After The Mask of Orpheus (1973-1984), Birtwistle returned to the Orpheus myth with The Second Mrs. Kong; but this time, Russell Hoban’s libretto deals with our modern world of computers, television and video, with an American sense of humour which surely justifies the designation “comic opera.” The two main characters – a gigantic ape (complete with excerpts from the original King Kong film of 1933) and Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring – are not living beings; they are ideas, and that dooms any personal encounter and possible love relationship before they can begin. Nonetheless, Birtwistle gives the ape and the girl beautiful, lyrical arias, just like Vermeer and Orpheus.
“Anyone who feared their decade-old admiration for the score might be dulled on reacquaintance didn't need to worry; Brabbins's performance reaffirmed this as one of the great operatic achievements of our time.” (Andrew Clements, The Guardian, 11 November 2004)