Manifest Destiny is an opera composed by Keith Burstein with an English libretto by Dic Edwards. The opera is notable for dealing with the subject of Islamic suicide bombers, and with the ramifications of both the Middle Eastern conflict and the war on terror.
Set in the present day or "near-future", the complex plot centres on a harrowing journey through the war on terror by the Palestinian poet Leila who—along with her friend Mohammed—is radicalised and drawn into a suicide bomber cell, leaving her lover (the Jewish composer Daniel) in a state of hysterical blindness due to his despair at her loss and at the state of the world. Leila and Mohammed subsequently undergo a profound change of heart and, on the eve of their suicide mission, renounce violence and reject their own bombs. However, their attempts to achieve a more peaceful resolution to their lives (in the face of a brutal and cynical war campaign involving the President of the United States of America and her Director of CIA) result in them becoming further—and fatally—entangled in the conflict when Mohammed takes the fatal step of "saving" Leila by turning her over to American forces, leading to her internment and subsequent death in Camp X-Ray. The plot is resolved when Mohammed retrieves the dead Leila's poetry as a completed libretto, which he brings back to Daniel to set to music (effecting a symbolic reconciliation between Jewish and Palestinian cultures in spite of realpolitik interests and personal tragedy).Notes from Manifest Destiny theatre programme from 2005 Edinburgh performances
Manifest Destiny has attracted a large amount of press attention due to its themes, content and subject matter—including scenes showing the preparations for a suicide bomb raid and the incarceration and maltreatment of Leila in Camp X-Ray (the latter of which was a scene written prior to public knowledge of the events at Abu Ghraib). An accusation in the press was the subject of a libel action (Burstein vs Associated Newspapers) in the British High Court.
The opera has been staged twice: once at London's Tricycle Theatre in 2004 and once at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2005.
Six years after the Edinburgh performances, the opera was extensively rewritten and restaged in London as Manifest Destiny 2011;Manifest Destiny 2011 event page at OperaUpClose website (accessed 8 September 2011) a further revised, orchestrated version (for single woodwind, horn and trumpet with strings) was performed at St John's Church, Waterloo on 15 November 2025.
Composition and inspiration Seeking collaborators for an opera taking the "war on terror" as its subject, Burstein advertised for a librettist. He advertised for a librettist via Artists Against The War. In late 2002, the post was filled by controversial Welsh playwright Dic Edwards, and the two subsequently wrote Manifest Destiny together, completing the opera in 2003. Though critical in tone, the opera was explicitly presented as a pacifist statement. Both Burstein and Edwards took pains to stress that the opera did not endorse the actions of suicide bombers and displayed them ultimately rejecting their violent course of action. In the programme for the Edinburgh production, Burstein wrote: "The renunciation of violence in time of war will always seem miraculous. Manifest Destiny is an attempt to describe such a miracle. Taking as its starting point the most ardent form of contemporary violence—that of the suicide bomber—it asks us to contemplate a path, a journey of the soul, on which these 'martyrs' are transformed by the power of love. Their grievances remain, their passionate demand for justice remains, but their weapon turns from war to peace."
In interviews with Reuters, Edwards has stated "I've always believed theatre is a place of debate... What we wanted to show is that terrorists are human beings, with the same emotions as the rest of us. While it's impossible to sympathise with terrorism, I think we have to, for the sake of the future, try and understand it... We wanted to show that potentially we are all suicide bombers if there is a cause." Burstein added "Opera is peculiarly able to X-ray issues and X-ray the soul in a way that other media do not.I hope the opera will surprise people by making the characters in this story seem to be very immediate and very real. ... There is also a symbol at the end of a possible reconciliation between Palestinians and Jews."
In an article written for The Scotsman, Burstein stated"(Manifest Destiny) imagines a scenario in which the protagonists – would-be suicide bombers – are stopped in their tracks. Not by the security services, but by their own humanity: a process of love, springing from within the peaceful teachings of Islam and triumphing over their anger and fear. In the near-future envisaged in the opera, it is Mohammed, a Jihadist committed to violent direct action, who is transformed by discovering the human-scaled, yet overwhelming nature of his love for a fellow suicide bomber (which) has so overwhelmed his emotions that he can neither let her die, nor let her or himself kill others."
Performance history A promenade production of the first act of Manifest Destiny was performed at the Cockpit Theatre, Marylebone, London during November 2003, directed by David Wybrow. The first full-length production was subsequently performed at the Tricycle Theatre, Kilburn, London on 27 June 2004 (produced by Corin Redgrave).
The second full-length production (also directed by David Wybrow) was staged at the St Georges West venue between 6 and 29 August 2005 as part of the 2005 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, with a cast of four. The Observer announced it as "undoubtedly the most controversial production" of the festival," and it was flagged by both The Independent and The Times as one of the five top classical music events to see in Edinburgh that year. Excerpts from the opera were subsequently performed at public concerts – notably, part of the Guantanamo Bay prison scene from Act 3.
