung würde mich interessieren.

[Michael McEvoy]

Not bad, just felt unnecessary.

[Harry]

I would like to see this play

It was a very cool idea and i enjoyed the narrative and would love if this could be put into a novel

[Peter Denton]

Being a great admirer of (most of) Ian McEwan’s work, I was intrigued to discover that he had added libretto writing to his multitude of talents. And also enjoying Michael Berkeley’s work as a BBC Radio 3 presenter, the combination of librettist and composer was irresistible.

Never having read a libretto before, I found this an unusual experience, but an interesting one. We all know that opera plots are often completely mad, which seems to be their point – so what to make of this one? Hubris, sexual desires, emotional blindness and even a hospital operating theatre all come together to create chaos in the life of Charles Frieth, a famous but difficult conductor – and so the two-act opera proceeds to its dénouement or climax, as you wish to interpret it.

At just 68 pages, the libretto, published by Vintage Originals, is hardly an exhaustive read. But put to music, the work lasts some two hours – a somewhat different experience which, being the libretto novice that I am, came as a surprise. I certainly prefer McEwan as a novelist, but I also admire him for this entirely different creation.

[K M Laume]

Picked up a signed copy of this limited edition libretto in a charity shop and I sort of understand why now. As I haven’t seen it performed with the music and songs I don’t feel I can make a proper judgement but I found the text by itself lacking. The storyline is something I feel I’ve heard many times, worn and clichéd. I wish there had been a unique angle. Again, perhaps it’s the fact that I’m reading it rather than seeing it performed that makes the difference, especially as an Opera music and performance a key.

[Cartoisb]

This libretto is the text for the opera For You which opened in 2008. Not knowing exactly what this was, I bought it because McEwan is one of my favourite writers and I have read almost all of his books. This is a VERY short read - only about 60-plus pages with very few words on each page - but it is nonetheless excellent and well worth reading. The story and quality of writing are classic Ian McEwan, but the opera format gives this another dimension beyond that of his novels in that the language has a real poetic and melodic quality. I subsequently saw the opera. Highly recommended.

[Elle]

this read very beautifully. Its pretty much what you would expect to come from McEwan, and was a nice short read. It's the first libretto I've ever read, so I can't confidently comment on how well it was written in terms of that but I had no complaints as a casual reader. As it was short it did lack a little bit of depth and possibly suffered a bit in terms of originality, but for anyone who enjoys McEwan it's a lovely one to flick through.

[deanna]

This is the first book I have read by Ian McEwan. It does grab your interest right from the start. A few slow parts throughout the book, but, just when you think you can't keep going, it does pick back up and keeps you engaged. I would recommend this book to anyone who is wanting a decent read that doesn't require a lot of thought process.

[Liezel]

Predictable melodrama, at least its short. Enjoyed reading a play though, that was a new experience for me

[Rebecca]

V.dark

[Caroline Reddington]

Quirky and short

[Claire (find me on Storygraph)]

So disappointing. Melodramatic and flimsy.

[Ara]

There’s nothing novel about the story but loved the writing. Totally recommend if you are looking for a light quick read.

[Eli Mwalimu]

An odd little story with a surprising ending.

[seraph]

"i know you suffer as much at least -- we share the hunger before the feast."

[John]

Bite sized & it sure bites. Keep up the good work Ian. Acting 🎭

[Katie O]

This is an opera and I sang it in my head in the style of Nsync.

[Chloe]

Very nicely written

[Miki]

Never one to miss an opportunity to try and shock, horrify and even disgust readers, this short gem doesn't disappoint.

As Antonia prepares for surgery, she feels her demise fast approaching. She conveys her fears to her doctor, Simon. Simon attempts to assuage her fears:

Simon: ...nothing to fear, and when you wake...
Antonia: If I wake. What did the poet write of death?
The anaesthetic from which none comes round.
Simon: Best not to think of Larking at such times. (McEwan, 11)

Antonia, although in love with Simon, knows she is married to man who continues to cheat on her and refuses to leave her because he wants to possess her. Her husband even admits that Antonia belongs to him.

This libretto highlights how men and women can miscommunicate and misunderstand one another. It also highlights the tension among European immigrants moving to England and gaining employment there. It's a good read, and I recommend it. That being said, although I've always loved Ian McEwan's dark and disturbing plots, almost all of his published work incorporates the darker side of characters to the point that it's not shocking anymore. I will continue to read McEwan, but I'm going to take a break from his work.

Note: This was only a 4-star read for me because I think it would have been better to see this performed live.

[Physical, borrowed from a friend]

[Bianca]

Charles Freith is a famous maestro who is difficult, eccentric and a womaniser. His wife, Antonia is sick, has had enough of his cheating and wants to leave him for her doctor. Charles' housekeeper, Maria, loves Charles and wants him for herself.

This is a very short play that contains all the darkness for which McEwan is well known.

[Robert]

McEwan in a completely different form: a libretto! An interesting experience and a very good, compelling, typical McEwan story again. Still, I prefer his regular prose, novels and short stories, over this. A great read, definitively. But somehow it doesn't really become his style.

[Fabrizio Valenza]

Due soli appunti negativi: il prezzo, davvero eccessivo per un libretto di 100 pagine, e la figura di Maria, che passa al colpo di scena finale in modo troppo immediato.
Per il resto, McEwan come al solito è esemplare nella sua scrittura.

[Jeff Howells]

Just filling in the gaps of my Ian McEwan collection. This isn't a novel but a libretto for a Michael Berkeley opera concerning a priapic composer his wife & the man that loves her...it all goes very McEwan...

[Blake]

There is not much of value here. McEwan seems to have put little effort into this and the ending is quite simplistic and not particularly believable. From the writer of "Atonement", I expected more.

[Grace]

This was surprisingly dissappointing. Not so much the execution of the idea but the idea itself and the very bland, steriotypical and frankly unbelieveable characters.