Denis & Katya was co-commissioned and co-produced by Opera Philadelphia, Music Theatre Wales and Opéra National de Montpellier, with major support provided by the William Penn Foundation.
Denis & Katya was winner of the Fedora - Generali Prize for Opera 2019.
First production 18th – 29th September 2019
The Suzanne Roberts Theater, Philadelphia part of the O19 Festival by Opera Philadelphia.
Cast A (premiere)
Siena Licht Miller
Theo Hoffman
Cast B
Emily Edmonds
Johnny Herford
Celli
Branson Yeast
Rose Bart
Jean Kim
Jennie Lorenzo
Director: Ted Huffman
Co-Creator / Dramaturg: Ksenia Ravinna
Music Director: Emily Senturia
Stage Design & Lighting Design: Andrew Lieberman
Costumes: Millie Hiibel
Video Designer: Pierre Martin
Sound Design: Rob Kaplowitz
Stage Manager: Brett Finlay
Thanks to:
Ted Huffman and Ksenia Ravinna, the cast, the creative team, the crew.
David Devan, David Levy, Michael Eberhart and Sarah Wiliams – Opera Philadelphia
Thomas Nicholson (score assistance), Katie Salmon (Universal Music).
Special thanks to Polina and Maxim.
Duration
c.65 mins with no interval (excluding countdown at beginning)
Cast / Instrumentation
Mezzo soprano, amplified Baritone, amplified
Four celli, amplified
Pre-recorded sound and video material (see notes below)
Performance Conditions
The opera may only be performed under the following conditions:
1. There is no conductor. All players and singers perform with In-Ear Monitors (IEM).
2. Singers and Players are all amplified and mixed with the pre-recorded sound.
3. Sound and Video material that belongs to the piece is used in the production. This includes all pre-made sound material and the audiovideo in Interlude 3. It cannot be substituted or omitted without prior agreement. Electronic materials (IEM Material, Sound Material, Video Material) are available from Ricordi.
4. The opera is performed in the native language of the house / audience – including spoken, sung and projected text. Various versions and materials are available from Ricordi. Performances in Russia will need special treatment in conjunction with composer and librettist.
5. Cellists are spatially separated and on stage, not in a pit.
6. Cellists play from tablets with page-turn pedals, not from paper copies.
Exceptions to these conditions may be granted on a case-by-case basis in conjunction with the composer and librettist –please contact Ricordi.
Concept / Structure
The opera is in two main parts, with the following structure:
(House open / Countdown) *optional
Part One
Prologue (spoken)
Section 1 (talking heads)
Interlude 1 (spoken)
Section 2 (talking heads)
Interlude 2 (spoken)
Section 3 (talking heads)
Interlude 3 (audio video)
Part Two
Journalist and Friend Baroque song Epilogue
The opera follows the accounts of the true story of two 15-year-old Russian teenagers Denis Muravyov and Katya Viasova. Their story was reported worldwide in November 2016 after they ran away from home together and hid in a family-owned hunting cabin in Strugi Krasnye. After a few days, the police surrounded the house, and the situation escalated and the pair died of gunshot wounds on November 16, 2016. Other circumstances of their death are unclear. They live-broadcast on social media frequently during the three days in the cabin, engaging with on- line viewers as they filmed while in the midst of a standoff with Russian Special Forces.
The text material for the opera comes from interviews with people who were adjacent to these events – namely the best friend of Denis, who was 17 years old when we spoke to him, and a journalist who visited the scene of the incident and wrote an extended piece about the tragedy for the Medusa newspaper in the days following. Other interviews with members of the community (Neighbour, Teenager, Teacher, Medic) have been fictionalised, based on verbatim sources such as press reports and a television talk show about the incident. Additionally, we include excerpts of text conversations that took place on Whatsapp Messenger between Ted Huffman and Philip Venables.
The opera cuts between these different 'talking heads' characters in quick succession, much like a television documentary that might reconstruct an event from a variety of eye-witness reports. The story is slowly pieced together from these talking heads, alongside the story of the making of the opera that unfolds in the Whatsapp conversations. Each character has their own particular mode of text setting between the two performers, and their own musical indicators. The cuts between characters are hard cuts, indicated in the opera with a loud beep, and a projected character name. The result is 112 microscenes, some as long as c.2 minutes, some as short as 5 seconds.
