Classroom Activity Guide - Pacific Opera Victoria

And the Moral of the Story is...Stravinsky was inspired for this opera by a series of eight moral paintings when he saw them ondisplay in Chicago in 1947. The Rake’s Progress is, therefore, a moral tale brought to life beforeus. Answer the following questions.1. What is the purpose of an epilogue? Why do you think Stravinsky included the epilogue(printed below) in this opera? Is it necessary?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________2. Look at the production notes (see below in italics). What unique elements of characterand production are there in the epilogue when compared to the rest of the production?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________3. Who do you think is giving the actual advice in the epilogue? Is it the charactersthemselves? The singers playing the characters? Stravinsky? The librettists (who wrotethe text for the opera)? A combination of these? Provide support for your answer.________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________4. Read the epilogue a few times silently. Consider the advice each character is giving. Is itsound? What has driven them as characters to say this? Rewrite, in the boxes below, inyour own words, the advice each character is giving.Epilogue(Before the curtain. House lights up. Enter Baba, Rakewell, Shadow, Anne, Trulove - the men without wigs, Babawithout her beard)ALLGood people, just a moment:Though out story now is ended,There’s the moral to drawFrom what you sawSince the curtain first ascended.ANNEANNE:Not every rake is rescuedAt the last by Love and Beauty;Not every manIs given an AnneTo take the place of Duty.