The Doctor of Myddfai
Encyclopedia
The Doctor of Myddfai is an opera in two acts composed by Peter Maxwell Davies
to a libretto
by David Pountney
. The work premiered at the New Theatre
in Cardiff
on 5 June 1996, performed by the Welsh National Opera
and conducted by Richard Armstrong
. The libretto was adapted from an ancient Welsh legend which inspired The Lady of the Lake. The original tale is reinterpreted in terms of a mysterious disease, knowledge of which the authorities are trying to suppress. The opera takes place in a totalitarian society similar to that envisioned in Orwell
's 1984
, with a supreme ruler, mechanistic bureaucracy and endless war.
Background legend
A shepherd fell in love with beautiful girl who appeared in Llyn y Fan Fach
, a lake where he was tending his flock. He married her after passing the test of distinguishing her from her two sisters. However, there was a condition on their marriage. If he were to strike her three times during their marriage, she would return to the lake, taking all the wealth she had brought him. Eventually he struck her for a third time. She did indeed return to the lake, but left her healing powers to him and his descendants. They became The Doctors of Myddfai.
The opera
The Doctor is worried about a strange new disease that has broken out and retells the legend to his Child. The disease occurs whenever anyone receives a blow in the rain. The resulting bruise spreads over the entire body. Those who have the disease are desperate for a cure from The Doctor. He and a crowd of the sick (a chorus singing Christian hymns in Welsh
) gather by the lake.
The Doctor tries to tell The Ruler about the disease, but The Ruler dismisses him and seeks to bury the story. Nevertheless, he is disturbed and seeks consolation with a woman who turns out to be The Doctor. In the ensuing confrontation in the rain, he strikes The Ruler, thus infecting him with the strange disease.
The State Council debates the crisis caused by the Ruler's absence. The Ruler eventually appears and demands that he be taken to the lake to be cured. There, the Doctor refuses to cure him. A crowd of the sick arrive at the lake and in their desperation for a cure trample The Doctor to death. The Child arrives, and orders the Ruler to walk into the lake. She becomes the new Doctor of Myddfai, preaching deliverance through recitation of the names of herbs and flowers.
Peter Maxwell Davies
Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, CBE is an English composer and conductor and is currently Master of the Queen's Music.-Biography:...
to a 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...
by David Pountney
David Pountney
David Pountney is a British theatre and opera director and librettist internationally known for his productions of rarely performed operas and new productions of classic works...
. The work premiered at the New Theatre
New Theatre (Cardiff)
The New Theatre although it usually uses its English name as a title) is one of the principal theatres in Cardiff, capital city of Wales, and celebrated its centenary in 2006...
in Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
on 5 June 1996, performed by the Welsh National Opera
Welsh National Opera
Welsh National Opera is an opera company founded in Cardiff, Wales in 1943. The WNO tours Wales, the United Kingdom and the rest of the world extensively. Annually, it gives more than 120 performances of eight main stage operas to a combined audience of around 150,000 people...
and conducted by Richard Armstrong
Richard Armstrong (conductor)
Sir Richard Armstrong, CBE is a British conductor. He was educated at Wyggeston Grammar School for Boys and Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, where he was an organ scholar.-Overview:...
. The libretto was adapted from an ancient Welsh legend which inspired The Lady of the Lake. The original tale is reinterpreted in terms of a mysterious disease, knowledge of which the authorities are trying to suppress. The opera takes place in a totalitarian society similar to that envisioned in Orwell
George Orwell
Eric Arthur Blair , better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English author and journalist...
's 1984
Nineteen Eighty-Four
Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell is a dystopian novel about Oceania, a society ruled by the oligarchical dictatorship of the Party...
, with a supreme ruler, mechanistic bureaucracy and endless war.
Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast, 5 June 1996 (Conductor: Richard Armstrong Richard Armstrong (conductor) Sir Richard Armstrong, CBE is a British conductor. He was educated at Wyggeston Grammar School for Boys and Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, where he was an organ scholar.-Overview:... ) |
|---|---|---|
| The Doctor | high 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... |
Paul Whelan |
| The Child, a girl about 12 years old | 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... |
Lisa Tyrrell Lisa Tyrrell Lisa Jane Tyrrell is an English operatic soprano.She studied at Chetham's School of Music in Manchester and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London and made her operatic debut in 1990 singing Pamina in The Magic Flute for English Touring Opera... |
| The Ruler | bass | Gwynne Howell Gwynne Howell Gwynne Howell is a Welsh bass, particularly associated with Verdi and Wagner roles.-Life and career:Born in Gorseinon, Wales, he studied at the RMCM, where he sang Leporello in concert, and Hunding, Fasolt, and Pogner in staged performances.He joined the Sadler's Wells Theatre in 1968, and the... |
| 1st Official | 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... |
|
| 2nd Official | contralto Contralto Contralto is the deepest female classical singing voice, with the lowest tessitura, falling between tenor and mezzo-soprano. It typically ranges between the F below middle C to the second G above middle C , although at the extremes some voices can reach the E below middle C or the second B above... |
|
| 3rd Official, Security Officer | high soprano | |
| 10 Minsters, representing 10 zones | 2 sopranos, 3 mezzo-sopranos 2 tenors, 3 basses |
|
| 2 Janitors | tenor and baritone | |
| 3 Girls | soprano, mezzo-soprano, and contralto |
|
| 5 Groups of Officials | 7 sopranos, 6 mezzo-sopranos, 5 tenors, 6 bass-baritone Bass-baritone A bass-baritone is a high-lying bass or low-lying "classical" baritone voice type which shares certain qualities with the true baritone voice. The term arose in the late 19th century to describe the particular type of voice required to sing three Wagnerian roles: the Dutchman in Der fliegende... s |
|
| 3 Guards | silent roles | |
| Chorus of people (SATB SATB In music, SATB is an initialism for soprano, alto, tenor, bass, defining the voices required by a chorus or choir to perform a particular musical work... ) |
||
Synopsis
- Time: The near future
- Place: The WelshWalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
town of MyddfaiMyddfaiMyddfai is a small village and community in Carmarthenshire, Wales. It is situated south of Llandovery in the Brecon Beacons, and has a population of 415.-Lady of the Lake Legend:...
(part of a larger EuropeEuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an dictatorship)
Background legend
A shepherd fell in love with beautiful girl who appeared in Llyn y Fan Fach
Llyn y Fan Fach
Llyn y Fan Fach is a dammed lake in the eastern border of the Black Mountain in Carmarthenshire, south Wales. Near to it is found Llyn y Fan Fawr.-Legend of Llyn y Fan Fach:...
, a lake where he was tending his flock. He married her after passing the test of distinguishing her from her two sisters. However, there was a condition on their marriage. If he were to strike her three times during their marriage, she would return to the lake, taking all the wealth she had brought him. Eventually he struck her for a third time. She did indeed return to the lake, but left her healing powers to him and his descendants. They became The Doctors of Myddfai.
The opera
The Doctor is worried about a strange new disease that has broken out and retells the legend to his Child. The disease occurs whenever anyone receives a blow in the rain. The resulting bruise spreads over the entire body. Those who have the disease are desperate for a cure from The Doctor. He and a crowd of the sick (a chorus singing Christian hymns in Welsh
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
) gather by the lake.
The Doctor tries to tell The Ruler about the disease, but The Ruler dismisses him and seeks to bury the story. Nevertheless, he is disturbed and seeks consolation with a woman who turns out to be The Doctor. In the ensuing confrontation in the rain, he strikes The Ruler, thus infecting him with the strange disease.
The State Council debates the crisis caused by the Ruler's absence. The Ruler eventually appears and demands that he be taken to the lake to be cured. There, the Doctor refuses to cure him. A crowd of the sick arrive at the lake and in their desperation for a cure trample The Doctor to death. The Child arrives, and orders the Ruler to walk into the lake. She becomes the new Doctor of Myddfai, preaching deliverance through recitation of the names of herbs and flowers.
Recording
- The Doctor of Myddfai (Paul Whelan, Lisa Tyrrell, Gwynne Howell et al.; Welsh National Opera Orchestra and Chorus; Richard Armstrong, conductor) Recorded live, 5 October 1996. Label: Collins Classics 70462