One of London’s most daring and admired theatrical directors is taking a hard right career turn, preparing to stage a major choral work by Michael Tippett which the composer never intended to be performed. And while Jonathan Kent may be better known for his accomplishents in non-musical theatre, his unusual body of work seems to point naturally in the direction of opera’s searing melodrama and rhythmic symmetries. In fact, it’s worth asking what took him so long to make the leap.