Recently VO held the third workshop for our new opera – Lillian Alling. Composed by John Estacio to a libretto by John Murrell, this full-length, main stage opera will have its world premiere in Vancouver in October 2010.
It takes a long time to commission, compose, prepare and present a new opera!
The first two workshops were held to fine-tune the libretto – the “script” of the opera. Excellent Vancouver-based actors portrayed the characters, reciting what John Murrell had written. Murrell and Estacio, along with dramaturge Kelly Robinson, listened carefully, tweaked passages here and there, and ended up with a libretto that was ready for Estacio to turn into opera music.
This time, Vancouver singers worked their way through more than 30 minutes of John E’s music – starting from the very beginning of the opera and getting about half way through Act I, including a stirring scene set at Ellis Island (the US gateway for immigrants in the 1920s) where people from across Europe sing of their desire to find freedom and security; a lilting, Tin Pan Alley-type song sung by young men on the sidewalks of Brooklyn; and a beautiful, moving “big act one aria” for Lillian herself.
New pages of music were written every evening for the singers to digest overnight and bring to the rehearsal hall the next day. Ideas were tossed out, then thrown out, then modified and tried again; new measures of music took their place. At then end of the week, all of us felt we had a very solid first third or so of the opera, and all of us are becoming more and more excited about Lillian Alling.
Now John Estacio goes to work on the next chunk of music – the rest of Act I and, I imagine, into Act II, in preparation for the next music workshop in May. There will be a final work shopping of the entire work, with a full piano/vocal score, in December 2009. In the meantime, Kelly Robinson, who is also staging the opera for us, and who is Director of Theatre Arts at the Banff Centre, will be working there on some of the chorus scenes.
Stay tuned for more information on this exciting new opera commissioned by VO. You’ll learn more about the “real” Lillian and her trek across Canada, incarceration at Oakalla work farm outside Vancouver, and further trials and tribulations. And you will be able to follow the progress of the “operatic” Lillian brought to life by the magic of John Murrell and John Estacio.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Monday, September 8, 2008
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
The Creators
John Estacio: Composer
John Murrell: Librettist
Kelly Robinson: Dramaturge & Stage Director
John Estacio: Composer
John Estacio has served as Composer in Residence for the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Pro Coro Canada, the Calgary Philharmonic and Calgary Opera. He has written for the Vancouver Symphony, the Toronto Symphony, l’Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, CBC Radio Orchestra, the 2001 Banff International String Quartet Competition and he composed the scores for productions of Othello and Twelfth Night at the Citadel Theatre. The Houston Symphony, Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, Winnipeg Symphony, Royal Conservatory Orchestra, Orchestra London, and Thunder Bay Symphony are some of the ensembles who have performed his works.
His most recent opera, Frobisher, with libretto by John Murrell, premièred in Calgary and Banff in 2007. His first opera, Filumena, also with Murrell, premièred in 2003 and was re-produced in 2005 at the National Arts Centre, Ottawa; at the 2005 Banff Summer Arts Festival; and at Edmonton Opera. Filumena was filmed for television and received its national television première in 2006.
John Estacio studied music and composition at Wilfrid Laurier University and the University of British Columbia. He began his professional career after receiving an award in the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra’s Canadian Composers Competition, in 1992. His choral work Eulogies received the Association of Canadian Choral Conductors’ 1999National Choral Awards for Outstanding Choral Composition. He has also received the Syncrude Award for innovative artistic direction for the Young Composers Project, which he initiated while at the ESO. Estacio has received numerous SOCAN Awards for Young Composers and has twice received SOCAN’s Jan V. Matejcek Concert Music Award.
John Estacio currently resides in Edmonton. He recently premièred a cantata by four different choirs and is at work on his second symphony (Victoria Symphony), his third opera (Vancouver Opera), and his first film score, for the upcoming film The Secret of the Nutcracker.
