Scoring A Century
Encyclopedia
Scoring A Century is an opera
with music by English composer David Blake
. The libretto
was written by Opera Director Keith Warner. It is described as a 'low entertainment for highbrows, or vice versa'.
It tells the history of Mr and Mrs Jedermann, a couple of song and dance merchants, and incidentally of the twentieth century too.
The Jedermanns stumble through the momentous events, politics and social change of the last one hundred years, never ageing and only begrudgingly developing. Their sole aim is to provide some songs and snatches, to raise a laugh or provoke a tear. The form the piece adopts is more that of musical comedy than opera
. It is a modern Singspiel
, a review of a century in nineteen panels. There is dialogue and songs, but from time to time the action is interrupted by through-composed mini-operas which contain the serious, imaginative heart of the show.
, Oregon
. Just as plans were beginning to finalise, however, the US suffered the 9/11 terrorist attacks. “After 9/11, American opera houses immediately lost their budgets and Portland Opera decided to do Bohèmes and Magic Flutes instead,” Blake says. “It was a big disappointment.”
On March 4, 2010 the Opera received its World Premiere at the Crescent Theatre, Birmingham
, by students from the Birmingham Conservatoire Vocal Department. Directed by Keith Warner and Conducted by Lionel Friend.
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
with music by English composer David Blake
David Blake (composer)
David Blake is a British composer born in London in 1936. Following National Service Blake learnt Mandarin Chinese and spent one year in Hong Kong. He went on to read music at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, where his teachers were Patrick Hadley, Peter Tranchell and Raymond Leppard...
. The 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...
was written by Opera Director Keith Warner. It is described as a 'low entertainment for highbrows, or vice versa'.
It tells the history of Mr and Mrs Jedermann, a couple of song and dance merchants, and incidentally of the twentieth century too.
The Jedermanns stumble through the momentous events, politics and social change of the last one hundred years, never ageing and only begrudgingly developing. Their sole aim is to provide some songs and snatches, to raise a laugh or provoke a tear. The form the piece adopts is more that of musical comedy than opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
. It is a modern Singspiel
Singspiel
A Singspiel is a form of German-language music drama, now regarded as a genre of opera...
, a review of a century in nineteen panels. There is dialogue and songs, but from time to time the action is interrupted by through-composed mini-operas which contain the serious, imaginative heart of the show.
Performance History
Scoring a Century was originally conceived as part of the millennium celebrations. Scenes from the work were premiered by the University of York Music Department in November 1999 whilst the complete work was being lined up to debut at Portland OperaPortland Opera
Portland Opera is an American opera company based at The Hampton Opera Center in Portland, Oregon. Its mainstage performances take place in the Keller Auditorium, while the Portland Opera Studio Theater at the Hampton center is used for performances of chamber operas...
, Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
. Just as plans were beginning to finalise, however, the US suffered the 9/11 terrorist attacks. “After 9/11, American opera houses immediately lost their budgets and Portland Opera decided to do Bohèmes and Magic Flutes instead,” Blake says. “It was a big disappointment.”
On March 4, 2010 the Opera received its World Premiere at the Crescent Theatre, Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, by students from the Birmingham Conservatoire Vocal Department. Directed by Keith Warner and Conducted by Lionel Friend.
Roles
| Role | Voice Type | Premiere Cast, 4 March 2010 (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... : Lionel Friend) |
|---|---|---|
| Ernest Jedermann | Baritone | Matthew Cooper |
| Edith Jedermann | Mezzo | Lucie Louvrier |
| Private | Tenor | Ben Gillham http://www.bengillham.co.uk |
| Sergeant | Baritone | Joseph Kennedy |
| Nurse | Mezzo | Anna Jeffers |
| Woodrow Wilson | Tenor | Kristian Cleworth |
| Clemenceau | Tenor | Mikael Onelius |
| Lloyd George | Bass | James Davies |
| Lenin | Bass | Ian McFarlane |
| Manager | Spoken | Debbie Oliver |
| Jedermann's Son | Spoken | Dale Harris |
| Berthold | Tenor | Henrik Lagercrantz |
| Studio Assistant | Spoken | Hannah Nye |
| Young Man | Spoken | Ben Gillham |
| Violinist | Spoken | Joshua Takacs |
| Tartine | Soprano | Francesca Saracino |
| Man in Nazi Uniform | Spoken | Thomas Arnold-Haynes |
| Gestapo Officer | Spoken | Craig Jackson |
| Father | Baritone | Hedd Owen Griffiths |
| Mother | Mezzo | Fiona Krober/Shira Lang |
| Station Master | Bass | Timothy Elliot |
| Voice Of Son | Spoken | Dale Harris |
| Kommissar | Spoken | Andrea Tjader |
| American Chairman | Tenor | Lee Beaumont |
| Soviet Prosecutor | Bass | Matthew Durkan |
| Girl in Jeans | Soprano | Penny Appleyard |
| Old Man | Tenor | Mitesh Khatri |
| Woman 1 | Mezzo | Olivia Barry http://www.oliviabarry.co.uk/Harriet Campbell(alternating) |
| Woman 2 | Soprano | Lianne Birkett/Georgina Stalbow(alternating) |
| Woman 3 | Soprano | Claire Lees/Roma Loukes(alternating) |
| Woman in Black | Spoken | Andrea Pfenninger |
| Hippy 1 | Spoken | Joe Kennedy |
| Hippy 2 | Spoken | Stephanie Darkins |
| Hippy 3 | Spoken | Yukimi Muta |
| Hippy 4 | Spoken | Rosie Secker |
| Mary Lou | Spoken | Rachel Farr |
| Stage Manager | Spoken | Rose Mitchell |
| Police Officer | Spoken | Kay Standen |
| African-American | Spoken | Roberta Turner |
| Nurse(Act 2) | Spoken | Amelia Burns |
| Yuppie | Tenor | Craig Jackson |
| Bennie Blumenkohl | Spoken | Joe Kennedy |
| Evita | Spoken | Rosie Secker |
| Studio Producer | Spoken | Austine Broad |
| Engineer | Spoken | Timothy Elliott |
| Chorus | All of the above plus Phillippa Cairns, Rachel Bowden, Claire Barnett Jones and Stephanie McClean |