The Lighthouse is a chamber
operaOpera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score. Opera is part of the Western classical music tradition. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
with words and music by
Peter Maxwell DaviesSir Peter Maxwell Davies, CBE , is an English composer and conductor and is currently Master of the Queen's Music.-Biography:Davies was born in Salford, Greater Manchester. He took piano lessons and composed from an early age...
.
The scenario was inspired by a true story. In December 1900 a lighthouse supply ship called the
Hesperus, based in
StromnessStromness /ˈstrɔmnəs/ is the second-largest town in Orkney, Scotland, and is located in the south-west of Mainland in Orkney. It is also a parish, with the town of Stromness as its capital....
, Orkney, went on its routine tour of duty to the
Flannan IslesThe Flannan Isles are a small island group in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, approximately west of the Isle of Lewis. They may take their name from St Flannan, the 7th-century Irish preacher and abbot. The islands have been devoid of permanent residents since the automation of the lighthouse in...
in the
Outer HebridesThe Outer Hebrides, comprise an island chain off the west coast of Scotland...
of
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. The lighthouse was empty - all three beds and the table looked as if they had been left in a hurry and the lamp, though out, was in perfect working order, but the men had disappeared into thin air.
The Lighthouse is a chamber
operaOpera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score. Opera is part of the Western classical music tradition. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
with words and music by
Peter Maxwell DaviesSir Peter Maxwell Davies, CBE , is an English composer and conductor and is currently Master of the Queen's Music.-Biography:Davies was born in Salford, Greater Manchester. He took piano lessons and composed from an early age...
.
The scenario was inspired by a true story. In December 1900 a lighthouse supply ship called the
Hesperus, based in
StromnessStromness /ˈstrɔmnəs/ is the second-largest town in Orkney, Scotland, and is located in the south-west of Mainland in Orkney. It is also a parish, with the town of Stromness as its capital....
, Orkney, went on its routine tour of duty to the
Flannan IslesThe Flannan Isles are a small island group in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, approximately west of the Isle of Lewis. They may take their name from St Flannan, the 7th-century Irish preacher and abbot. The islands have been devoid of permanent residents since the automation of the lighthouse in...
in the
Outer HebridesThe Outer Hebrides, comprise an island chain off the west coast of Scotland...
of
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. The lighthouse was empty - all three beds and the table looked as if they had been left in a hurry and the lamp, though out, was in perfect working order, but the men had disappeared into thin air. The composer has taken liberties, and changed the name of the ligthhouse to Fladda, this being not a usual name in the Western Isles of Scotland, to avoid offence or distress to any relatives of those concerned in the original incident.
Production History
It was first performed in
EdinburghEdinburgh is the capital city of Scotland. It is the second largest Scottish city, after Glasgow, and the seventh-most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas....
, Scotland, on 2 September 1980 as part of the
Edinburgh FestivalEdinburgh Festival is a collective term for several simultaneous arts and cultural festivals that take place during August each year in Edinburgh, Scotland...
. The singers were Niel Mackie (
tenorThe tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
), Michael Rippon (
baritoneBaritone is a type of classical male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek βαρύτονος, meaning 'deep sounding', music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second G below middle C to the F above...
) and David Wilson Johnson (bass) with The Fires of London conducted by Richaed Dufallo.
In 1983 the Boston Shakespeare Company presented a production directed by
Peter SellarsPeter Sellars is an American theatre director, noted for his contemporary stagings of classical operas and plays. Sellars is professor of World Arts and Cultures at UCLA, where he teaches Art as Social Action and Art as Moral Action.-Early and middle career:Sellars was born in Pittsburgh,...
featuring Michael Brown (tenor),
Sanford SylvanSanford Sylvan is an American bass-baritone who was born in New York City. A graduate of the Manhattan School of Music, he made his debut in 1994 as Leporello in Don Giovanni by Mozart at the Glyndebourne festival in England. He has performed with many leading conductors and orchestras including...
(baritone), Kenneth Bell (bass), conducted by David Hoose, video by Michael Nishball, costumes by Ellen McCartney and lighting by
James F. IngallsJames F. Ingalls is a respected and prolific lighting designer who has worked extensively on Broadway, in London and at many regional theaters including The Lincoln Center, Playwrights Horizons, Goodman Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, and Steppenwolf...
. Writing for New York Times,
John RockwellJohn Rockwell is a music critic, editor, and dance critic. He studied at Phillips Academy, Harvard, the University of Munich, and the University of California, Berkeley, earning a Ph.D. in German culture....
described the production as "superbly realized musically and thrilling as theater."
