Spring's Awakening is a tragi-comedy of teenage sex. Its fourteen-year-old heroine Wendla is killed by abortion pills. The young Moritz terrorized by the world around him and especially by his teachers shoots himself.The ending seems likely to be the suicide of Moritz's friend Melchior but in a confrontation with a mysterious stranger (the famous Masked Man) he finally manages to shed his illusions and face the consequences.

Andrew Porter says '. . . a stirring and beautiful adventure. . . He has written some of the most ardent love music since Messiaen's and love music finds its place in the opera. . . There is also music of pain and despair. Bell sounds chants choruses electronics swelling harmonies sharp-focus solo lines fill the theatre with deep ever-changing ever-stirring music.' The Observer 13 June 1993

Libretto to The Pirates of Penzance or The Slave of Duty by W.S. GIlbert and Arthur Sullivan.