Download Fantastic Mr. Fox

 Tobias Picker Fantastic Mr. Fox an opera in three acts libretto (Eng) by Donald Sturrock based on the book by Roald Dahl World Premiere: December 9, 1998; Los Angeles Opera; Peter Ash, conductor Principal Roles: Fantastic Mr. Fox · baritone Mrs. Fox · mezzo Bennie, Lennie, Jennie, & Pennie Foxcub · children Farmer Boggis · bass | Farmer Bunce · tenor Farmer Bean · bass baritone | Mavis the Tractor · soprano Agnes the Digger · mezzo | Miss Hedgehog · soprano Badger the Miner · baritone | Burrowing Mole · tenor Rita the Rat · mezzo | Porcupine · tenor Chorus of Trees · Children | Various Geese and Chickens Original Instrumentation: 2(1.afl,2.pic).2(2.ca).2(2.bcl).2(2.cbsn)-­‐4.2.2.1-­‐timp.2perc(glsp, xyl, vib, mar, crash cym, cym (pair), h.h, 2gongs, s.d, low dr, 6toms, b.d, 2tempbl)-­‐hp.pno-­‐str(10.9.6.8.4) 80’ Reduced Orchestration Version: arranged by Sam Bill (2010) 1.(picc.afl)1(bcl)1.1(cbsn)-­‐21.0.1-­‐perc-­‐pno.hp-­‐vn.va.vc.cb 80’ Chamber Version: arranged by Francesco Francesco Cilluffo (2010) 0.0.1(bcl).1-­‐0.0.0.0-­‐perc-­‐pno-­‐vn.va.vc 80’ Chamber Version, Reduced Length: 60’ SYNOPSIS A modern fable, Fantastic Mr. Fox is a story about good vs. evil, animal vs. human, and nature vs. technology. With the help of the other creatures of the forest, Mr. Fox must outwit his enemies to keep his family safe. Mr. Fox finds that he may have stolen one hen too many from the henhouse, as the meanest farmers anywhere — Boggis, Bunce, and Bean (one fat, one short, one lean) — conspire to rid their lands of the Fox family once and for all. The Foxes are able to evade capture with the help of some woodland friends, leaving the farmers laying in wait while the animals help themselves to the fruit of the farmers’ lands. Having had their revenge, the animals return for a sumptuous feast far from danger in the Foxes‘ new home, while the farmers continue to wait in the rain. Schott Music Corporation / European American Music Distributors Company 254 W. 31st St, 15th fl New York, NY 10001 (212)-­‐461-­‐6940 (ph) (212)-­‐871-­‐0237 (fax) www.schott-­‐music.com | www.eamdc.com
Praise for Fantastic Mr. Fox: "Creating operas for children must present composers and librettists with a terrible temptation toward saccharine prettiness and preachy messages about self-­‐esteem, but Tobias Picker and Donald Sturrock, the authors of Fantastic Mr. Fox, did not succumb. Instead, they stayed true to their subject matter -­‐-­‐ a novel by Roald Dahl. Children love Dahl...for his macabre sense of humor... "Mr. Picker demonstrated a profound grasp of dramatic musical storytelling in Emmeline, his first opera...[With Fantastic Mr. Fox, he and Mr. Sturrock] captured Dahl's spirit in a musical language that challenged, entertained and never pandered, skillfully balancing dark and light... Two entirely new creatures gave Mr. Picker the chance for some particularly inspired writing: Miss Hedgehog...and Agnes the Digger... "...with Mr. Picker's lyric gift and dramatic sense, the opera was a captivating and witty entertainment. Oboe themes representing the natural world contrasted with the percussive characterization of the people and the machines. Mr. Picker also made colorful orchestral use of mallet instruments and a piano. The fox family and the quintet of bad guys had catchy ensembles, there were two haunting chorales for a children's chorus of trees, and the fox pair celebrated their victory at the end with, of course, a fox trot... "...my five-­‐year-­‐old nephew announced that he wants to be Bean next Halloween...