The Vampyr: A Soap Opera
Encyclopedia
The Vampyr: A Soap Opera is a miniseries
based on Heinrich Marschner
's opera Der Vampyr
. It first aired on BBC 2 on December 2, 1992. The new English libretto was written by Charles Hart
, based on a story by Janet Street-Porter
and Nigel Finch, which was based on the original libretto by Wilhelm August Wohlbrück, which was based on John Polidori
's short story "The Vampyre
." It was conducted by David Parry
and directed by Nigel Finch.
Note: Davenant is Davenaut in Der Vampyr.
At a ceremony to invoke Satan, Ripley learns that his revival has come with a price: in the next three days, he must kill three women in order to gain another year of life. Ripley swears that it will be done, and goes on the hunt. He sees a couple, Ginny and Berkeley, having an argument; Berkeley storms off, and Ripley seduces Ginny and kills her. Ripley escapes from her apartment badly injured, and Alex discovers him half-dead. Ripley asks to be taken into the moonlight, where he begins to heal; frightened, Alex runs away. In the morning, the police find Ginny dead, and Berkeley blames himself.
Miranda, a rich heiress, waits for her lover Alex. They argue because he has arrived late and has been acting secretively for a while, but eventually make up. He spends the night with her. In the morning, her father, Davenant, arrives and tells her that she must marry the Earl of Marsden to secure a business deal. There is an engagement party that evening. Alex arrives, only to discover that the Earl of Marsden is Ripley. He tells Alex that he himself will have Miranda, and threatens him.
Later that evening, Emma, an executive, is with her friends in a bar. Ripley arrives with his chauffeur, George. Emma approaches Ripley, and they share drinks. Ripley suggests that they go somewhere more private, and steps out for a moment. George attempts to flirt with Emma, but she spills her drink in his lap. Alex, who has been watching through the window, confronts Ripley. Ripley tells Alex that he is a vampire, and threatens him with damnation should Alex reveal the secret. Having given George the rest of the night off, Ripley drives off with Emma. They stop in a deserted park, where he kills her.
In the morning, Susie arrives to her job at a car wash, telling her co-workers that she read about Ginny's murder in the paper. When Ripley's car goes through the wash, they discover blood; they pry open the trunk and discover Emma's body. George arrives to pick up the car and recognizes Emma.
Later that morning, Alex is caught in traffic, frightened by what Ripley has told him and trying to leave the city. When he sees the news of Emma's murder in the paper, he decides to return to the city and rescue Miranda.
As the wedding of Ripley and Miranda is about to begin, George arrives and tries to tell everyone that Ripley is a murderer. Believing him to be a madman, the police drag him away. The wedding begins, but Alex bursts in, ignoring Ripley's threats and revealing him to be a vampire. Enraged, Ripley attacks Miranda, but lightning strikes the church and a cross falls from the ceiling, killing the vampire. Davenant declares that Alex must marry Miranda, and everyone rejoices.
, there have been numerous changes because of the modernization of the plot and the constraints of the miniseries form. Almost every choral number has been cut. The characters' relationships have been changed: for example, Berkeley becomes Ginny's lover rather than her father, and Emma is no longer engaged to George. Alex's aria is relocated from the second act to the first act, after he finds Ripley's body, and George sings Alex's part in the first half of the Act II finale. The drinking quintet, in which Suse Blunt scolds her husband and his friends for drinking, becomes a friendly scene between co-workers at a car wash.
Miniseries
A miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
based on Heinrich Marschner
Heinrich Marschner
Heinrich August Marschner , was the most important composer of German Romantic opera between Carl Maria von Weber and Richard Wagner, and is remembered principally for his operas Hans Heiling , Der Vampyr , and Der Templer und die Jüdin...
's opera Der Vampyr
Der Vampyr
Der Vampyr is a Romantic opera in two acts by Heinrich Marschner. The German libretto by Wilhelm August Wohlbrück is based on the play Der Vampir oder die Totenbraut by Heinrich Ludwig Ritter, which itself was based on the short novel The Vampyre by John Polidori...
. It first aired on BBC 2 on December 2, 1992. The new English libretto was written by Charles Hart
Charles Hart (lyricist)
Charles Hart is a British lyricist, songwriter and musician. He is best known for re-writing the lyrics to, and contributing to the book of Andrew Lloyd Webber's stage musical The Phantom of the Opera. He also co-wrote the lyrics to Lloyd Webber's 1989 musical Aspects of Love...
, based on a story by Janet Street-Porter
Janet Street-Porter
Janet Street-Porter is a British media personality, journalist and television presenter. She was editor for two years of The Independent on Sunday. She relinquished the job to become editor-at-large in 2002...
and Nigel Finch, which was based on the original libretto by Wilhelm August Wohlbrück, which was based on John Polidori
John Polidori
John William Polidori was an English writer and physician of Italian descent. He is known for his associations with the Romantic movement and credited by some as the creator of the vampire genre of fantasy fiction. His most successful work was the 1819 short story, The Vampyre, the first vampire...
's short story "The Vampyre
The Vampyre
"The Vampyre" is a short story or novella written in 1819 by John William Polidori which is a progenitor of the romantic vampire genre of fantasy fiction...