Roles
| Role |
Voice type |
Premiere Cast, 2 September 1980
(Conductor: Richaed Dufallo) |
| Sandy (Officer 1) |
tenor The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
|
Niel Mackie |
| Blazes (Officer 2) |
baritoneBaritone is a type of classical male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek βαρύτονος, meaning 'deep sounding', music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second G below middle C to the F above...
|
Michael Rippon |
| Arthur (Officer 3, Voice of the cards) |
bass |
David Wilson Johnson |
Synopsis
The opera opens with a prologue in which three officers (tenor, baritone and bass) address a board of inquiry. They relate their voyage to the dark lighthouse and the discovery that the crew was missing, but become increasingly nervous answering the questions put to them by the orchestra's french horn and begin to contradict each other on details. Nevertheless, an open verdict is recorded and the trio sing of the ghost's modern robot replacement.
The lantern comes up to full brightness and the second half, subtitled "The Cry of the Beast", opens in the lighthouse. Arthur (bass) is leading grace and Blazes (baritone) is complaining of the food and the overdue relief crew, while Sandy (tenor) tries to keep peace between the two. He proposes a game of crib, and the sanctimonious Arthur leaves to light the lantern, issuing dire predictions as the offstage Voice of the Cards. He returns just as a fight breaks out over a card palmed by Blazes. Sandy proposes they pass the time with songs "lest we end up like beasts in a cage, eating each other". Blazes agrees: "...then we shall see who is king, who devil, and who the fool amonst us." He sings first, with "When I was a kid our street had a gang". Accompanied by
'bonesThe bones are a musical instrument which, at the simplest, consists of a pair of animal bones, or pieces of wood or a similar material. Sections of large rib bones and lower leg bones are the most commonly used true bones, although wooden sticks shaped like the earlier true bones are now more...
, fiddle, and banjo, it relates a murder committed by Blazes, for which his father was arrested and hanged.
Sandy takes his turn with a sentimental love ballad accompanied by cello and piano. The three stanzas turn into a less innocent
catchA catch or trick canon is a type of round - a musical composition in which two or more voices repeatedly sing the same melody or sometimes slightly different melodies, beginning at different times. In a catch, the lines of lyrics interact so that a word or phrase is produced that does not appear...
when taken up by the other two: "...O, that you held me...by the cock...I come...crowing loud...I am aroused" Arthur counters with a Salvation army song on The Golden Calf (brass, clarinet and tamborine) in which he seems personally to glory in the smiting of the Levites. With dismay the three notice the fog coming in- the horn must now be started, summoning first the Blazes' ghosts, then Sandy's memories of his sister and a schoolmate. To Arthur, the horn summons the Golden Calf which he sees moving across the waters to claim them. "The only cure is to kill the beast!" he cries, enlisting the others to arm themselves and advance, singing a
De profundisPsalm 130 , traditionally referred to as De profundis, after its Latin incipit, is one of the Penitential psalms.-Commentary:...
, into the night, toward its dazzling bright eye.
When the music calms, the light is seen to belong to the relief ship and the three relief officers are visible. "We had to defend ourselves, by God!" They agree on their story and tidy up quickly.
Orchestra
The six regular players of The Fires of London were augmented to 12 as follows:
fluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind group. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
doubling
piccoloThe piccolo is a half-size flute, and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. The piccolo has the same fingerings as its larger sibling, the flute, but the sound it produces is an octave higher than written...
and
alto fluteThe alto flute is a type of Western concert flute, a musical instrument in the woodwind family. It is the next extension downward of the C flute after the flûte d'amour. It is characterized by its distinct, mellow tone in the lower portion of its range....
,
clarinetThe clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet...
in A doubling
bass clarinetThe bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B , but it plays notes an octave below the soprano B clarinet. Bass clarinets in other keys, notably C and A, also exist, but are very rare...
in B;
hornThe horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....
in F,
trumpetThe trumpet is a musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BC...
in C, and
tromboneThe trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
; solo strings (
violinThe violin is a bowed string instrument with four strings usually tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest and highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which also includes the viola and cello....
,
violaThe viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.The casual observer may mistake the viola for the violin because of their similarity in size, closeness in pitch range , and nearly identical playing position...
,
celloThe cello is a bowed string instrument. The word derives from the Italian violoncello. A person who plays a cello is called a cellist. The cello is used as a solo instrument, in chamber music, and as a member of the string section of an orchestra...
