Everything about The Lighthouse Opera totally explained
The Lighthouse is a chamber
opera with words and music by
Peter Maxwell Davies, first performed in
Edinburgh, Scotland, on
2 September 1980 as part of the
Edinburgh Festival. The singers were Niel Mackie (
tenor), Michael Rippon (
baritone) and David Wilson Johnson (
bass) with
The Fires of London conducted by Richaed Dufallo.
The scenario was inspired by a true story. In
December 1900 a lighthouse supply ship called the
Hesperus, based in
Stromness,
Orkney, went on its routine tour of duty to the
Flannan Isles in the
Outer Hebrides of
Scotland. The lighthouse was empty - all three beds and the table looked as if they'd 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 chanaged the the name of the ligthhouse to Fladda, this being not an usual name in the Western Isles of Scotland to avoid offence or distress to any relatives of those concerned in the original incident.
Performing forces
Flute doubling
piccolo and
alto flute,
clarinet in A doubling
bass clarinet in B;
horn in F,
trumpet in C, and
Trombone; solo strings (
violin,
viola,
cello,
double bass);
Piano doubling
celesta and out of tune
upright piano,
guitar doubling
banjo.
The
percussion comprised
marimba,
glockenspiel,
timpani,
crotales,
roto-tom bass drum,
bones, small
suspended cymbal,
side drum,
tambourine,
maracas,
tom toms and
tam tam, all played by one percussionist, and in addition
flexatone and referee's
whistle (pianist),
bass drum (guitarist),
tam tam (violinist), and two more
flexatones (violist).
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'll 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
'bones, fiddle, and banjo, it relates a murder committed by Blazes, for which his father was arrested and hung.
Sandy takes his turn with a sentimental love ballad accompanied by cello and piano. The three stanzas turn into a less innocent
catch 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 profundis, 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.
Further Information
Get more info on 'The Lighthouse Opera'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://the_lighthouse__opera.totallyexplained.com">The Lighthouse (opera) Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
