Alice in Wonderland (opera)
Encyclopedia
Alice in Wonderland is a 2007 operatic adaptation of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is an 1865 novel written by English author Charles Lutwidge Dodgson under the pseudonym Lewis Carroll. It tells of a girl named Alice who falls down a rabbit hole into a fantasy world populated by peculiar, anthropomorphic creatures...

and Through the Looking-Glass
Through the Looking-Glass
Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There is a work of literature by Lewis Carroll . It is the sequel to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland...

by Lewis Carroll
Lewis Carroll
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson , better known by the pseudonym Lewis Carroll , was an English author, mathematician, logician, Anglican deacon and photographer. His most famous writings are Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass, as well as the poems "The Hunting of the...

. It is the first opera of Korean composer Unsuk Chin
Unsuk Chin
Unsuk Chin , is a South Korean composer of classical music, based in Berlin, Germany. She was awarded the Grawemeyer Award in 2004 and the Arnold Schönberg Prize in 2005.- Biography :...

, who co-wrote the English libretto
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...

 with the Asian-American playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...

 David Henry Hwang
David Henry Hwang
David Henry Hwang is an American playwright who has risen to prominence as the preeminent Asian American dramatist in the U.S.He was born in Los Angeles, California and was educated at the Yale School of Drama and Stanford University...

. It had its world premiere on 30 June 2007 at the Bavarian State Opera
Bavarian State Opera
The Bavarian State Opera is an opera company based in Munich, Germany.Its orchestra is the Bavarian State Orchestra.- History:The opera company which was founded under Princess Henriette Adelaide of Savoy has been in existence since 1653...

 as part of the 2007 Munich Opera Festival
Munich Opera Festival
The Munich Opera Festival, , is an opera festival located in Munich, Germany and presented annually at the National Theatre by the Bavarian State Opera...

. Conducted by Kent Nagano
Kent Nagano
__FORCETOC__Kent George Nagano is an American conductor and opera administrator. He is currently the music director of the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal and the Bavarian State Opera.-Biography:...

 and featuring Sally Matthews in the title role and Dame Gwyneth Jones as the Queen of Hearts, the production was hailed as "World Premiere of the Year" by the German opera magazine Opernwelt
Opernwelt
Opernwelt is a monthly German magazine for opera, operetta and ballet.The magazine covers news about current performances; it presents portraits of composers and performers, articles about opera houses and performance spaces, and about contemporary and historical subjects from the world of opera...

. A DVD was subsequently released by Euroarts.

Roles

Role Voice type
Voice type
A voice type is a particular kind of human singing voice perceived as having certain identifying qualities or characteristics. Voice classification is the process by which human voices are evaluated and are thereby designated into voice types...

Premiere cast,
30 June, 2007
(Conductor
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...

: Kent Nagano
Alice soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...

Sally Matthews
Cheshire Cat soprano Piia Komsi/Julia Rempe
Mad Hatter/Duck baritone
Baritone
Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...

Dietrich Henschel
White Rabbit/Badger/March Hare countertenor
Countertenor
A countertenor is a male singing voice whose vocal range is equivalent to that of a contralto, mezzo-soprano, or a soprano, usually through use of falsetto, or far more rarely than normal, modal voice. A pre-pubescent male who has this ability is called a treble...

Andrew Watts
Mouse/Pat/Cook/Dormouse/Invisible Man Tenor
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...

Guy De Mey
Owl/Ugly Duchess/Two mezzo-soprano
Mezzo-soprano
A mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above...

Cynthia Jansen
Queen of Hearts dramatic soprano Gwyneth Jones
Old man/Crab/King of Hearts bass
Bass (voice type)
A bass is a type of male singing voice and possesses the lowest vocal range of all voice types. According to The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, a bass is typically classified as having a range extending from around the second E below middle C to the E above middle C...

Steven Humes
Old Man/Eaglet/Fish-Footman/Five/Executioner tenor Christian Rieger
Dodo/Frog-Footman/Seven bass Rudiger Trebes
Caterpiller solo bass clarinet Stefan Schneider
Chorus
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...

 of Baby Animals, Creatures, Royal Entourage, 12 Jurors, Children, and Royal Children

Scenes

  • Scene I – Dream I
  • Scene II – The Pool of Tears
  • Scene III – In the House of the White Rabbit
  • Interlude I – Advice from a Caterpillar
  • Scene IV – Pig and Pepper
  • Scene V – A Mad Tea Party
  • Scene VI – The Croquet Ground
  • Interlude II
  • Scene VII – The Trial or Who Stole the Tarts?
  • Finale – Dream II

External links

  • "Looking-glass Opera" by Alex Ross, The New Yorker
    The New Yorker
    The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...

    (30 July 2007)
  • Alice in Wonderland, Bavarian State Opera
    Bavarian State Opera
    The Bavarian State Opera is an opera company based in Munich, Germany.Its orchestra is the Bavarian State Orchestra.- History:The opera company which was founded under Princess Henriette Adelaide of Savoy has been in existence since 1653...

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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