John Murrell: Librettist
John Murrell is one of the most frequently produced of Canadian playwrights, as well as a highly respected arts advocate, mentor and consultant. His plays have been translated into 15 languages and performed in more than 30 countries around the world. He has worked as head of the Banff Playwrights Colony (1986–89), as head of the Theatre Section of the Canada Council for the Arts (1988–92), as artistic director/executive producer of Theatre Arts at the Banff Centre (1999–2005) and as executive artistic director of Performing Arts at the Banff Centre (2005–2007). His work for the stage includes Waiting For The Parade, Memoir, Farther West, Democracy, and The Faraway Nearby.
In February of 2003, the successful new opera Filumena, a co-production between The Banff Centre and Calgary Opera, with music by John Estacio and libretto by Murrell, was premièred in Calgary and in Banff. Filumena was produced by The Banff Centre in April 2005 as the centrepiece of The Alberta Scene at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa. Presented by Edmonton Opera in November 2005, Filumena was filmed for CBC-TV’s Opening Night series and has twice been nationally telecast. Frobisher enjoyed its world première at Calgary Opera in 2007.
Kelly Robinson: Dramaturge & Stage Director
Kelly Robinson is a director and choreographer whose career spans opera, theatre, film and television. He has worked extensively in the United States with critically acclaimed productions of Die Zauberflöte, La bohème and La belle Hélène for the opera companies of Dallas, Utah, Portland and Arizona to his credit. In Canada, he has presented opera audiences in Edmonton, Victoria, Calgary, Winnipeg and Vancouver with new productions of works ranging from Les pêcheurs de perles and Eugene Onegin to Britten’s The Turn Of The Screw and La Cenerentola. Kelly Robinson’s work has been seen at the National Arts Centre (Ottawa), Canadian Stage Company (Toronto), the Palace Theatre (New York), the Vineyard Theatre (New York) and the Eugene O’Neill Theatre Centre. He is currently Director of Theatre Arts at The Banff Centre.
Kelly Robinson made his directorial début in London’s West End with the world première of Peggy Sue Got Married. His successful productions of The Sound Of Music and Guys And Dolls at Ontario’s renowned Stratford Festival broke all attendance records. He has staged Sweeney Todd for Calgary Opera and Arizona Opera, Le nozze di Figaro for The Banff Centre, Un ballo in maschera for L’Opéra de Québec, Roméo et Juliette for Opera Ontario and the Canadian première of Dead Man Walking and the world premières of Filumena and Frobisher for Calgary Opera.
John Murrell: Librettist
Kelly Robinson: Dramaturge & Stage Director
John Estacio: Composer
John Estacio has served as Composer in Residence for the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Pro Coro Canada, the Calgary Philharmonic and Calgary Opera. He has written for the Vancouver Symphony, the Toronto Symphony, l’Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, CBC Radio Orchestra, the 2001 Banff International String Quartet Competition and he composed the scores for productions of Othello and Twelfth Night at the Citadel Theatre. The Houston Symphony, Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, Winnipeg Symphony, Royal Conservatory Orchestra, Orchestra London, and Thunder Bay Symphony are some of the ensembles who have performed his works.
His most recent opera, Frobisher, with libretto by John Murrell, premièred in Calgary and Banff in 2007. His first opera, Filumena, also with Murrell, premièred in 2003 and was re-produced in 2005 at the National Arts Centre, Ottawa; at the 2005 Banff Summer Arts Festival; and at Edmonton Opera. Filumena was filmed for television and received its national television première in 2006.
John Estacio studied music and composition at Wilfrid Laurier University and the University of British Columbia. He began his professional career after receiving an award in the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra’s Canadian Composers Competition, in 1992. His choral work Eulogies received the Association of Canadian Choral Conductors’ 1999National Choral Awards for Outstanding Choral Composition. He has also received the Syncrude Award for innovative artistic direction for the Young Composers Project, which he initiated while at the ESO. Estacio has received numerous SOCAN Awards for Young Composers and has twice received SOCAN’s Jan V. Matejcek Concert Music Award.