Journalist — sung by Mezzo-soprano, with supporting spoken text from Baritone
Friend — sung by Baritone, with supporting spoken text from Mezzo-soprano
Teacher — sung 'double-headed' in rhythmic unison by Mezzo-soprano and Baritone.
Neighbour — sung by Mezzo-soprano, with live spoken translation / interpretation by Baritone
Teenager — sung by Baritone, with live spoken translation / interpretation by Mezzo-soprano
Medic — performed by both Mezzo-soprano and Baritone in alternating wordless singing and spoken text.
The conceit of the performance is that two performers are making a piece of spontaneous role-play theatre for the audience. This is theatre of the imagination; there is no fourth wall, and the stage setting should be a blank canvas. They perform all characters, but without a direct link between performer and character. Sometimes these microscenes are fragments of a larger whole — where this happens, the fragments are labelled A, B, C. There should be noticeable and immediate changes in lighting, characterisation and movement with each character switch. Sometimes the performers may freeze in between related microscenes, e.g. when a Whatsapp conversation interrupts two adjacent fragments of a character. There is fertile ground for experimenting with bold ways to articulate the cut-and-splice form of the piece.
In essence, this opera is about storytelling. It plays with the idea of storytelling, how we tell stories to each other, bot h in real life and on the internet. The six characters told their stories about this event, and the two performers are re-telling these stories to the audience.
Notes
Voices
Spoken Text should always be natural, clear, not over-acted.
Wherever they occur, glissandi should be even and smooth, and for the entire duration of the note indicated. They are not quick portamenti.
When developing character for this piece, one should remember that the interviews with the Friend and Journalist were given two years after the fact. The emotional landscape is complex, and the characterisation should reflect this distance. Generally, a more detached, calmer and 'matter-of-fact' approach is best for these characters, rather than trying to recreate the drama that might have occurred as the events took place. Sometimes this means fighting the natural feeling of the music, which can be dramatic, in order to maintain a calmer stage presence.
Changes between characters on the Section Beeps should be instantaneous and immediate. There are no soft transit ions.
Celli
The four celli must be spatialised on stage as follows:
Vc. 1 – Downstage, stage right
Vc. 2 – Upstage, stage right
Vc. 3 – Upstage, stage left
Vc. 4 – Downstage, stage left
Each player should face the centre, so they can see each other and the two singers.
In other words, something along the lines of:
Each cellist must play from a tablet with pedals for page turning. It is not possible to perform this show with conventional paper parts and that must not be attempted. Parts are supplied formatted for tablets. Cables for tablets, microphones and IEMs should be out of sight of the audience where possible.
The cello ensemble is four soloists. Playing should be energetic, demonstrative, physical. The idea of 'spontaneous roleplay theatre' extends to the cello performers too. Players should communicate with each other and with the two singers, despite the IEMs.
Amplification
Singers are amplified with wireless microphones, with wireless packs alongside their wireless IEM.
Celli should be amplified with a clip on mic (e.g. DPA4099) and a condenser mic (e.g. Neumann KM184) in front of the instrument. This combination produces good results and a compact footprint on stage.
The whole show is amplified, but sensitively. Generally the aim is to lift the cello ensemble, balance singers with it so that we hear every word clearly, and to provide dynamic shaping as the tension in the piece builds.
It is recommended that different patches are created on the desk for each character and section of the piece, and that these are triggered automatically upon each beep (e.g. with timecode from QLab). This can set the approximate balance between spoken voice, sung voice and celli for each character, and differentiate each character in terms of soundworld.
The Neighbour and Teenager sections should generally be more amplified than other sections, with perhaps some chorus and reverb added, and some extra bass in the EQ.
The Medic should have significant reverb added to the sung voice and the celli, to give a ghostly feel.
The Whatsapp sections should add Chorus on the celli.
A special reverb and EQ setting will be required for the plucked cello in the baroque song in Part Two, to make it sound like a lute.
In all other cases, the sung and spoken voice and the celli should sound quite natural, only gently amplified, depending on the size of the space.
Left-Right spatialisation of the celli should be maintained.
Celli in the last Whatsapp at the end of the piece should be very loud, chorus added, a dirty, overpowering sound.
The overall volume should slowly crescendo through the following passages, to help with the dramatic tension. The volume should then return to normal.
