A History of Hoyle in 10 Objects

6: Musical Endeavours

This is part of the score to an opera written by Fred Hoyle (libretto) and Leo Smit (music). The Alchemy of Love, or the Daemon Servant's Retribution was premiered in New York in 1969. The opera starts with an alchemist discovering the true way to make gold from base metals. This gold has magical powers which affect anyone who holds it. The magic has many effects, one of which is to unite the Alchemist with his beloved, Adorabella. On this page from the first scene of the opera, the Daemon Servant cautions his master to keep his knowledge of alchemy a secret.

Fred Hoyle met the American composer and pianist Leo Smit (1921-1999) in 1953. As well as the opera, they worked together on a song cycle, a recital featuring the music described in Hoyle's 1966 novel October the First is Too Late, and a oratorio about the life and work of Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus.

Find out more: Hoyle and music.

Hoyle in 10 Objects: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10

Hoyle's Youth | Hoyle in Cambridge | Steady-State Universe | Stellar Nucleosynthesis | Hoyle vs Ryle | Institute of Theoretical Astronomy | Hoyle on the Radio | Hoyle the Writer | Hoyle the Polymath | Honours and Medals

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