27 September 2010
Stuart Greenbaum and The Parrot Factory
Stuart Greenbaum talks about his new opera The Parrot Factory, composed to the libretto by Ross Baglin. The world premiere of this opera, written for a young cast of 16-25-year-olds, will take place in Melbourne on 1 October.
How did you come to work on this opera?
Richard Gill (Victorian Opera) first floated the idea by me
around three or four years ago at the refreshments served after a
Melbourne University graduation ceremony where he gave the guest
lecture. This proves beyond doubt that one should always attend
the after-party. My first opera, Nelson, took 10 years
to write, and this one took about 18 months. I had worked with
Richard over the years on a number of orchestral works, notably
for the SSO Sinfonia, and I was thrilled that he asked for this
new piece, commissioned by Frederick and Mary Davidson for
Victorian Opera.
Why do you think it's important that new operas, especially
youth operas, are performed?
Opera is often viewed as an old-fashioned art form but it can be
as modern as the creators and producers wish it to be. Opera is
also a very particular art form in that it allows for heightened
and complex psychological and emotional journeys that the words
and music separately don't necessarily convey. But put the music
and the words together in the right combinations, and they can
take us to places that other art forms don't. It's unique and
potentially very powerful. If opera as an artform is to survive,
it must also be replenished from the well of contemporary art and
artists, and this also calls for engagement by young performers
and young audiences. They are tomorrow's adults and our
future.
What were the specific challenges of writing a children's
opera?
It is ostensibly a children's opera, but we always wanted to
write a piece that operated on more than one level and could
engage an adult audience at the same time. The result was a
fantastical world of hidden diamonds, hot air balloons and
talking birds, which also dramatised adult concerns such as
freedom and control, emotional honesty, and the compromises we
must negotiate between respect for the environment and the role
of money in our lives. [For a synopsis of the opera, see further down.]
Additionally, because the piece is written for a young cast
(16-25-year-olds) and an even younger chorus (dressed up as
parrots), the score needed to be vocally practical and memorable
to learn. I never felt that this was a limitation any more than
if I were to write for a 3-octave vibraphone rather than a
4-octave instrument. Once you set your radar (or compass) to the
variables at hand, you then set about making art with what you
have.
People sometimes ask what comes first, the words or the music? We
usually start with a story and the characters that drive it. The
words are always first, though, as we get deeper into a work, the
music increasingly suggests additional (or more commonly, fewer)
words. It's a collaborative artistic tango which results in a
true 'musical drama' - an opera.
Which aspect of working on this piece did you most
enjoy?
Working with the librettist (Ross Baglin) in Den Haag for ten days in January 2009. And then getting on the train to Berlin and spending the next six hours writing Gina's aria on my laptop while looking at the German landscape floating by outside the window. Secondly, writing the final bars at my computer in my study in Coburg and imagining the singers' faces fading from view to blackout on the words 'set you free'. Finally, hearing real musicians singing and playing, bringing the piece to life in rehearsal.
Event details
The Parrot Factory by Stuart Greenbaum and Ross Baglin
Victorian Youth Opera
1-3 October 2010
Merlyn Theatre, CUB Malthouse, Melbourne, VIC
Performance details: Victorian Opera website
Further links
Stuart Greenbaum - AMC profile
Victorian Opera - The Parrot Factory
The Parrot Factory - synopsis
scene 1: that's why your parrot was
stolen
Morning. Filbert and Elizabeth are pasting
posters in the street from opposite sides. His posters seek the
owner of a parrot called Cherubino, while hers seek the same
parrot, which she believes stolen. They collide and Filbert - a
veterinary detective - relates that her parrot was owned by an
old widow called Lady Fossett, who taught it (with three others)
the location of valuable jewels. All four Fossett parrots have
now been stolen.
scene 2: there's money in birds
Reception
desk at the Fossett carpet factory. Tranh, a courier, arrives and
makes Gina curious about recent events. Her boyfriend Jimmy
arrives and Gina confronts him about the accounts. Jimmy reveals
that they are struggling to pay debts on the factory, and that he
can make money from trading birds he keeps out back. He unveils a
'valuable' parrot, Cherubino, and slides him into the aviary,
which lights up. A chorus of parrots sing a deluded dirge about
being happy in the parrot factory. Jimmy pledges to the
unconvinced Gina that he needs two more nights to finish a deal,
and can then cease trading.
scene 3: I've got a balloon to catch
Night.
