Resurrection (opera)
Encyclopedia
Resurrection is an opera
by the English
composer
Peter Maxwell Davies
. Maxwell Davies conceived in 1963 whilst at Princeton University. However, the composer did not complete the opera until over 20 years later. The work received its premiere on 18 September 1987 at the Darmstadt
Stadstheater, Germany
.
Besides the protagonist, represented by a dummy, there are 23 roles requiring seven singers (mezzo-soprano
, countertenor
, bass, 2 tenors, 2 baritone
s) and 4 dancers. The orchestra contains single winds including trumpet and horn, and strings. Maxwell Davies also incorporates a rock band in the instrumentation, in his use of various musical styles.
John Warnaby has discussed the relation of the opera to the writings of James Joyce
and Thomas Mann
.
The story concerns a mute child who never speaks or sings during the work and how his family deals with him and tries to mould him. In the Prologue, his parents and other authority figures hector him, as well as numerous television advertisements. By the end of the Prologue, the mute child's head has exploded.
In the main act, several surgeons endeavour to reconstruct the child. In so doing, the child is urged to adopt conformist social and religious attitudes. One surgeon dissects the child's brain, and hopes to fix his moral and intellectual faults. Another surgeon works on the dummy's heart, and thus affects the emotional and religious centres. Another surgeon deals with the child's "sexual proclivities" via surgery on the genitals. Eventually, the Antichrist appears, with the dummy child "resurrected", who then turns on the surgeons as the phallus metamorphoses into a machine gun, which is directed at the audience as well as the surgeons.
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...
by the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
Peter Maxwell Davies
Peter Maxwell Davies
Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, CBE is an English composer and conductor and is currently Master of the Queen's Music.-Biography:...
. Maxwell Davies conceived in 1963 whilst at Princeton University. However, the composer did not complete the opera until over 20 years later. The work received its premiere on 18 September 1987 at the Darmstadt
Darmstadt
Darmstadt is a city in the Bundesland of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Rhine Main Area.The sandy soils in the Darmstadt area, ill-suited for agriculture in times before industrial fertilisation, prevented any larger settlement from developing, until the city became the seat...
Stadstheater, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
Besides the protagonist, represented by a dummy, there are 23 roles requiring seven singers (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...
, countertenor
Countertenor
A countertenor is a male singing voice whose vocal range is equivalent to that of a contralto, mezzo-soprano, or a soprano, usually through use of falsetto, or far more rarely than normal, modal voice. A pre-pubescent male who has this ability is called a treble...
, bass, 2 tenors, 2 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...
s) and 4 dancers. The orchestra contains single winds including trumpet and horn, and strings. Maxwell Davies also incorporates a rock band in the instrumentation, in his use of various musical styles.
John Warnaby has discussed the relation of the opera to the writings of James Joyce
James Joyce
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist and poet, considered to be one of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century...
and Thomas Mann
Thomas Mann
Thomas Mann was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and 1929 Nobel Prize laureate, known for his series of highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novellas, noted for their insight into the psychology of the artist and the intellectual...
.
Synopsis
The opera is in a prologue and one act.The story concerns a mute child who never speaks or sings during the work and how his family deals with him and tries to mould him. In the Prologue, his parents and other authority figures hector him, as well as numerous television advertisements. By the end of the Prologue, the mute child's head has exploded.
In the main act, several surgeons endeavour to reconstruct the child. In so doing, the child is urged to adopt conformist social and religious attitudes. One surgeon dissects the child's brain, and hopes to fix his moral and intellectual faults. Another surgeon works on the dummy's heart, and thus affects the emotional and religious centres. Another surgeon deals with the child's "sexual proclivities" via surgery on the genitals. Eventually, the Antichrist appears, with the dummy child "resurrected", who then turns on the surgeons as the phallus metamorphoses into a machine gun, which is directed at the audience as well as the surgeons.
Recording
- Peter Maxwell Davies: Resurrection (Della JonesDella JonesDella Jones , is a Welsh mezzo-soprano, particularly well-known for her interpretations of works by Handel, Mozart, Rossini, Donizetti, and Britten.-Life and career:Della Jones was born in Tonna, near Neath, Wales...
, Christopher Robson, Martyn Hill, Neil Jenkins, Henry Herford, Gerald Finley, Jonathon Best, Mary Carewe (solo singers); Blaze (rock band); BBC PhilharmonicBBC PhilharmonicThe BBC Philharmonic is a British broadcasting symphony orchestra based at Media City UK, Salford, England. It is one of five radio orchestras maintained by the British Broadcasting Corporation. The orchestra's primary concert venue is the Bridgewater Hall....
Orchestra; Peter Maxwell Davies, conductor). CD 1995. Label: Collins Classics 70342