William Walton - The Bear (Chamber Version)

for online perusal only

for online perusal only WILLIAM WALTON The Bear An Extravaganza in One Act Arranged for chamber ensemble by Jonathan Lyness full score A

. . . The first performance of The Bear was given by the English Opera Group on 3 June 1967 at the Aldeburgh Festival. The libretto was adapted by Paul Dehn and William Walton from Anton Chekhov’s play. This chamber version of The Bear was originally commissioned and first performed by Mid Wales Opera in 2017. It is compatible with the OUP vocal score (ISBN 978–0–19–336614–5). Dramatis Personæ POPOVA (mezzo-soprano), Yeliena Ivanovna, the young widow of a landowner. Pretty, with dimpled cheeks. SMIRNOV(baritone), Grigory Stepanovich, a middle-aged landowner. & ? w w bw w j ( nœ ) & w bw j ( nœ ) w ? ( & w ) ( & w ) falsetto falsetto & ? w w bw w j ( nœ ) ( & w ) falsetto for online perusal only LUKA (bass), Madam Popova’s old manservant. ? w bw ? w bw ? w bw COOK and GROOM (walk-on parts) Instrumentation BASSOON VIOLIN / VIOLA (The violin part includes a small amount of doubling on viola although options are given in the violin part for staying on the violin where a viola is not available.) HARP PIANO PERCUSSION Castanets Chinese Blocks (or Bongos) (3 pitches) Clashed/Suspended Cymbals Crotales Glockenspiel Jingles Rattle Side Drum Tabor Tambourine Tenor Drum Timpani (3 is sufficient) Triangle Tubular Bells (off-stage, F+ and C only) Whip Wood-block Bass Drum (optional) Tam-tam (optional) Vibraphone (optional) Xylophone (optional) Walton devised the timpani/percussion for two players; in this arrangement, the parts are included in full. Therefore, with only one player, some minor elements of timpani/percussion will need to be cut, taken by other players/cast, or played off-stage where this might be effective (e.g. the tubular bells). The xylophone and vibraphone parts are cued/covered by other instruments and are therefore optional. The bass drum and tam-tam are used sparingly and are also optional (performance space allowing). Duration: c.48 mins (without cuts)