John Estacio currently resides in Edmonton. He recently premièred a cantata by four different choirs and is at work on his second symphony (Victoria Symphony), his third opera (Vancouver Opera), and his first film score, for the upcoming film The Secret of the Nutcracker.
John Murrell: Librettist
John Murrell is one of the most frequently produced of Canadian playwrights, as well as a highly respected arts advocate, mentor and consultant. His plays have been translated into 15 languages and performed in more than 30 countries around the world. He has worked as head of the Banff Playwrights Colony (1986–89), as head of the Theatre Section of the Canada Council for the Arts (1988–92), as artistic director/executive producer of Theatre Arts at the Banff Centre (1999–2005) and as executive artistic director of Performing Arts at the Banff Centre (2005–2007). His work for the stage includes Waiting For The Parade, Memoir, Farther West, Democracy, and The Faraway Nearby.
In February of 2003, the successful new opera Filumena, a co-production between The Banff Centre and Calgary Opera, with music by John Estacio and libretto by Murrell, was premièred in Calgary and in Banff. Filumena was produced by The Banff Centre in April 2005 as the centrepiece of The Alberta Scene at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa. Presented by Edmonton Opera in November 2005, Filumena was filmed for CBC-TV’s Opening Night series and has twice been nationally telecast. Frobisher enjoyed its world première at Calgary Opera in 2007.
Kelly Robinson: Dramaturge & Stage Director
Kelly Robinson is a director and choreographer whose career spans opera, theatre, film and television. He has worked extensively in the United States with critically acclaimed productions of Die Zauberflöte, La bohème and La belle Hélène for the opera companies of Dallas, Utah, Portland and Arizona to his credit. In Canada, he has presented opera audiences in Edmonton, Victoria, Calgary, Winnipeg and Vancouver with new productions of works ranging from Les pêcheurs de perles and Eugene Onegin to Britten’s The Turn Of The Screw and La Cenerentola. Kelly Robinson’s work has been seen at the National Arts Centre (Ottawa), Canadian Stage Company (Toronto), the Palace Theatre (New York), the Vineyard Theatre (New York) and the Eugene O’Neill Theatre Centre. He is currently Director of Theatre Arts at The Banff Centre.
Kelly Robinson made his directorial début in London’s West End with the world première of Peggy Sue Got Married. His successful productions of The Sound Of Music and Guys And Dolls at Ontario’s renowned Stratford Festival broke all attendance records. He has staged Sweeney Todd for Calgary Opera and Arizona Opera, Le nozze di Figaro for The Banff Centre, Un ballo in maschera for L’Opéra de Québec, Roméo et Juliette for Opera Ontario and the Canadian première of Dead Man Walking and the world premières of Filumena and Frobisher for Calgary Opera.
Excerpt 1
LILLIAN. (Continuing a thought)
This land is large and wild and fine,
Such freedom I never knew before…
Here, it is always all right to ask for more…
But I am bound to a promise
That I made long ago and far away.
Until that promise is kept,
Nothing –
Nothing will stand in my way.
SCOTTY. You promised Joseph –
LILLIAN. Jozéf.
SCOTTY. To be his wife –
LILLIAN. More than that.
My life is bound to his life.
SCOTTY. He left you in the lurch twice before.
LILLIAN. He did not know when I come –
Or if I could come at all.
Maybe he thought I would forget.
Maybe he forgot –
SCOTTY. That can’t be true.
Not you.
LILLIAN. You are a good man, Scotty,
But you do not understand.
SCOTTY. I understand that you owe him nothing –
Nothing! Not anymore!
(Getting more and more worked up)
Your life is not bound to his life.
If he wanted you for his wife,
He would have waited in Brooklyn,
He would have waited in Dakota,
He would have waited in Russia
Till both of you could leave!
Look at me, Lillian,
Do you really believe
he’s waiting in Telegraph Creek?
He’s been playing a game of hide-and-seek!