[Miss Hedgehog's aria] was my nine-­‐year-­‐old daughter's favorite part. My six-­‐year-­‐old daughter particularly adored the malevolent Agnes, and is still singing the foxcubs' chant, 'Boggis, Bunce and Bean. One fat, one short, one lean.' They'd all see it again, and so would I." – Heidi Waleson, The Wall Street Journal "[Picker's score is] is a strong, flexible piece of sustained writing that skillfully juxtaposes the animal kingdom's buoyant innocence with the more mordant colours of the human realm -­‐-­‐ music that consistently boasts grateful, characterful vocal writing." – Timothy Pfaff, The Financial Times (London) "There is much to rejoice about when a new American opera takes the stage, and L.A. Opera's world premiere of Fantastic Mr. Fox gives us plenty to be happy about... Children -­‐-­‐ and there were scores if not hundreds present on opening night -­‐-­‐ sat absolutely entranced; they loved it... Fantastic Mr. Fox is well worth a visit to the Dorothy Chandler [Pavilion]..." – Carolyn Wightman, San Marino Tribune Schott Music Corporation / European American Music Distributors Company 254 W. 31st St, 15th fl New York, NY 10001 (212)-­‐461-­‐6940 (ph) (212)-­‐871-­‐0237 (fax) www.schott-­‐music.com | www.eamdc.com
"The great skill of Picker's compositional art can be seen very clearly in this opera. On the one hand the counterpoint of his ideas presents an intellectual challenge...but it is often subliminally combined with bold and catchy orchestral effects... Fantastic Mr. Fox was more than just a succes d'estime. Already it seems other opera houses seem eager to present it." – Helmut Mauro, Suddeutsche Zeitung (Munich) "Picker surprises us with a funny, imaginative, varied and often intricately-­‐woven score... In a masterful theatrical touch, the first act ends as a shot rings out, the second with Agnes the Digger and Mavis the Tractor caught dramatically at the moment they are about to wreak their destruction [on the Fox's den]. It's both exciting and technically flawless on the part of the librettist Donald Sturrock... While Mr. Fox walks upon the opera stage, who would want to return to the familiar world of Hansel and Gretel? I would recommend Fantastic Mr. Fox to children of any age." – Jordan Mejias , Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (Frankfurt am Main) "Fantastic Mr. Fox, Roald Dahl's amusing animal fable, transformed into the colorful and harmonic opera of the same name... Boldly interpreted by composer Tobias Picker...the opera tells the story of three disagreeable farmers and their plot to eliminate cunning Mr. Fox... "In composing the music for these strange characters, Picker responded with wit, humor, beauty and vitality… For opera enthusiasts who wait for the love duet, Picker offers a beautiful exchange between Mr. and Mrs. Fox...and Miss Hedgehog's melancholic aria is lovely. "Children will love this opera because it's a good story, colorful and deliciously defiant. The human beings are outwitted time and time [again] by the animals. Adults will love this, too, because we still carry that child inside us." – Libby Motika , Palisadian-­‐Post (Pacific Palisades, CA) "With five opera commissions in a decade, Picker holds a select, if not unique, position among contemporary opera composers. The odds are high he will become a significant figure in the operatic world. "Picker responded to the story's bite with some sharp characterizations. He deftly portrayed the three farmers, 'Boggis, Bunce and Bean; one fat, one short, one lean...all equally mean!'...Boggis...got deep, blunt lines...Bunce...had fussy little phrases...and the lean, scheming Bean...sang in slithering phrases… Picker also explored the tale's tender aspects with lyrical writing for Mrs. Fox… Life's darker side, in the bittersweet song about loss and aging of Miss Hedgehog… offered one of the opera's most touching moments. And Mr. Fox… had heroic yet slightly bent melodies, reflecting both his goodness and his vanity." – Joanne Sheery Hoover, