THE BEEKEEPER (2022)
a chamber opera
music by Wang Lu
libretto (Eng) by Kelley Rourke
Concert/Workshop Premiere: March, 2022; Chicago Opera Theater
Available for a staged world premiere
Commission: Commissioned by Chicago Opera Theater
Roles:
Noah Cader – Late 20s/early 30s, Baritone
Pheobe Cader – Late 20s/early 30s, Soprano
Melissa Mervos – 50s or older, Mezzo-soprano
The Voices of the Orchard – Ageless, Three women
Instrumentation: fl(pic).cl in Bb(bcl in Bb).hn in F-perc-pno-2vn.vc
Duration: 50'
Synopsis:
THE STORY
Noah and Phoebe leave the city when he inherits his grandparents’ orchard. The young couple dreams of the life they will create together, but they are unprepared for what lies ahead. In addition to the never-ending demands of the house and the land, Noah is haunted by memories of his last visit to the orchard, many years ago. A neighbor, Melissa, provides a bridge from past to present, as the voices of the orchard bear witness to the many interlocking stories that have unfurled—and are still unfurling—on this bit of earth. A snapshot of the interlocking cycles of human, apian, and arboreal life, The Beekeeper is a meditation on time, grief, and hope.
THE MUSIC
Instrumental colors and textures create a magical, powerful and vibrantly unique sound world that constantly transforms space while heightening the distinctive emotional state of the characters. Wondrous orchestration and the mirroring of solo instrumental roles forge dialogues between the characters on stage and musicians in the pit. The score is open to reimagining for large forces including orchestra if resources allow.
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Kelley Rourke is a librettist, translator and dramaturg. Original libretti include Lucy, Natural Systems, and Stay (with John Glover); The Beekeeper (with Wang Lu); Wilde Tales and And Still We Dream (with Laura Karpman); The Jungle Book (with Kamala Sankaram); and Odyssey and Robin Hood (with Ben Moore). Kelley's work has been commissioned and performed by The Metropolitan Opera, Washington National Opera, English National Opera, Welsh National Opera, Glimmerglass Festival, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Boston Lyric Opera, Young People’s Chorus of NYC, Seattle Opera, Minnesota Opera, Carnegie Hall, Urban Arias, Met LiveArts, Houston Grand Opera’s HGOco, San Francisco Conservatory, Milwaukee Opera Theatre, Chicago Opera Theatre, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, among others.
Composer Wang Lu writes music that reflects a very natural identification with influences from urban environmental sounds, linguistic intonation and contours, traditional Chinese music, and freely improvised traditions. Wang Lu’s works have been performed internationally, by ensembles including the Ensemble Modern, Ensemble Intercontemporain, Minnesota Orchestra among others. She received the Berlin Prize in Music Composition, Wladimir and Rhoda Lakond Award in Music from American Academy of Arts and Letters among others. She was a 2014 Guggenheim Fellow. Wang Lu’s portrait albums Urban Inventory (2018), and An Atlas of Time (2020) were released to critical acclaim.
For more information on
Wang Lu, visit
psnymusic.com and
wanglucomposer.com.