Judith Weir (born 1954)
Judith Weir was born in Cambridge, England. Although she has composed orchestral and chamber music, she is best known for her operas and theatrical works, many dealing with British medieval history or stories from her parents’ homeland of Scotland. She was appointed Master of the Queen’s Music in 2014, a post that has existed continuously since 1660.
Her 1979 opera King Harald’s Saga is subtitled “Grand opera in three acts for unaccompanied soprano singing eight roles,” even though it’s only about 10 to 15 minutes long and more accurately categorized as a monodrama. It is based on a 13th century Old Norse saga from Iceland entitled “Heimskringla.”
In 1066, King Harald of Norway is persuaded by English traitor Earl Tostig to invade England. After the Norwegian Army lands at Scarborough, they are defeated by Harold II of England, and Harald is killed in battle. This wonderful performance is by Danish soprano Carina Tybjerg Madsen.:
A synopsis is available on Wikipedia, a description of the roles is on Wise Music site. Deeper analyses are available in a graduate school paper "Judith Weir’s King Harald’s Saga: innovations of character and virtuosity in contemporary opera" and a dissertation "A Performance Guide to the Dramatic, Vocal, and Musical Challenges of Judith Weir’s Opera, King Harald’s Saga".