• Fig. 26–31
• Fig. 50–57
• Fig. 74–80 (immediately at Fig. 80 quieter again)
• 93–116 (but with 98–99 quiet and 111–112 quiet)
Speaker distribution
The recommended speaker distribution should include:
• House system including Left, Right, Centre array, surrounds and subs.
• upstage L&R speakers, ideally placed behind the projection screen
Tape material
The tape material in the piece consists of the following types. All material is supplied with the hire materials, with the exception of the pre-recorded cello, which must be made by the production, or the original material licenced from Opera Philadelphia.
1. Section Beep
Sine-wave beeps, gradually rising in pitch and intensity. These should be loud, routed to the entire House system. They should feel immersive.
2. Whatsapp Beeps
These should be quite loud, but not as loud as the Section Beeps. They should be panned left and right, and some should be routed to the upstage L&R speakers to give more connection to the projection screen. They build in intensity through the piece. The Whatsapp 19 should be loud, to cut through everything else.
3. Pre-recorded cello
This should be pre-recorded and generated using layering and loops to remove all audible bow changes. It should be recorded without vibrato, a thin, ghostly sound, slightly flautando.
Distribution in the space should be from the upstage speakers only, so that it sounds behind the cello ensemble, and very quiet, very distant, always at a level below the live cello ensemble. It's presence should never be felt.
4. Periscope sections
These are samples of the train sound from Interlude 3. They should be loud, immersive, routed to the entire House system (including surrounds). They should build in intensity, but even the early ones (e.g. Fig 58) should be very present.
5. Interlude 3
This is constructed audio for the video of the train leaving Strugi Krasnye station. The ambient sound should be loud enough at Fig. 116 that it is present enough to mask sounds of audience, and to ensure that the audience doesn't think the piece is over. The sound of the train should build to an immersive, deafening climax in the last 30 seconds of the video, before the Section Beep at Fig. 117.
6. Synth pitches in Part Two
These synth pitches are sine waves that slowly fade in and out again, layering on top of each other. They should all be ver y quiet and immersive, discreetly filling the auditorium; they are almost inaudible. The final synth pitch at Figure 121 should peak to a loud climax and the recede. It should fill the space powerfully.
7. Polina Interview Footage
This is interview footage between Polina (the Journalist) and Ted Huffman, which fades in just after Fig. 132. It should be routed to the upstage speakers, and partly into the House L&R, but should sound a bit more distant, but still clearly comprehensible. There is a pan left for Ted and pan right for Polina.
There are seven manual Stage Management cues for sound, indicated in the score on the Tape stave. Once the start of the show is triggered, there should be no more manual cues until just before Figure 118.
In-Ear Monitors
There is no conductor in this piece, and everyone is coordinated via In-Ear Monitors (IEMs). The celli can have wired IEMs, but the singers must be on wireless. Singers may opt to have it in one or both ears.
Each performer has an individual IEM track. These are supplied with the hire material.
The celli tracks consist of:
• metronome click
• bell sound to indicate a bar-before warning before an entry after several bars rest, or before a change to a bar that has been repeated multiple time. i.e. a cue to aid counting.
• A beep on each rehearsal figure.
Singers IEM tracks are more complex. The basic package (in Logic) consists of:
• metronome click
• their vocal line, played on synth piano
• bell sounds for spoken text entries
• Prologue and Interlude texts
However it would be expected that the following would be added, to suit the performers and the production:
• cue pitches before an entry (not rendered in a piano sound, to avoid confusion with the vocal line)
• cue text in advance of an entry
• count-ins to entries (e.g. 3, 2, 1) or count-offs on long notes (e.g. 3, 2, 1, off), or a combination (e.g. 3, 2, 1, off, and)
• Russian text alongside the vocal line
• staging instructions, e.g. “on beep, go upstage left”
• a mix of the cello ensemble in the ear
• Section Beeps (i.e. routed from playback), or a beep on each rehearsal figure (i.e. routed from the cello IEM)
In addition, it would be expected that some information would be removed, depending on the production. For example:
• Microscenes where the performer is not singing or spekaing, the click can be replaced with a single down beat, and then a warning for a 2-bar count-in to the next section. e.g. “Stand by 2 bars Neighbour 2, Panika”
• Clicks removed in Microscenes where the singer feels confident singing with the celli, without click, and would like more freedom / less distraction
• Piano vocal lines removed, for the same reason
In the first production, the rehearsal room process was run off Logic, so that IEMs could be edited immediately during rehearsals, and then IEM tracks were exported into QLab when the production went into tech in the theatre.
