The Bear (opera)

The Bear (opera)

"The Bear" is the second of the two operas by William Walton, described in publication as an "Extravaganza in One Act". The libretto was by Paul Dehn, based on a play by Anton Chekhov.

Background

The libretto by Paul Dehn was based on a play by Anton Chekhov which has had various translations, including titles such as "The Bear" and "The Boor".

Walton composed the opera on commission from the Koussevitzsky Foundation, and dedicated the opera "to the memory of Serge and Natalie Koussevitzky".

"The Bear" was first performed at the Jubilee Hall, Aldeburgh on 3 June 1967.

ynopsis

The setting is the drawing room of Yelina Ivanovna Popova’s country house, around 1888. Popova is a widow, remaining faithful to the memory of her late husband, Popov. Her servant, Luka, remarks upon her affected sorrow. Smirnov, one of Popov's creditors, appears. During the course of the story, it becomes clear that Popov was promiscuous and unfaithful to his wife. Smirnov and Popova begin to quarrel, to the point where both aim loaded pistols at each other. However, neither can fire, as they have fallen in love. As the opera ends, Luka looks on in disbelief at the new lovers.

Cast and Instrumentation

In contrast with Walton's previous opera "Troilus and Cressida", which used a large cast, full orchestra and chorus, "The Bear" is deliberately minimal in its vocal and instrumental forces. The opera uses 3 singers and a chamber orchestra.

Roles

* Yelina Ivanovna Popova, "a widow" (mezzo-soprano)
* Grigory Stephanovich Smirnov, "a creditor" (baritone)
* Luka, "Popova's servant" (bass)
* Two men (brief speaking roles)

Instrumentation

Woodwind
* Flute (doubling piccolo)
* Oboe (doubling english horn)
* Clarinet (doubling bass clarinet)
* BassoonBrass
* French horn
* Trumpet
* TrombonePercussion (Timpani, side drum, tenor drum, bass drum, cassa chiara, triangle, tambourine, cymbals, suspended cymbal, gong, jingles, 3 blocks, wood block, whip, rattle, xylophone, vibraphone, tubular bells in F-sharp and C, crotales, bongos)

Keyboard
* Piano

Strings
* String quintet (first violin, second violin, viola, cello, double bass; parts may be doubled [Peter Evans, Review of "Walton, William, "The Bear". Score." "Music & Letters", 60(1), 117 (1979).] )
* Harp

Recordings

* EMI Classics: Monica Sinclair, John Shaw, Norman Lumsden; English Chamber Orchestra; James Lockhart, conductor
* Chandos ABR 1052: Daphne Harris, Gregory Yurisich, Noël Mangin; Melbourne Symphony Orchestra; Vanco Cavdarski, conductor (analogue recording) [Robert Anderson, Review of Chandos recording of "The Bear". "The Musical Times", 123(1676), 699 (1982).]
* Chandos: Della Jones, Alan Opie, John Shirley-Quirk; Northern Sinfonia; Richard Hickox, conductor (digital recording)

References

ource

*"Viking Opera Guide" ed. Holden (Viking, 1993)

External links

* [http://www.williamwalton.net/works/opera/bear.html Page from WilliamWalton.net on "The Bear"]
* [http://www.oup.co.uk/music/repprom/walton/prognotes/ Oxford University Press "Programme Notes"]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • The Dreamers (opera) — The Dreamers is a chamber opera in four scenes with music by David Conte and libretto by Philip Littell.Commissioned and premiered by Sonoma City Opera in September 1996, the opera centers around a town of dreamers who, though separated by sexual …   Wikipedia

  • The Complete Opera Book — is a guide to operas by American music critic and author Gustav Kobbé first published (posthumously) in the United States in 1919 and the United Kingdom in 1922. A revised edition from 1954 by the Earl of Harewood is known as Kobbé s Complete… …   Wikipedia

  • The Space Opera Renaissance — is an anthology of short science fiction that fits the definition of space opera: adventure stories of grand vision, where the majority of the action happens somewhere other than Earth. Meant to be an overview from the pulp fiction era to modern… …   Wikipedia

  • Bear (disambiguation) — A bear is a large mammal in the family Ursidae of the order Carnivora.Bear may also refer to: * Bear (ship), a famous exploration ship * Bear (gay slang), a subculture of the gay community consisting primarily of large, hairy, and usually bearded …   Wikipedia

  • The Honeycomb Kid — was the mascot of Post s Honeycomb cereal for several decades until 1995, when he was replaced by Crazy Craving. Over the years, the Kid appeared in various incarnations. High tech Honeycomb Kid In the early 1990s he was redesigned as a sort of… …   Wikipedia

  • The Beggar's Opera — is a ballad opera in three acts written in 1728 by John Gay. It is one of the watershed plays in Augustan drama and is the only example of the once thriving genre of satirical ballad opera to remain popular today. Ballad operas were satiric… …   Wikipedia

  • The Zoo — is a one act comic opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by B. C. Stephenson, writing under the pen name of Bolton Rowe. It premiered on June 5 1875 at the St. James s Theatre in London (as an afterpiece to W. S. Gilbert s Tom Cobb… …   Wikipedia

  • The Master and Margarita —   …   Wikipedia

  • The Red Line — ( Punainen viiva ) is an opera in two acts by composer Aulis Sallinen which premiered on 30 November 1978 at the Finnish National Opera. [ [http://www.metoperafamily.org/operanews/review/review.aspx?id=1937 Opera News] ] Roles*Topi (baritone)… …   Wikipedia

  • The opera corpus — is a list of nearly 2,500 works by more than 775 individual opera composers. Some of the works listed below are still being performed today   but many are not. The principal works of the major composers are given as well as those of historical… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”