Through the Looking Glass (opera)
Encyclopedia
Chamber opera
Chamber opera is a designation for operas written to be performed with a chamber ensemble rather than a full orchestra.The term and form were invented by Benjamin Britten in the 1940s, when the English Opera Group needed works that could easily be taken on tour and performed in a variety of small...
by the Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n composer Alan John
Alan John
Alan John is an Australian composer. He studied music at the University of Sydney, graduating in 1980. His compositions include original music for various plays, films and TV series , and the musical theatre works Jonah Jones, Orlando Rourke, and the musical Snugglepot and...
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 Andrew Upton
Andrew Upton
Andrew Upton is an Australian playwright, screenwriter, and director. He is the husband of the actress Cate Blanchett.-Career:As a playwright, Upton created adaptations of Hedda Gabler, The Cherry Orchard, Cyrano de Bergerac, Don Juan and Uncle Vanya for the Sydney Theatre Company and Maxim...
, based on 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...
's book
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...
and on the life of Alice Liddell
Alice Liddell
Alice Pleasance Liddell , known for most of her adult life by her married name, Alice Hargreaves, inspired the children's classic Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, whose protagonist Alice is said to be named after her.-Biography:...
, the girl for whom Carroll wrote the story's prequel, 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...
.
The work was commissioned by the Victorian Opera
Victorian Opera (Melbourne)
Victorian Opera is an opera company based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The company was founded in 2005 and commenced operations in January 2006 with funding from the Victorian government, and Richard Gill as Artistic Director...
and the Malthouse Theatre
Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne
Malthouse Theatre is the resident theatre company of the Malthouse performing arts complex in Southbank, part of the Melbourne Arts Precinct....
in association with Opera Australia
Opera Australia
Opera Australia is the principal opera company in Australia. Based in Sydney, its performance season at the Sydney Opera House runs for approximately eight months of the year, with the remainder of its time spent in the The Arts Centre in Melbourne...
; it premiered on 20 May 2008 at the Merlyn Theatre
Merlyn Myer
Dame Margery Merlyn Baillieu Myer DBE , best known as Merlyn Myer, was an Australian philanthropist, who was knighted in recognition of her charitable work....
(Malthouse Theatre). The performance time is approximately 70 minutes.
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, 20 May 2008 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... : Richard Gill Richard Gill (conductor) Richard James Gill OAM is an Australian conductor who has earned awards for his work. He conducts choral, orchestral and operatic works, and has been involved in music training and education... |
|---|---|---|
| Alice Alice (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland) Alice is a fictional character in the literary classic, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel, Through the Looking-Glass, And What Alice Found There. She is a young girl from Victorian-era Britain.-Development:... (both the young girl in the story and the adult Alice Liddell) |
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... |
Dimity Shepherd |
| Lewis Carroll, Train Driver, The Red King, Humpty Dumpty Humpty Dumpty Humpty Dumpty is a character in an English language nursery rhyme, probably originally a riddle and one of the best known in the English-speaking world. He is typically portrayed as an egg and has appeared or been referred to in a large number of works of literature and popular culture... , The White Knight |
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... |
David Hobson |
| Tiger Lily, Passenger, The White Queen, Pudding, Ensemble |
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... |
Margaret Haggart |
| Rose, The Red Queen, Passenger, Sheep, Unicorn The Lion and the Unicorn The Lion and the Unicorn are symbols of the United Kingdom. They are, properly speaking, heraldic supporters appearing in the full Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom. The lion stands for England and the unicorn for Scotland... , Ensemble |
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... |
Suzanne Johnston |
| Violet, Passenger, Tweedledee Tweedledum and Tweedledee Tweedledum and Tweedledee are fictional characters in an English language nursery rhyme and in Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There. Their names may have originally come from an epigram written by poet John Byrom. The nursery rhyme has a Roud Folk Song Index number... , The White King, Ensemble |
tenor | Kanen Breen |
| Daisy, Guard, Tweedledum, Mutton Ensemble |
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... |
Gary Rowley |
| Young Alice, Fawn |
Stephanie Pidcock, Jacqueline Bathman, Dana Hehir, alternating with: Emilia Bertolini, Francesca Codd, Hayley Heath |
|
| Director | Michael Kantor | |
| Set & costume design | Peter Corrigan Peter Corrigan Peter Russell Corrigan was born in 1941, Australia. As an Australian architect and has been involved in the completion of works in stage and set design.-Early Life and Life Achievements:... |
|
| Lighting design | Paul Jackson | |
| Dramaturge Dramaturge A dramaturge or dramaturg is a professional position within a theatre or opera company that deals mainly with research and development of plays or operas... |
Maryanne Lynch | |
| Musical Preparation | David McSkimming | |
| Assistant Conductor | Nicholas Carter | |
| Assistant Director | Anna Tregloan | |
Synopsis
Prologue – Young Alice, Alice, Lewis Carroll"Alas, poor Alice; locked forever in a dream", sings Young Alice. Will she ever grow up? Lewis Carroll arrives and interrupts the reverie telling them that he has a book in which the story is written in a backside down and inside out way.