Most importantly, bear in mind that the use of IEMs in this show facilitates a kind of 'precision spontaneity'. The aim should always be to find energised, free, musical, dynamic performances, as you would if performing a show without click tracks. There should be nothing about the performance that feels automated, robotic, unhuman (wit h the exception, maybe, of the Teacher). It should feel like spontaneous music making, full of communication between all six performers. The challenge of rehearsal is to achieve this with the IEMs, avoiding a 'tunnel-vision' or 'head down' kind of result
Projection
A projector is required to project onto the set, the projection area should span the whole width of the stage.
For text, three projection areas are required, left, centre and right, indicated by a three-line stave in the score.
A simple font should be used. Projection video files in white Helvetica in English, French and German are available on request.
The [blank] indications mean the screen should be cleared of text. These should be obeyed.
The projected character names must not be omitted.
The countdown video to begin the show is available on request.
The video for Interlude 3 is provided as part of the show. It is strongly recommended that this video is used, and requests to make an alternative Interlude video must be made to the composer/librettist via Ricordi. The image should fill the entire width of the playing space.
Lighting
Lighting should articulate the form of the piece. In other words, each character should have a lighting state, and the switches between lighting states should be immediate and hard, in time with each Section Beep or rehearsal figure. Automatic lighting cues for each rehearsal figure should be triggered from QLab via MIDI or Timecode to the lighting desk.
There should be an immediate blackout at Figure 116 and at the end of the piece.
Stage Design
This piece is about role play theatre, theatre of the imagination, a piece about storytelling. There is no definite setting, location or time required of the stage setting. It should be a relatively empty stage that provides a playing space for the performers, and a projection area that spans the entire upstage width of the playing space. Props should be avoided
The cellists must be on stage, spatially separated, maintaining the Left-Right and Up-/Down-stage divisions.
The upstage speakers should be hidden, possibly behind the projection surface.
Language
This piece must be performed in the local native language of the audience. Any deviation from this is not automatically permitted and approval must be sought in advance from the composer via Ricordi. Material for hire exists in English (American- and British-English versions), French and German. Productions in other languages will require translation, musical re-writing and new audiovisual materials, which must be made by the producer in collaboration with the composer.
The only section of the piece that remains in the original language is the audio footage of the interview between the Journalist and the librettist, Ted Huffman, which appears at Figure 132. If the native language of the audience is not English, this footage will require surtitles.
Denis & Katya
HOUSE OPEN
OPTIONAL: Exactly ten minutes before the show starts, as the audience is taking their seats, a digitial countdown is projected on stage, counting down from ten minutes to zero. Cellists are free to come onstage during the countdown, move around, play, get settled in — but tuning should be done offstage, prior. MEZZO and BARITONE enter the stage shortly before zero. At zero, the first SECTION BEEP sounds, and PART ONE begins.
If the countdown is omitted, the show begins with the SECTION BEEP at PART ONE: PROLOGUE.
Mezzo-soprano
Video Centre Right
'Cello 1 (Left)
'Cello 2
'Cello 3
'Cello 4 (Right)
MEZZO and BARITONE speak the following text, reciting it as they hear it in their in-ear monitor. They address the audience directly. MEZZO and BARITONE are lightly amplified.
At zero, countdown disappears and "November 14, 2016, Strugi Krasnye" is projected for one minute, and then fades out.
Mezzo The first thing we see in the video is the sofa. A green sofa on the left side of a wood-paneled room. The camera turns almost immediately to the right. In the corner, across from the sofa, there’s a TV on a media stand. Next to that, a round table with a box on it and bottles, food wrappers. The room is carpeted. There’s a lot of light.
Baritone The camera pans back to the green sofa. A hand enters the video frame and reaches for the bottle, picks it up, shows it to us, drops it back down on the sofa.
We hear a girl’s voice, humming — the girl who’s holding the phone and live-streaming this scene. She walks out of the room, through a hallway with wooden floors to an open window.
Mezzo It’s bright outside. She shows us the view from this second floor window onto a quiet residential vi llage. Their house has a yard, covered in snow like the rest of the neighborhood. On the perimeter of the yard, just before the street, there’s a grey fence with a red door. The door is open. Then, beyond this fence, a police van is parked at an odd angle.
Baritone The girl speaks now while the image is trained on this van but we still don’t see her. She says, the tires have been blown out. Then, a boy’s voice interrupts her from inside the house.
