New music theater for children (5+) for mezzo-soprano, clarinet in Bb/actor, viola/actor, percussion/actor and electronics
2020
Score
Version 29.09.2022
Sy. 9113/01
ISMN 979-0-2042-9113-7
Copyright © 2022 by G. Ricordi & Co. Bühnen- und Musikverlag GmbH, Berlin
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Commissioned by the Junge Oper der Deutschen Oper am Rhein
New music theater for children (5+)
for mezzo-soprano, clarinet in Bb/actor, viola/actor, percussion/actor and electronics
Based on"Der Kiosk" by Anete Melece Premiere at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein staged by Ilaria Lanzino
Music by DIANA SYRSE
Libretto by ANDREA HEUSER
Auftragswerk der Deutschen Oper am Rhein
Theatergemeinschaft Düsseldorf -Duisburg gGmbH
GERMANY - MEXICO - PARIS
©Diana Syrse
Performers
Olga: mezzo-soprano
A man with a dog: Clarinet in Bb / Bass clarinet / small percussion (from percussionist)
A woman in love: viola / small percussion (from percussionist)
A group of tourists/thieves: the three musicians
The jogger: silent role. It can be performed by one of the musicians or by an extra Electronics played by an external technician and/or sound deisgner
Percussion
- 1 Snare drum
- 1 High tom
- 1 Low tom
- Hi-Hat
- Ride
- Bass drum (with pedal) (drum-set bass drum)
- Bass drum (no pedal) (drum-set bass drum)
- Pandero
- Low and high bongo
- Low woodblock
- High woodblock
- 1 small gong
- 1 medium gong
- 3 whirly tubes
- Crotales 2 octaves
- Tibetan Bowl in A
- Medium windchimes
- 3 egg shakers
- Marimba (3 octaves)
Plus small marimba (3 octaves)
Plus Tibetan singing bowl in A
Plus crotales (2 octaves)
Plus 3 whirly tubes (1 for the percussionist, 1 for the violist and 1 for the clarinetist)
Notes: The piece was written in such a way that the musicians should be part of the staging of the opera. The three musicians can change from one character to another depending on each scene. The opera should be memorized by heart by all the performers except for the fragments that the stage director consider they could be performed using a score. In the case of the man with a dog, the clarinet should represent the dog and the man is the performer who is fighting with himself.
Voice/actors
Highest possible note
Lowest possible note
Sprechgesang
Whisper
High Medium Low
Half-voice
Half air, half pitch
Percussion
Viola
Percussive sounds
Bow on the bridge
Circular bowing
Overpressure (gradually)
Wind sound (only air)
Improvise in a given style
Put pressure against the gong making semi-circles slowly on the front part of the instrument with a short superball friction mallet (create low and high tones). Variate the velocity and pressure (Whale sound)
Viola / Percussiom / Clarinet
Sing and play your instrument at the same time
Speak either using the low, medium or high register of your voice. Each line determines the register: high, medium, low.
Commissioned by the Junge Oper der Deutschen Oper am Rhein for mezzo-soprano, clarinet in Bb/actor, viola/actor, percussion/actor and electronics
Libretto by Andrea Heuser
New music theater for children (5+)
A kiosk with closed front shutters. It stands at a city bridge at the river. A new day begins. The kiosk opens, Olga appears, rubs her eyes, lolls around. One sees that the kiosk is something like Olga's "second skin".
The kiosk opens, Olga appears in it, rubs her eyes, lolls around. You can see that the kiosk is something like Olga's "second skin"
Looking at a magazine with an image of the beach on the first page, wishing she could be there.
spoken as if asking: "do you have today´s newspaper?"
Ham se-me te Ta-Teiz?
Bass clarinet (dog) flz.
(suddenly)
Telling the dog (bass clarinet) to stay quiet
(meaning: let me see...yes, I will find the newspaper around here)
The woman in love approaches the kiosk, playing the viola. Olga reappears behind her kiosk.
Viola (a woman in love)
Like a lament. Crying because she had a fight with her
p
(asking: what happened, why are you sad?)
Explaining the misunderstanding to Olga p p Sing and play
Noise. Very angry The woman in love laments her grief with the viola with compassion
arco. Behind the bridge
(Comforting the woman, as if to say "these things happen...")
Olga hands the woman a handkerchief to dry her eyes
crying)
Olga begins to sort the goods in her kiosk lovingly, arranges them, hums along
(saying thanks to Olga)
Start crying again
Sing
Start audio track - Crying baby
The violist is suprised by the crying baby and a mother with a baby shows up Synthesizer
Surprised and scared of what you have just heard
sul pont.
A mother with a small baby (Pandero) appears, bumps the woman in love on the way to the kiosk by mistake.
The mother ith a child bumps into you and you react to that action
Pandero - Woman with a baby (the pandero is the baby) with the hands
(The pandero should be attached to the front part of the body to look like a baby)
Bells and synthesizer (guide)
Take the pandero like a baby hanging in front of you. Play the pandero as if you were comforting your baby from the back.
Improvise based on the rhythm of this measure. Follow the pulse of the electronic.
(asking to the violist: what is happening with you? why are you sad?)
Realizing
Trying to comfort the baby again.
While woman in love disappears, the mother weighs 'the child' comfortingly in her arms, wants to cheer the baby up on the way to the kiosk.
Improvise based on the rhythm of this measure. Follow the pulse of the electronic.
Go out of the stage
Olga and the mother with a baby have a conversation at Olga´s kiosk
Voice plus pandero (woman with a baby)
(talking to Olga asking if she has a lollipop for her child)
patting the baby softly
Olga stretches out a big red lollipop towards the toddler.
Short freeze to show a significant moment of the "handover lollipop".
The mother walks off with the baby (pandero) in an exhilarating way, while the music is played. Olga moves rhythmically in the kiosk, makes (everyday percusssion) objects from her kiosk sound to match the music.
Improvise freely with the pandero following the pulse of the electronic music. You can caress the pandero and by nice to it while making noise
rhythm notated on this fragment might variate on the electronics.
guide.
Improvise hitting some of the things on your kiosk with two drum sticks. Do this while dancing to the music. As a guide you can follow this rhythmic pattern and variate it.
Slowly go out of the stage. (The stage director will determine exactly when) You may dance along the way
At the end of the rhythic improvisation with the things inside the kiosk Olga eats a lollipop as well.
A jogger steps up, runs closely past Olga's kiosk, she holds a water bottle out to him, he puts her money down, runs on. The scene runs so naturally that it becomes clear that it is repeated daily: the same procedure as every day. This scene can be repeated/incorporated as often as you like. The music of this scene is only electronic music.
This movement can also serve as a pause for the musicians so they can change into the next character.
Start audio track - The Jogger
A group of tourists appears. (All three musicians). They approach the kiosk taking pictures.
Tourist 3
Marching snare drum brush sticks swishing doing circles with the brushes
(take
Sing
Tourist 3 sees Olga inside the kiosk from far away. She makes fun of Olga and the others respond laughing.
Sing with a nasal voice. (only singing)
(Saying to the other musicians: look at that woman inside the kiosk!)
Sprechgesang
Voice only
Sprechgesang Sprechgesang
hahahahahahaha!
sel
Far sel war zel
grunzumgropp
grunzumgropp
Sing with a nasal voice. (only singing)
(Saying to the other musicians: look at that woman inside the kiosk!)
and play
Sing with a nasal voice (like a snob girl). (only singing, no playing the viola) (Saying to the other musicians: look at that woman inside the kiosk!)
Sprechgesang
Sprechgesang
Like
Spoken
Voice only
Spoken Spoken
Improvise
Olga tries to communicate with the tourists.
Repeat this pattern (take is as a reference) and variate it
The three tourists keep laughing at her making jokes between them about Olga.
Voice
Hahahaha!
Hahahahaha!
Free improvisation using the blues scale (Eb, F, Gb, Ab, A, Bb, Db, Eb)
Viola (Improvise with this pattern on the repetition)
Free improvisation
Olga tries to communicate again with the tourists but they are still mean with her.
la Ballabla
Repeat this pattern (take is as a reference) and variate it
The tourists leave the stage leaving Olga alone. Light change. Now we are in an evening atmosphere.
Allein Spoken, sadly
Meaning: you will stay alone. Saying this in a serious manner, pointing at her.
Meaning: you will stay alone. Saying this in a serious manner, pointing at her.
Meaning: you will stay alone. Saying this in a serious manner, pointing at her.
SILENCE reigns for a few seconds. It is getting dark. No one comes anymore. Olga yawns, she looks tired. She takes a magazine with a seagull flying above the sea. Then the electronics start. Olga start to sing thinking about the desire of being in the sea she has always dreamed of. She puts all her longing, her strength, her whole heart into this one word "sea". Her heart is now full of sadness, longing and hope.
Electronics q = 60
Free tempo
Olga is dreaming with the sea and imagining how her life would be there. There is a beautiful but also painful sensation in her singing. Dreaming with the impossible.
Sing freely. You don´t have to be strictly coordinated with the electronics. The electronics are written as a reference.
Every measure is 4 seconds long
sssstststtsssssssstststtsssssssstststtsssssss
Olga yawns while looking at her window. She looks tired.