Scene 1 The Mirror – Alice, ensemble
Alice begins her journey into looking-glass world – she enters a tulgey wood where she is uncertain of what she is seeking. A chorus reminds her to beware the manxome foe with his vorpal blade and especially avoid the Jabberwock.
Scene 2 Garden of Live Flowers – Alice, Rose, Violet, Daisy, Tiger Lily
Alice moves through the garden of live flowers, each one of whom has a personal remark to make on her appearance. Alice's threat that she will pick the live flowers sends them into a panic which ends with the arrival of the Red Queen.
Scene 3 Red Queen – Alice, Red Queen, Young Alice
The Red Queen gives Alice firm advice on how to behave in life, including how one needs to run to keep up with things, which leads to the entry of three Young Alices, who explain that what appears to be a game of chess, might be moved through and how she will meet a White Knight and finally end up as Queen.
Scene 4 The Train – Guard, Alice, passengers, The Driver, Young Alice
Alice travels by train to the third square in spite of the wishes of the passengers to throw her from the train.
Scene 5 The Forest – Alice, Fawn
Jumping a brook, the train lands in a forest where things have no names. Alice struggles to remember her name as does a Fawn whom she meets, and who finally flees from her once it has remembered its name in case Alice might try to tame it.
Scene 6 Tweedledum & Tweedledee – Young Alice, Tweedledum, Tweedledee, Alice
The tulgey wood leads her on to the fourth square, the home of the Tweedles, where a massive battle is about to ensue. The arrival of a monstrous crow prevents the battle and Alice finds herself ...
Scene 7 The White Queen – Alice, The White Queen, Young Alice
... addressing the White Queen, who explains the difficulties of living backwards and how to believe in as many as six impossible things before breakfast. The Young Alices offer the advice that it is better to suffer now for crimes one might commit, to which Alice replies that she has never heard such a thing.
Scene 8 The River – Young Alice, Alice, Lewis Carroll, sheep
Alice, accompanied by Lewis Carroll and the Young Alices, embark on a boat journey on "a perfect summer's day". Alice leaning out of the boat trying to grasp the rushes and Carroll remembering how the story poured from him, while a sheep knits, unobserved by Alice.
Scene 9 Humpty Dumpty – Alice, Young Alice, Humpty Dumpty
Alice meets Humpty Dumpty ("Are you the Jabberwock?" asks Young Alice) who explains to her how words are very important and who also sings her his very disturbing song, "I sent a message to the fish."
Scene 10 The Battle – White King, Unicorn, Alice, Mutton, Pudding, Young Alice
Alice finds herself in a square where a picnic takes place. Alice is introduced to the food, oysters, a leg of mutton and a pudding. An argument breaks out amongst the picnickers over who eats what and how much until a voice calls out reminding them that they are deep in a tulgey wood. Is it the Jabberwock?
Scene 11 White Knight – White Knight, Alice
Alice, the mature woman, seeks permission from the White Knight to grow up. He captures her soul in a photograph.
Scene 12 Alice's Duet – Young Alice, Alice
The Young Alice and the grown-up Alice sing of memories of sunny days and "moving under sunny skies never seen by waking eyes."
Reception
The work was placed on the syllabus of the Victorian Certificate of EducationVictorian Certificate of Education
The Victorian Certificate of Education or VCE is the credential awarded to secondary school students who successfully complete high school level studies in the state of Victoria, Australia. Study for the VCE is usually completed over two years, but it can be spread over a longer period in some cases...
Theatre Studies program.