,
double bassThe double bass, also called the upright bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra. The name, "double bass," derives from the early use of the instrument to double—an octave lower where possible—the bass part written...
);
pianoThe piano is a musical instrument which is played by means of a keyboard. Widely used in Western music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music, and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
doubling
celestaThe celesta or celeste is a struck idiophone operated by a keyboard. Its appearance is similar to that of an upright piano or of a large wooden music box . The keys are connected to hammers which strike a graduated set of metal plates suspended over wooden resonators...
and out of tune upright piano,
guitarThe guitar is a musical instrument with ancient roots that adapts readily to a wide variety of musical styles. It typically has six strings, but four-, seven-, eight-, ten-, eleven-, twelve-, thirteen- and eighteen-string guitars also exist. The size and shape of the neck and the base of the guitar...
doubling
banjoThe banjo is a stringed instrument developed by enslaved Africans in the United States, adapted from several African instruments.The name banjo is commonly thought to be derived from the Kimbundu term mbanza...
.
The
percussionA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound by being hit with an implement, shaken, rubbed, scraped, or by any other action which sets the object into vibration...
comprised
marimbaThe marimba is a musical instrument in the percussion family. Keys or bars are struck with mallets to produce musical tones...
,
glockenspielA glockenspiel [German Glocken + spielen ] is a percussion instrument, composed of a set of tuned keys arranged in the fashion of the keyboard of a piano. In this way, it is similar to the xylophone; however, the xylophone's bars are made of wood, while the glockenspiel's are metal, thus making...
,
timpaniTimpani are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper, and more recently, constructed of more lightweight fiberglass. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick...
,
crotalesthumb|right|Crotales are often used with other mallet percussionCrotales , sometimes called antique cymbals, are percussion instruments consisting of small, tuned bronze or brass disks. Each is about 4 inches in diameter with a flat top surface and a nipple on the base. They are commonly played by...
, roto-tom
bass drumA bass drum is a relatively large drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. The bass drums are of variable sizes and are used in several musical genres . Three major types of bass drums can be distinguished: the large orchestral bass drum, the smaller kick' drum, and the...
,
bonesThe bones are a musical instrument which, at the simplest, consists of a pair of animal bones, or pieces of wood or a similar material. Sections of large rib bones and lower leg bones are the most commonly used true bones, although wooden sticks shaped like the earlier true bones are now more...
, small
suspended cymbalright|thumb|Classical suspended cymbalA suspended cymbal is any single cymbal played with a stick or beater rather than struck against another cymbal.-History:...
,
side drumThe snare drum is a drum with strands of snares made of curled metal wire, metal cable, plastic cable, or gut cords stretched across the drumhead, typically the bottom...
,
tambourineThe tambourine or Marine is a musical instrument of the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zils"...
,
maracaMaracas are a native instrument of Puerto Rico, Cuba, Venezuela and several nations of the Caribbean and Latin America. They are simple percussion instruments , usually played in pairs, consisting of a dried calabash or gourd shell or coconut shell filled with seeds or dried beans...
s,
tom-tomsA tom-tom is a cylindrical drum with no snare.The tom-tom originates from Native American or Asian cultures...
and
tamtamA gong is an East and South East Asian musical instrument that takes the form of a flat metal disc which is hit with a mallet.Gongs are broadly of three types. Suspended gongs are more or less flat, circular discs of metal suspended vertically by means of a cord passed through holes near to the top...
, all played by one percussionist, and in addition
flexatoneThe flexatone is a modern percussion instrument consisting of a small flexible metal sheet suspended in a wire frame ending in a handle.-History, construction and technique:...
and referee's
whistleA whistle or call is a simple aerophone, an instrument which produces sound from a stream of forced air. It may be mouth-operated, or powered by air pressure, steam, or other means...
(pianist),
bass drumA bass drum is a relatively large drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. The bass drums are of variable sizes and are used in several musical genres . Three major types of bass drums can be distinguished: the large orchestral bass drum, the smaller kick' drum, and the...
(guitarist),
tamtamA gong is an East and South East Asian musical instrument that takes the form of a flat metal disc which is hit with a mallet.Gongs are broadly of three types. Suspended gongs are more or less flat, circular discs of metal suspended vertically by means of a cord passed through holes near to the top...
(violinist), and two more
flexatoneThe flexatone is a modern percussion instrument consisting of a small flexible metal sheet suspended in a wire frame ending in a handle.-History, construction and technique:...
s (violist).
Sources
- Viking Opera Guide ed. Holden (Viking, 1993)
- Study score and piano-vocal score, both published by Chester Music
External links