Soprano, Tenor, Baritone
Voice, Bass Voice, Piano
Accompaniment (Vocal
Score)
SKU:
HL.14005423
Composed
by Geoffrey Burgon. Music
Sales America. Sacred.
Book Only. Composed 2002.
60 pages. Chester Music
#CH55683. Published by
Chester Music
(HL.14005423).
UPC:
884088440657. 9x12
inches.
A chamber
opera in one act for
soprano, tenor, baritone
and bass soli, TTBB
chorus and orchestra,
commissioned for the
Wells 800 Celebration in
1982. Libretto by Peter
Porter. Vocal score with
piano reduction.
Duration: c. 55 minutes.
Orpheus is a Chamber
Opera, or perhaps more
properly might be
described as an
'Opera-Cantata'. It is
designed to be performed
as a short opera, fully
staged and costumed, or
as a concert piece.
Either way, its structure
is dramatic, rather than
reflective. It tells the
story of Orpheus,
probably the most
familiar story in music,
and en emblem of their
art for composers of all
periods, as a direct
narrative. Since the
legend is set in the
world of pagan mythology,
it has been lightly
Christianised for its
Church setting. The
Aeneid has often been
seen as speaking of
Christ avant la lettre,
and Renaissance Humanists
were always willing to
identify forerunners of
Christian types in
Classical personages: in
this manner, Orpheus
pursues, without undue
emphasis, musical
parallels with St
Francis, St Cecilia and
even Adam and Eve.The
work is framed briefly by
a prologue and epilogue.
The Prologue introduces
the four solo singers -
Hades (bass), Orpheus
(tenor), Eurydice
(soprano) and Charon
(baritone). It also
introduces the chorus who
do not only portray, at
various stages, Orpheus's
wedding companions, the
denizens of Hell and
Blessed Spirits in the
Elysian Fields, but also
comments on the action as
it proceeds.