Mezzo She yells back to him, says that she's filming, and goes back to showing us the police van. Some of the windows have been shot out. There are small holes in the metal frame.
She points the camera down the street to where she says the police have gone to hide. All we can see there is a bush.
Baritone She travels back through the hallway into t h e carpeted room. In the box on the table there are rows of shotgun ammunition in colorful jackets — pink, light blue, and purple. She makes a verbal checklist of the other objects around the room: whiskey, ramen, cigarettes, wine, guns. There are two guns here. A pistol and a shotgun.
Mezzo A shot goes off from the other side of the house, from where she just was, and the girl yells. She hurries back through the hallway to the window. The boy is there now, shooting at the empty police van with his back to us. He’s dressed in a large blue parka and a hat.
Baritone At five minutes in, they have eight viewers.
The boy gets another idea now — to shoot the neighbor’s window. He comes back with the shotgun, takes two shots at the red house across the street. They laugh.
Mezzo Now there are twenty Periscope viewers.
Baritone The girl gets the idea to shoot the TV in the corner of the room. She asks the viewers, "should we shoot the TV?" The viewers reply, "yes, do it."
Mezzo At fourteen minutes, the girl shoots the television with the pneumatic pistol. It makes a tiny hole.
Baritone Then the boy shoots the television with the shotgun. It blows a huge gap in the screen. The TV starts smoking and she tells him to throw it out the window. They both laugh. He carries the smoking TV down the hallway, throws it out the window into the snow, while she films.
Mezzo At sixteen minutes, a Periscope viewer asks them for more photos.
Baritone At eighteen minutes, another viewer calls them fucked-up school kids. The girl stops the broadcast. & SECTION BEEP [sine wave]
[...The girl stops the broadcast.]
[...The girl stops the broadcast.]
WHATSAPP 1 1
(4-bar count in**)
Whatsapp scenes: 8-bit retro computer beep. Notation is just a guide to the actual sound files; pitch deviations up to ±100 cent. apply. LEFT PAN
*The tempo of Act 1 increases gradually from 100 to 152. Metronome marks given are approximate guidance, but the accelerando in the click tracks is smooth and exponential.
**The 4-bar count in should start in the last few lines of the prologue text, so that Whatsapp 1 starts immediately after "The girl stops the broadcast." ***Solid notehead indicates a bell sound in the click track.
SECTION BEEP
(Section Beeps gradually rise in pitch to E by Fig. 31)
Playback of the pre-recorded cello track should always be extremely quiet, in the background, distant, barely audible. Routed to upstage speakers
bow changes removed in post-production
poco sul pont.
pp flautando JOURNALIST
+ = pizz., end of the fingerboard, stopped
(arco) poco sul pont., flautando
(pizz.)
poco sul pont., flautando. with higher partials sounding oo o o
(narrating the verbatim lines of the JOURNALIST)
I think it was just after Leonard Cohen had died.
And so everyone was listening to Leonard Cohen songs.
I was sitting at my desk in the office.
Myedi
tor
My editor called me And he said "You should look at this story."
/ ? arco (very slow gliss.) gliss.
/ ? arco (very slow gliss.) gliss.
/ ? arco (very slow gliss.) gliss.
I didn't want to write about it.
But I had no choice.
I went home I packed my stuff. I had to get the bus to Pskov early in the morning.
JOURNALIST
= pizz., end of the fingerboard, stopped III
flautando, with higher partials sounding
The BBC picked up the story, and the Daily Mail, and then it was all over the internet.
kov, no mf one
When I got to Pskov, none of the teachers spoke to me.
yes, mp like an automaton well, Imovedherefourteen - yearsago. -
yes, mp like an automaton well, Imovedherefourteen - yearsago.
ty.Itwasn't
cracy. - But,well,
cracy.
There'shardly
There'shardly
allwatchedithappen.
allwatchedithappen.
Itwasjustsomething
The next day they started to call,
Channel One, the talk shows.
They all invited me.
I saw our neighbours on the programme.
Ourneighbours,
They told a bunch of lies.
theytoldlies Theywanted
3 8 4 4
They only wanted money. I was offered 30,000 rubles. I refused.
4
I don't know, we just walked around.
& We were best friends.
WhenKatya
poco sul pont., flautando, no vib., higher partials sounding
pizz. end of the fingerboard, stopped
drinking and smoking cigarettes.
ging
out.
