Can we hold on to loved ones forever - or should we learn to let them go? Can we fight the inevitable - and if we do, at what cost? Hoping to keep his dying mother alive, a soldier captures death. The soldier's resident "house spirit" thinks he knows better, but is his mother the one who really knows the right path to choose?
Based on an old Russian folktale, the opera deals with the moral implications of playing with Nature.
Piano version recording at OPERA America's National Opera Center featuring baritone Dan Kempson, tenor Jonathan Blalock, mezzo soprano Sarah Heltzel, and pianist Jody Schumm:
Exceprt from the orchestral premiere of the piece by The Secret Opera, conducted by Dmitry Glivinskiy.
Duration:
• 28 minutes
Characters:
• Domovoy: The “house spirit” of the Soldier’s house (Tenor)
• Soldier (Baritone)
• Soldier’s Mother: An ailing woman on her deathbed (Mezzo-soprano)
Setting:
• Time: Long ago, in the days when folk tales were being made
• Place: The Russian countryside, in autumn
Orchestration:
• Flute, Oboe, Clarinet in Bb, Bassoon
• Vibraphone (struck and bowed)
• Accordion (with piano keyboard, Stradella Bass)
• Harp (double action)
• Violin I, Violin 2, Viola, Violoncello, Double Bass (C extension)
Perusal Materials
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