Tranh is taking down the 'wanted' posters. He is fond of Jimmy,
who helped him after his immigration, and he's surmised that
Jimmy is out of his depth. He hides as Gina enters and sees
Elizabeth's posters. She also hides as Filbert and Elizabeth
enter. Elizabeth reveals that the thief left $200 behind. Tranh
and Gina separately overhear this. Filbert says he can get her
parrot back. Elizabeth asks about his balloon and the two ponder
what they would see if looking at the ground from above. Filbert
leaves and Gina reveals herself to Elizabeth. She says that she
can get Cherubino for her. Elizabeth is suspicious but they
arrange to meet the next night.
scene 4: a cage of debt
The next day. Jimmy
calls a 'Mr. Vogelfang' to exchange Cherubino for two very rare
glaucous macaws. Gina interrupts and again questions his
dealings. Jimmy reveals his poor childhood and fear of poverty.
Cherubino "mocks" Jimmy inadvertently with memorised phrases and
he chases the 'stupid bird' out of sight. As Cherubino runs back
onstage ahead of Jimmy, Gina switches him for a stuffed bird from
the reception area. Gina exits and Jimmy, thinking he is alone in
the reception room, whistles a short tune to unlock a wall safe.
As he leaves, Cherubino, in the birdcage, repeats the code.
scene 5: diamonds!!
Night. Elizabeth is
waiting for Gina. She arrives but without Cherubino and Elizabeth
is angry. Gina queries Elizabeth about what Cherubino 'says' and,
realising the connection with diamonds, she excitedly rushes with
Elizabeth to the Fossett factory to quiz Cherubino further.
scene 6: sing through the bars
Filbert, on a
hill overlooking the town, is despondent about Elizabeth's
disappearance and his inability to find the stolen bird.
Meanwhile, Gina lets Elizabeth into the factory but hurries her
out the back as she thinks Jimmy is coming. Elizabeth takes a
wrong turn and becomes trapped in the aviary, where she teaches
the birds a song about freedom in place of their dirge. Gina,
outside and unaware of Elizabeth's situation, reveals her fears
for Jimmy and their relationship, then leaves. Elizabeth
remembers the balloons Filbert gave her, and flies them through a
vent in the aviary. Filbert sees this signal from afar and makes
a dash for the Fossett factory.
scene 7: I must choose
Cherubino whistles the
code for the safe lock and Gina finds it open with a lot of money
inside. Tranh has also discovered a rare bird in a packing crate,
and together they confront Jimmy, who realises he must choose
between Gina and financial security. As he appears ready to leave
Gina, Jimmy suddenly throws open the aviary gate and sweeps the
birds to freedom. The parrots sing a final freedom chorus and
they all depart leaving Filbert, Cherubino and Elizabeth. Filbert
decodes Cherubino's clue but finds, to his consternation, that
the diamonds are not there. Elizabeth reveals them, having found
them earlier when releasing the balloons through the vent. She
asks that some diamonds be sent to Jimmy to pay off the factory.
© Australian Music Centre (2010) — Permission must be obtained from the AMC if you wish to reproduce this article either online or in print.
Subjects discussed by this article:
- Stuart Greenbaum (Interviewee)
The Australian Music Centre connects people around the world to Australian composers and sound artists. By facilitating the performance, awareness and appreciation of music by these creative artists, it aims to increase their profile and the sustainability of their art form. Established in 1974, the AMC is now the leading provider of information, resources, materials and products relating to Australian new music.
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