That's what we were doing for the evening.
That p was our p evening.
They didn't want to answer my questions.
But they didn't mind me following them around.
(pizz.) + > arco poco sul pont., flautando, no vib.
(no cresc.)
(steady dim.)
3 4
and
ourfeetwere wet.
Katya and Denis was the only thing they were talking about.
That's how we spent the evening.
pizz. end of the fingerboard, stopped
poco sul pont., flautando, no vib.
He says they went to the same school
he didn't know them well
they were hanging out in the mall and suddenly,
there were these people following them, Guys with
They were pestering his friends with questions.
they were talking about all of this stuff.
but he knows where to draw the line.
He says he doesn't get fucked up (optional) (not) like the younger kids.
fingerboard, stopped
poco sul pont., flautando, no vib.
ord.
The students told me that Katya had problems at home.
& right in front of Denis.
9 8 4 4 9 8 4
shehadproblems - withherparents. - They'd f
shehadproblems - withherparents. - They'd
beentoldnot
He didn't show any hint that he would do this
JOURNALIST
flautando, no vib.
(resume sentence from Friend 6A)
They drank whiskey, and they smoked, and they ate ramen.
They mf drank. Theysmoked Theyate.
MEZZO and BARITONE speak the following text, reciting it as they hear it in their in-ear monitor. They address the audience directly. MEZZO and BARITONE are lightly amplified. Setting / lighting the same as in the PROLOGUE.
Mezzo The girl is laughing when another broadcast begins. She and the boy are sitting on the green sofa.
Baritone She’s watching the phone. There are many more Periscope viewers now. The girl starts examining the pistol. Sometimes it enters the video frame, sometimes it’s just outside of it. They seem to be waiting for somebody they know to join the broadcast. At one minute in, a viewer writes, "show us your tits."
Mezzo They both laugh and she reads it again.
Baritone The boy walks out of the room and she follows him. They want to show the new viewers what they did to the police van, and for a while they’re back at the window, looking at the damage — the broken windows, the tires, the lights. They get cold and he closes the window.
Mezzo The girl sits down on the sofa and points the phone at th e empty media case where there used to be a TV. She laughs.
Baritone The boy is looks around the room for more bullets for the pistol. They say they’ve used most of what they had shooting at the van.
Mezzo She takes the pistol from him. He doesn’t know how to load it. They only have two bullets left. She loads the gun.
Onthethirdday, Katya's - mother - wenttothe
On the third day,
Katya's mother guessed where they were.
ca bin, when mf Katya - refused, - they 414
She went to the cabin to force Katya out
They fought, and Katya was cut by a knife.
?
M = end of the fingerboard, stopped otherwise ord.
pizz., end of the fingerboard, stopped
arco poco sul pont., flautando
You give live interpretation to the audience of what the NEIGHBOUR is saying.
she's saying as usual she was just clearing the path of snow,
so she ran back inside.
4 2 4 3 4 2 4
(slightly shouted, trying to keep up with her)
?
She's saying She panicked, that she was & & &
2 4 5 4 2 4 2 4 5
2 4 &
there was a gunshot, and the glass shattered, do you see?
she went into the kitchen
she was shivering
It was scary — the guy was
window and the girl was filming with her phone they
She says they did not hide.
Katya
yelledback:
TEACHER 8
ordered - them tocomeout, butinstead —
ordered - them tocomeout, butinstead —
MEZZO and BARITONE speak the following text, reciting it as they hear it in their in-ear monitor. They address the audience directly. MEZZO and BARITONE are lightly amplified. Setting / lighting the same as in the PROLOGUE.
Baritone It’s later in the day. They’re broadcasting again. They’ve stopped moving around. They're sitting on the floor in the middle of the cabin. The girl is crying. She wipes her nose with her sleeve.
Mezzo At one minute into the video, a viewer writes to ask if they have any weapons.
Baritone The boy answers, "We only have this bent spoon". They laugh. He holds up a large soup ladle; the metal handle is bent at a right angle.
Mezzo There are more viewers now, in the hundreds. The boy and girl re-tell the story of shooting the TV set earlier that morning. They laugh.
At three and half minutes, a viewer, someone they know, types "You’re both so dead."
Baritone The boy answers, says he’s already shot the girl’s mom in the hip, shot at two dogs in the street, shot the cop car, shot at the nei ghbor’s house, broken the windows to get into the cabin, shot the TV set…
Mezzo Another viewer writes: "The news reported you already."