Member of Parliament John McDonnell arranged to host a screening of these performances in a room in the Houses of Parliament on 25 June 2025.
Critical response The critical response to Manifest Destiny was widely varied. The various productions gained a great deal of press attention, much of it relating to the subject matter, including coverage by Reuters, the BBC and Süddeutsche Zeitung.
Tricycle Theatre, 2003 For the 2003 Tricycle Theatre production, The Observers Anthony Holden described Manifest Destiny as a "worthy piece" but also commented that "for all its static, repetitive atmospherics, Burstein's melodic, neo-classical score – the tango for torture, a waltz for the White House – is badly let down by Dic Edwards's libretto, which ranges from the crudest anti-American satire to the most banal, platitudinous failure to explain the appeal of politico-religious duty (i.e. suicide bombing) over love." The Sunday Telegraph described the opera as "political, prescient and unmissable".
Edinburgh 2005 For the Edinburgh production of 2005, the performers were almost universally praised by the critics, but the response to the work itself was profoundly divided.
Of the reviews which dealt more substantially with the opera itself, the British Theatre Guides Peter Latham described the Edinburgh production as "a powerful piece, powerfully performed. ... Political opera is a very rare bird, even today, and this piece is one to be cherished," while asserting that "it is right that opera should take on such subjects" and noting that Burstein's music was "more melodic than most modern opera." On EdinburghGuide.com, Alex Eades commented "Manifest Destiny will haunt your soul for many a day. Of all the performances based around terrorism this year, this is the one to see. A miracle of a show that is sometimes beautiful and sometimes horrible. It is, however, always unforgettable." The Scotsman commented "Operatic themes do not come more epic than this."
In the Scotsman on Sunday, Michael McManus was particularly complimentary, comparing Manifest Destiny to Michael Tippett's A Child of Our Time and praising the "brave, touching and timely work" as "a dazzling, dark opera ... affecting, bold, potent and perhaps most importantly of all, packed with melodic invention... Mahlerian harmonies and rhythmic patterns, a gorgeous waltz, and a cynical tango. ... Time and again – as in the greatest operatic works – tonal resolution and emotional closure come hand-in hand" The reviewer also commented "Like so much great art, Manifest Destiny marries the personal with the political, the particular and the universal... A simple and humanitarian message shines through unambiguously; that violence begets only violence in a cycle which must be broken as an act of human will; and that love is stronger than hatred."
The Daily Telegraphs David Gritten described the opera as "rigorous and high minded, with a story in the environs of Greek tragedy" and praised Burstein's ambition and the music (which the reviewer found "mournful" and "affecting"), but attacked Edwards' libretto as "stilted" and the political content as "banal and fatally one-sided," In a combined feature/review of political works at the 2005 Fringe, the Sunday Herald's Iain McWhirter hailed Manifest Destiny as a "scintillating if flawed opera – with a witty and surprisingly melodic neo-classical score" but argued that "the politics are sometimes risible (and) the ultimate message, that love can triumph over religion and bring Jew and Muslim together, is unconvincing. Nevertheless, Manifest Destiny is a considerable piece of work, dealing with important themes, which demands to be heard."
Anna Picard, in The Independent on Sunday, was particularly dismissive of Manifest Destiny, describing it as "sixth-form satire", and attacking the music for "the abject narrowness of its harmonic language and the robotic word-setting." She also compared the opera unfavourably to John Adams’ The Death of Klinghoffer (another opera dealing with terrorism and the Middle Eastern conflict, which was being revived at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe at the same time).
Libel case A particularly damning response to the Edinburgh production was written by the London Evening Standards Veronica Lee. Although she praised the cast for their performances, she described to the opera overall as "a trite affair", the music as "uninspiring, save for the odd duet" and to the libretto as "horribly leaden and unmusical". Lee concluded her review with the comment "I found the tone depressingly anti-American, and the idea that there is anything heroic about suicide bombers is, frankly, a grievous insult." (The Sunday Herald review had made a similar comment, stating that although Manifest Destiny deserved to be heard "it won't be if the thought police get hold of it. For it undoubtedly justifies and arguably glorifies terrorism.")
Following the review of Manifest Destiny in the London Evening Standard, Keith Burstein sued Associated Newspapers (the newspaper's parent organisation) for libel in 2005. He did so on the grounds that the review (although it did not specifically contain the words 'glorify' or 'glorification') claimed that he had glorified terrorism via the content of the opera, and that this was not only libellous but left him open to the risk of state prosecution under both the recently passed Prevention of Terrorism Act of 2005 (which explicitly names "promotion of terrorism" as a criminal act) and the incoming Terrorism Act of 2006 (at the time, a Terrorism Bill) which featured a retrospective "glorification of terrorism" clause.