." It was conducted by David Parry
David Parry (conductor)
David Parry is an English conductor who is particularly known for his work within the field of opera. Described as "a man of the theatre with whom directors love to work; he is good with singers; he knows the British opera world like the back of his hand...
and directed by Nigel Finch.
Roles
| Role | Voice type | Sung by |
|---|---|---|
| Ripley Lord Ruthven (vampire) Lord Ruthven is a fictional character. First appearing in print in 1816, he was one of the first vampires in English literature.-Origins:There is a genuine title of Lord Ruthven of Freeland which is a subsidiary title of the Earl of Carlisle in the United Kingdom... , a businessman, the vampyr Vampire Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person... |
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... |
Omar Ebrahim Omar Ebrahim Omar Ebrahim is an English baritone vocalist and actor. He specializes in the performance of contemporary classical music.... |
| Sir Hugo Davenant, a city tycoon | 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... |
Richard van Allan Richard Van Allan Richard Van Allan CBE was a versatile British operatic bass singer who had a lengthy career.He sang varied repertoire at Covent Garden and English National Opera, as well as at numerous important houses worldwide... |
| Miranda, his daughter | 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... |
Fiona O'Neill |
| Alex, her secret lover | 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... |
Philip Salmon |
| George, Ripley's chauffeur | tenor | Colenton Freeman |
| Ginny, a model | soprano | Willemijn van Gent |
| Berkeley, Ginny's lover | bass | Roberto Salvatori |
| Emma, an executive secretary | soprano | Sally-Ann Shepherdson |
| Susie, car-wash receptionist | 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... |
Sarah Jane Wright |
| Blunt, car-wash proprietor | baritone | Richard Suart Richard Suart Richard Suart is an English opera singer and actor, who has specialised in the comic roles of Gilbert and Sullivan operas and in operetta, as well as in avant-garde modern operas... |
Note: Davenant is Davenaut in Der Vampyr.
Synopsis
Ripley, the vampire, was frozen in the late eighteenth century, but has revived in modern times and becomes a successful businessman. Neither his associate, Alex, nor anyone else knows of his criminal activities or secret life.At a ceremony to invoke Satan, Ripley learns that his revival has come with a price: in the next three days, he must kill three women in order to gain another year of life. Ripley swears that it will be done, and goes on the hunt. He sees a couple, Ginny and Berkeley, having an argument; Berkeley storms off, and Ripley seduces Ginny and kills her. Ripley escapes from her apartment badly injured, and Alex discovers him half-dead. Ripley asks to be taken into the moonlight, where he begins to heal; frightened, Alex runs away. In the morning, the police find Ginny dead, and Berkeley blames himself.
Miranda, a rich heiress, waits for her lover Alex. They argue because he has arrived late and has been acting secretively for a while, but eventually make up. He spends the night with her. In the morning, her father, Davenant, arrives and tells her that she must marry the Earl of Marsden to secure a business deal. There is an engagement party that evening. Alex arrives, only to discover that the Earl of Marsden is Ripley. He tells Alex that he himself will have Miranda, and threatens him.
Later that evening, Emma, an executive, is with her friends in a bar. Ripley arrives with his chauffeur, George. Emma approaches Ripley, and they share drinks. Ripley suggests that they go somewhere more private, and steps out for a moment. George attempts to flirt with Emma, but she spills her drink in his lap. Alex, who has been watching through the window, confronts Ripley. Ripley tells Alex that he is a vampire, and threatens him with damnation should Alex reveal the secret. Having given George the rest of the night off, Ripley drives off with Emma. They stop in a deserted park, where he kills her.
In the morning, Susie arrives to her job at a car wash, telling her co-workers that she read about Ginny's murder in the paper. When Ripley's car goes through the wash, they discover blood; they pry open the trunk and discover Emma's body. George arrives to pick up the car and recognizes Emma.
Later that morning, Alex is caught in traffic, frightened by what Ripley has told him and trying to leave the city. When he sees the news of Emma's murder in the paper, he decides to return to the city and rescue Miranda.
As the wedding of Ripley and Miranda is about to begin, George arrives and tries to tell everyone that Ripley is a murderer. Believing him to be a madman, the police drag him away. The wedding begins, but Alex bursts in, ignoring Ripley's threats and revealing him to be a vampire. Enraged, Ripley attacks Miranda, but lightning strikes the church and a cross falls from the ceiling, killing the vampire. Davenant declares that Alex must marry Miranda, and everyone rejoices.
Differences between The Vampyr and Marschner's opera
Although the libretto of The Vampyr is based on that of Der VampyrDer Vampyr
Der Vampyr is a Romantic opera in two acts by Heinrich Marschner. The German libretto by Wilhelm August Wohlbrück is based on the play Der Vampir oder die Totenbraut by Heinrich Ludwig Ritter, which itself was based on the short novel The Vampyre by John Polidori...
, there have been numerous changes because of the modernization of the plot and the constraints of the miniseries form. Almost every choral number has been cut. The characters' relationships have been changed: for example, Berkeley becomes Ginny's lover rather than her father, and Emma is no longer engaged to George. Alex's aria is relocated from the second act to the first act, after he finds Ripley's body, and George sings Alex's part in the first half of the Act II finale. The drinking quintet, in which Suse Blunt scolds her husband and his friends for drinking, becomes a friendly scene between co-workers at a car wash.