Baritone The boy picks up the phone and takes us back to the window. He explains that they’re surrounded by special forces. He points the camera down the road, where a group of adults stands in the snow, looking at the house.
Mezzo Another viewer writes: "Is any of t his for fucking real?"
He
The parents were walking around
sotto voce, hummed
The boy's mother fainted in the snow
JOURNALIST
NEIGHBOUR 3A
dogs,
He says, why the fuck did they do this shit?
She could see the girl on one side.
2 4 4 4
He says the cops yelled to Denis and Katya
Then they stopped shooting.
CopyrightbyRicordiLondon/Forperusalonly
workedout,thatev'ry
areyoustillthinking
She says the guns
sul pont., flautando, no vib.
pizz. end of fingerboard, stopped.
pizz. (ord.)
JOURNALIST
pizz. end of fingerboard, stopped.
The police ordered them to leave the house.
Katya
NEIGHBOUR f rough, articulated
JOURNALIST
sul pont., no vib.
sung, wordless: [u] or [a] ?
p sub. mp floating
The boy's mother said to me:
4 4 3 4
(3/4 in new tempo)
sung, wordless: [u] or [a]
SECTION BEEP [train sound]
(3/4 in new tempo)
They got what they deserved.
she
you
INTERLUDE 3 116
Immediate BLACKOUT, then slow fade into video of Strugi Krasnye with ambient sound. Stillness and darkness on stage. INTERLUDE 3 is c. 4.5 minutes.
Video of Strugi Krasnye train station, with sound. See notes for more details
Sudden lighting change with SECTION BEEP. Light reverb is applied to both voices and celli.
sine wave, almost inaudible, just an atmosphere
Take plenty of time, long pauses — you're thinking about what to say.
sudden change to greyed out, slow-motion video of forest going by in Strugi Krasnye.
whate - ver - you want. There'snoobjec - tive - version.
(wait for synth to settle)
wait until just after the synth peak, c.15"
FRIEND
Take plenty of time, long pauses — you're thinking about what to say. wait for cello to settle, c.10—15"
(each the length of one triplet
hold each until next note (free time) bow freely, with vib.
hold each until next note (free time) bow freely. with vib. > on 'taken'
bass note: come off with singer on 'quietly'
(with Vc3)
hold each until next note (free time) bow freely U
wanted - tobury - themtoge - ther, - butKat
ya's - mother - refused. -
At pp first,itwashard, Denis
- wasmybestfriend.
Reverb applied to CELLO 1 so that it sounds a little like a lute or guitar.
pizz., always spread. no need to pluck too hard, keep it light and with good tone top notes always strongest, on the beat, with vibrato if desired. decoration can be added ad. lib. The line should be soloistic
Reverb applied (see notes)
Vc.1: plucked lightly throughout, always spread.
vide - o - thattheydyedtheir hair. It p looksliketheydiditfor fun.
MEZZO and Vc.1 play the following EPILOGUE with each other, independent from everyone else. See following page and APPENDIX 1
mf painful, little or no vibrato, chesty
CopyrightbyRicordiLondon/Forperusalonly
This section repeated as many times as required, one semitone lower each time. Gradually the tempo can be slowed fractionally with each repeat. With each repeat the vocal line and cello line can become more fragmented and sparse. Suggested omissions are indicated by brackets and * (written out with transposition in the APPENDIX)
(ossia)
JOURNALIST audio footage. 1'20"
"...like how they seem like they're in love, that always adds, er, a lot of interest to it. I think, er, I dunno, it's just like so Romeo and Juliet-ish."
Vc.2—4 amplified very loud, Chorus and reverb applied
TAPE with VIDEO starts here (see APPENDIX, see NOTES)
WHATSAPP VIDEO starts here (see APPENDIX, see NOTES)
Vc.2—4:
Play this bar the number of times shown: with each repeat, move down one semitone. Bow freely and continuously, keep the volume loud and fierce. Duration to STOP: 1'30". continued.
Play 30 times (general approximation of actual Vc music)
All stop suddenly, together.
Bright Light with BEEP, then BLACKOUT
Written out repeats for MEZZO and Vc.1.
Vc.1
Vc2.—4., TAPE and VIDEO (WHATSAPP 19) start suddenly somewhere around here