How many more continents will you chase him across?
Never mind – go on – go on and find Jozéf!
Why should I care? It’s your loss!
No…it’s my loss… (He stands and moves away.)
LILLIAN. You do not understand.
SCOTTY. (Turning to her) Then tell me!
This land is large and wild and fine,
Such freedom I never knew before…
Here, it is always all right to ask for more…
But I am bound to a promise
That I made long ago and far away.
Until that promise is kept,
Nothing –
Nothing will stand in my way.
SCOTTY. You promised Joseph –
LILLIAN. Jozéf.
SCOTTY. To be his wife –
LILLIAN. More than that.
My life is bound to his life.
SCOTTY. He left you in the lurch twice before.
LILLIAN. He did not know when I come –
Or if I could come at all.
Maybe he thought I would forget.
Maybe he forgot –
SCOTTY. That can’t be true.
Not you.
LILLIAN. You are a good man, Scotty,
But you do not understand.
SCOTTY. I understand that you owe him nothing –
Nothing! Not anymore!
(Getting more and more worked up)
Your life is not bound to his life.
If he wanted you for his wife,
He would have waited in Brooklyn,
He would have waited in Dakota,
He would have waited in Russia
Till both of you could leave!
Look at me, Lillian,
Do you really believe
he’s waiting in Telegraph Creek?
He’s been playing a game of hide-and-seek!
How many more continents will you chase him across?
Never mind – go on – go on and find Jozéf!
Why should I care? It’s your loss!
No…it’s my loss… (He stands and moves away.)
LILLIAN. You do not understand.
SCOTTY. (Turning to her) Then tell me!
Schedule
Lillian Alling workshop schedule
Workshop #1 October 9 – 13 2007
Complete libretto for Act I, outline for Act II
Materials due September 25
Workshop #2 March 16 – 20 2008
Complete libretto for Acts I and II
Materials due March 3
Workshop #3 September 22 – 27 2008
Revisions of complete libretto; 30minutes minimum of music
Materials due September 8
Workshop #4 May 3 – 8 2009 (revised dates)
Piano/vocal score for Act I; revisions to complete libretto
Materials due March 16
Workshop #5 December 7 – 12 2009 (revised dates)
Piano/vocal score for Acts I and II; complete revisions to libretto
Materials due November 23
Note: Premiere date changed from Feb 2010 to Nov 2010, this revises dates for final two workshops.
Workshop #1 October 9 – 13 2007
Complete libretto for Act I, outline for Act II
Materials due September 25
Workshop #2 March 16 – 20 2008
Complete libretto for Acts I and II
Materials due March 3
Workshop #3 September 22 – 27 2008
Revisions of complete libretto; 30minutes minimum of music
Materials due September 8
Workshop #4 May 3 – 8 2009 (revised dates)
Piano/vocal score for Act I; revisions to complete libretto
Materials due March 16
Workshop #5 December 7 – 12 2009 (revised dates)
Piano/vocal score for Acts I and II; complete revisions to libretto
Materials due November 23
Note: Premiere date changed from Feb 2010 to Nov 2010, this revises dates for final two workshops.
