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COMPOSITIONS
" The unrecognized continue to die of striving." -- Robert Ashley |
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LEITHIAN
(Note: click on the link above to hear the opera scene by scene.) Ten years before The Lord Of The Rings made it to the Silver Screen, I finished composing the music to one of the chapters in THE SILMARILLION, "Of Beren and Lúthien". I did it for myself, not for profit. I got permission to use the words, but not to mount a production, but I didn't care. I figured that was S.E.P. (somebody else's problem). I think it's good music but the composer is the one person not qualified to judge her/his own work. Others have told me it's great: whatever. For the story, I urge you to buy the book, before someone makes a movie out of it. That way you'll have your own pictures in your head and not some producer's idea. For the record, I think movies made from great books rob one's imagination of the opportunity to create one's own pictures, and I think that's very sad. In my opinion the new movie series is surprisingly well done, but like the cartoon version made in the late "1970s" they've gotten Legolas all wrong. He's a Wood-elf, not a Noldorin elf. Wood-elves have dark hair. For purists like me who've read and reread the book, it's an insult. And Aragorn: I'm sorry, he just doesn't look like that. And now the publishers have plastered the movie stars' faces all over the new paperback versions, to remind us that we can't think up our own faces. Everyone should have their own personal Orc. I had my mom paint mine on the back of one of my dulcimers. The nicest response I got from companies I sent the first demo to was from Lyric Opera of Chicago: "It's very impressive, but the likelihood of our producing an opera of four and a half hours in length by someone other than Wagner is pretty slim." Sound clips of our concerts of the show and PDFs of the vocal score are on the LEITHIAN page. With the amazing power of the Web, these clips have been heard by people in Poland, Spain, Mexico, France, the U.K. and I don't know where else. So far I've heard no negative comments. |
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GOLDIE LOCKS AND THE THREE BEARS
(c)1994 Adam Klein.
You might not be aware that children love opera: coming to it with no social preconceptions they can judge it on its own merits – and opera is like no other art form. Most regional opera companies have outreach programs which perform in local schools, often borrowing music from classical operas (Mozart's are favorites) and adapting it to stories like The Three Little Pigs. Despite this, many newly composed children's operas often have meandering saccharin music deemed by someone to be suitable for children, as if serious music like that of Bach or Beethoven is inappropriate for young ears for some reason, as if young people don't already talk to each other about serious subjects. Kids have problems of their own just as serious to them as what troubles the grown-ups, and the sooner in life people hear serious music the sooner they'll understand it, and they'll become smarter just by listening to it. With many historical references with an ursine slant, GOLDIE LOCKS AND THE THREE BEARS is a serious opera for children of all ages. The opera's plot soon departs from the familiar Goldilocks fable to become a story about tolerance for those who are different, and how to deal with one's peers in a positive way. The porridge is still there (but what's IN Bear porridge?), as well as Goldie falling asleep in the Bears' house (what does a Bear's house look like?); when you see the show you'll learn how the characters deal with their respective problems, and decide for yourself how well they did. Maybe one of the characters will remind you of yourself or someone you know! The opera utilizes four of the six main operatic voice types, letting children hear and understand the variety operatic voices can have. (The two main types not represented are alto and baritone.) Placing these voice types into the opera, the grown-up bears are done by the lower voices: the lowest one – Bass – is Papa Bear, and the next-lowest Tenor is Mama Bear. (If casting Mama Bear as a tenor seems surprising, besides the fact that this is a big bear, remember that women singers have often been cast in male roles — Mozart: Cherubino; R. Strauss: Octavian; Verdi: Oskar — and in one of Kurt Weill's operas the Mother is a bass!) The higher voice types, pitched more like most children's voices, are featured in the roles of Baby Bear (Soprano, the highest one) and Goldie Locks (Mezzo-soprano, in the middle female range.) In fact, very talented youngsters could sing Baby Bear and Goldie Locks: in the World Premiere of the show in 2024, Baby Bear was done by an 11th-grade young lady I hope you like it as much as the first audience did. If you want to produce it, contact me over email or Facebook. |
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CLICK ON THIS to watch the world premiere of it on YouTube.