Opera
Opera Bizet – Buller Doctor Miracle Georges Bizet Vocal and instrumental scores on hire 9780193353015 2fl (2/picc), ob, 2cl, bsn, 2hn, 2tpt, trn, timp/tri, str Stage Band: cl, tbn, bd/cym Le Podestat, the Magistrate of Padua baritone Véronique, his wife mezzo-soprano Laurette, their daughter soprano Capitaine Silvio tenor In Bizet’s first opera, a charming farce in one act, a resourceful army captain dons multiple disguises to infiltrate the household of the young woman he is in love with. Written for a competition sponsored by Offenbach, Doctor Miracle garnered its composer a joint first prize. While some elements are familiar operatic types – forbidding parents, a phony doctor – others are less conventional, such as an omelette that might or might not be poisoned. Musically, echoes of Rossini and Donizetti demonstrate that, at eighteen, Bizet had already mastered the comic style. 55 minutes Bakxai (The Bacchae) John Buller Vocal and instrumental scores on hire 9780193354890 3fl (2&3/picc), 3ob (3/ca), 3cl, 2bsn, cbsn, 4 hn, 3 tpt, 3tbn, 4perc, hp, cel, 15vl, 10vla, 7vlc, 5cb Dionysus tenor Teiresias bass Cadmus baritone Pentheus tenor Guard baritone Herdsman/1st messenger baritone Servant to Pentheus/2nd messenger tenor Agave mezzo-soprano Chorus of Asian Bacchae: 6 soprano, 3 mezzo-soprano 6 dancers/actors to lead movement Drawn from Euripides’ tragedy of the same name, Bakxai tells the story of the god Dionysus’ arrival in Thebes disguised as ‘the Stranger’ and his subsequent conflict with the city’s ruler. King Pentheus refuses to accept Dionysus’ godhood, but his attack on the Stranger and his followers (the titular Bakxai) leads to the god wreaking his revenge. Much of the text of this music drama is the original Greek, condensed and transliterated by the composer, though English (translated by William Arrowsmith) is also used to highlight important points of narration. 130 minutes Clive Barda 12
A Better Place Martin Butler Vocal and instrumental scores on hire 9780193354661 fl (+picc), ob, 2 cl (II+bcl), bsn, 2 hn, perc, vln, 2 vla, vc, db Suzanne mezzo-soprano Karen soprano Michael baritone Siward tenor With a libretto by Cindy Oswin, this one-act chamber opera follows the emotional journey of the middleclass, middle-aged Suzanne when she invites two refugees to live with her in her new house. Initially using charity as a salve to her own conscience, she soon finds herself learning from her guests and moving through loss towards acceptance; while the ghost of a former resident of her apartment also tells his story. The percussion-rich accompanying ensemble creates a vivid sense of the house’s location on the bank of the Thames as a backdrop to the narrative. 50 minutes The Sirens’ Song Vocal and instrumental scores on hire 9780193354838 fl, ob, cl, tpt, tbn, perc, pno, vln, vc, db, pre-recorded tape Odysseus baritone Circe soprano male chorus This one-act chamber opera draws on the story of Odysseus’ journey home from the Trojan War. In the first scene Odysseus is warned of approaching danger by the goddess Circe; the second scene is a kind of static frieze, in which the male voices of Odysseus and his sailors are interwoven with the haunting singing of the Sirens (a pre-recorded and electronically modified female voice). Libretto by Charles Butler. 20 minutes Craig’s Progress Vocal and instrumental scores on hire 9780193354845 2 fl (I&II+picc), 2 ob (II+ca), 2 cl (I&II+bcl), 2 bsn, 2 hn, pno (4 hands), perc (played by instrumentalists) Comic-Book Hero, Reindeer ‘Donder’, Bartender ‘Rheingold’, Astronaut God ‘Donnerpeace’, Post-Comic Man baritone Cheryl the Comic-Book Heroine, Executive Aphrodite, Elisabeth Earth, Reindeer ‘Dancer’, Bartender ‘Pabst’, Astronaut Goddess ‘Freiapeace’, Post-Comic Woman soprano Craig’s Boss, Comic-Book Superhero, Elevator Boy, Executive Hermes, Ice Cream Vendor, Space Cadet ‘Quicksilver’, The Planet Mars, Sandwichboard Newsboy, Reindeer ‘Blitzen’, Bartender ‘Blatz’, Astronaut God ‘Frohpeace’, Post-Comic Craig tenor The Other Woman, Comic-Book Superheroine, Executive Artemis, Gingerbread Witch, Astral Artemis, The Planet Venus, Reindeer ‘Dasher’, Bartender ‘Schlitz’; Astronaut Goddess ‘Frickapeace’, Post-Comic Cheryl mezzo-soprano Voice of the Statue of Prometheus, Comic-Book Archenemy, Executive Zeus, Fiery Stoker, Cold Genius, Polar Poseidon, Space Captain, The Titan Ouranos, Santa Claus, Art Deco Prometheus bass Conceived as a modern-day opera buffa, Craig’s Progress follows its titular protagonist’s journey from naivety to wisdom, from comic-book character to real person. Five singers perform forty-nine roles as diverse as reindeer, bartenders, gods and planets; including an Ice Cream Vendor, a Gingerbread Witch and the Fiery Stoker. Straddling the worlds of opera and comic-book fantasy, Stephen Pruslin’s libretto makes Craig’s Progress both accessible and humorous. 105 minutes Opera Butler 13
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