After looking at the sky on the window dreaming about going to the sea Olga gets ready to sleep.
The mood becomes more diffuse, a kind of dream/nightmare-like scenery is indicated. (Theme: subconsciousness, magic reality, nightmare)
Olga whisper in her sleep calmly while exhaling 4'01''
The voices become more diffuse
Whirly tube 1
While Olga is sleeping two masked thieves (clarinet and viola) come into the stage. They come with whirly tubes in their hands playing them as if they were up to something.
Start playing before the electronics of scene VII comes into an end
tube
Whirly tube 2
Chimes
The thieves walk around the stage while playing the whirly tubes and get closer and closer to the kiosk avoiding people to see them.
In this part the stage director can make a choreography with the performers, so that they can play the whirly tubes at different times depending on the movement.
One of the thieves stay behind (close to the percussion), the other two move close to the kiosk. The two masked thieves put their ears close to the kiosk and feel their way with their hands so they can steal chips and snacks.
The duration depends on the action
You can still play the whirly tube between your movements
Action determined by the stage director
You can still play the whirly tube between your movements
Action determined by the stage director
Bass drum
Put pressure against the bass drum making semi-circles slowly on the front part of the instrument with a short superball friction mallet (create low and high tones). Variate the velocity and pressure (Whale sound)
The two thieves inspect the kiosk. Every time they touch something inside the kiosk the percussionist plays the crotales.
change to crotales
Play the notes following the movement of the other two musicians. Play every note every time they touch something inside the kiosk. You can repeat the sequence or variate it until the next cue.
Crotales
The duration depends on the action soft rubber mallet
CUE: The two thieves have now stolen chips and snacks from the kiosk. The bag of chips crackles while sneaking away secretly.
The duration depends on the action. The cue to the next part is the voice of Olga.
change to bass drum
Olga opens her eyes. She notices the stealing. She is shocked and scared.
Go to the position where you can play your instrument. Leave the whirly tube and take your instrument.
Go to the position where you can play your instrument. Leave the whirly tube and take your instrument.
Olga waves her arms, trying to make the thieves to stay, who move further away.
Then she notices that she can suddenly move
You
You
Olga makes some insecure steps towards the thieves... The thieves run away, but Olga loses her balance.
Olga falls into the river and starts her journey to the sea
Tibetan singing bowl in A Hit the tibetan singing bowl with a wooden mallet
crotales
(track: 42''apx)
Sing these notes in random order. Choose the rhythm you like.
Calmed and amazed by the sounds you are hearing.
You don´t have to be coordinated with the electronics. The cue to enter is after the bells sound.
Crotales contrabass
Olga finally arrives at the sea. You can see the kiosk and Olga inside it but now the kiosk is on the beach facing the sea and has a different advertisement. The ad is for an ice cream store. Olga looks happy, fulfilled and looks at the sun from afar. We see Olga putting on some sunglasses and preparing the kiosk for new customers. She looks radiant and happy.
Olga straightens up with her kiosk. Yawns and rubs her eyes.
Mezzo-Soprano
Electronics
Start audio track - In the beach
Sound of the sea, seagulls interweaving with "vacation music."
waves sound of people in the beach
The
Olga gives the ice cream to the man. The man with the dog bends down and gives Olga a kiss on the cheek, Olga smiles. Instead of leaving, he settles down at the foot of the kiosk to lick the ice cream there.
The mother with a baby appears. Start audio track - The return of a woman with a baby
The woman with a baby approaches the kiosk. She seems happy and is looking around. The baby is giggling and laughing.
Take the pandero like a baby hanging in front of you. Play the pandero as if you were comforting your baby from the back.
improvise with the pandero following the beat for ten measures 10 measures
(as if asking: do you want an ice cream?)
The mother points to the ice cream menu. Olga takes the ice cream and gives it to her.
Voice (woman with a baby)
(meaning: yes, sure!)
y y ŒŒ y y
Bashi?Bah!Da!
p Bass clarinet (dog) play following the beat of the electronics
Bells stop Synthesizer
The woman in love enters, plays something romantic on the violin. The others stop playing/singing. They listen to the woman.
Viola (a woman in love)
(meaning: I am depressed, he broke my heart and I can´t be happy)
Olga takes a cocktail and gives it to the woman in love. Both woman toast together. Alternative: Olga puts on music on a small radio she tooks out from the kiosk and starts to dance to cheer up the woman in love. Everyone dance on the beach at the rhythm of the music.
Percussion
Take
Bells
Mezzosoprano + viola (duett)
Mezzosoprano + viola (duett)
Accompaniement with