Dramatus Personae
LILLIAN ALLING
An Opera in Two Acts (Fourteen Scenes)
Music by John Estacio
Libretto by John Murrell
CHARACTERS IN THE OPERA (in order of their appearance):
IRENE, 78 years old in 1980
JIMMY, her son, 50 years old in 1980
All other Characters are in 1927-1928 or earlier:
LILLIAN ALLING, in her 20s
ITALIAN, GERMAN, SPANISH, and GREEK IMMIGRANTS,
who arrive with Lillian at Ellis Island, both genders, various ages
A MAN IN A DARK SUIT, who follows Lillian briefly (non-singing)
SERGEI NIKITICH LAZINSKY, in his late 30s
NORA, his Irish wife, in her 20s
THEIR THREE CHILDREN, all very young
STREET CORNER BOYS (8 or more) in Brooklyn, all young
BOBBY, one of the Boys
A FEMALE PASSERBY, in Brooklyn, any age
SHADOWY FIGURES from Lillian’s past: A MAN, A WOMAN,
A YOUNG BOY (Lillian’s father, mother, and brother);
SOLDIERS; a DARK MAN (Jozéf) – (non-singing)
A DRIFTER on the American prairies, in his 40s
NORWEGIAN MEN and WOMEN, immigrant farmers in North Dakota,
various ages
KARL, one of them, in his 50s
KRISTIAN, his son, in his 20s
SCOTTY MACDONALD, a young telegraph operator, in his 20s
BILL, another telegraph operator, in his 30s
CHARLIE, the same, in his 20s
SAM, the same, in his 40s
CONSTABLE WYMAN, a policeman, in his 40s
MALE and FEMALE PRISONERS at Oakalla Prison farm,
various ages
VANCOUVERITES, both genders, various ages
JOZÉF NIKITICH LAZINSKY, for real, in his 30s
The action of the opera takes place in 1980, in 1927 and 1928, and several years earlier (in flashback) – in British Columbia and elsewhere in Canada, in several locales in the United States, and in rural Russia (in flashback).
An Opera in Two Acts (Fourteen Scenes)
Music by John Estacio
Libretto by John Murrell
CHARACTERS IN THE OPERA (in order of their appearance):
IRENE, 78 years old in 1980
JIMMY, her son, 50 years old in 1980
All other Characters are in 1927-1928 or earlier:
LILLIAN ALLING, in her 20s
ITALIAN, GERMAN, SPANISH, and GREEK IMMIGRANTS,
who arrive with Lillian at Ellis Island, both genders, various ages
A MAN IN A DARK SUIT, who follows Lillian briefly (non-singing)
SERGEI NIKITICH LAZINSKY, in his late 30s
NORA, his Irish wife, in her 20s
THEIR THREE CHILDREN, all very young
STREET CORNER BOYS (8 or more) in Brooklyn, all young
BOBBY, one of the Boys
A FEMALE PASSERBY, in Brooklyn, any age
SHADOWY FIGURES from Lillian’s past: A MAN, A WOMAN,
A YOUNG BOY (Lillian’s father, mother, and brother);
SOLDIERS; a DARK MAN (Jozéf) – (non-singing)
A DRIFTER on the American prairies, in his 40s
NORWEGIAN MEN and WOMEN, immigrant farmers in North Dakota,
various ages
KARL, one of them, in his 50s
KRISTIAN, his son, in his 20s
SCOTTY MACDONALD, a young telegraph operator, in his 20s
BILL, another telegraph operator, in his 30s
CHARLIE, the same, in his 20s
SAM, the same, in his 40s
CONSTABLE WYMAN, a policeman, in his 40s
MALE and FEMALE PRISONERS at Oakalla Prison farm,
various ages
VANCOUVERITES, both genders, various ages
JOZÉF NIKITICH LAZINSKY, for real, in his 30s
The action of the opera takes place in 1980, in 1927 and 1928, and several years earlier (in flashback) – in British Columbia and elsewhere in Canada, in several locales in the United States, and in rural Russia (in flashback).
Monday, September 1, 2008
Meet Our Lillian
Vancouver Opera has set up a new website blog for our world premiere commission of Lillian Alling, a new work by John Estacio and John Murrell, set to premiere as part of our 50th Anniversary in the fall of 2010.Which you know, 'cause you are here.
On this new site you'll find a synopsis of the show, info on the creators, a cast of characters, and a sample of this new work! You'll also see the schedule of workshops and be able to get updates on how and what we are doing on this very exciting new piece.
New materials will be added on a regular basis, especially now that we are in a heavy workshop period, so you'll want to visit Lillian often for all the latest, including pics, video, sound samples, and more on this remarkable woman!
Join Lillian Alling on her journey to Vancouver Opera and beyond!
~VO
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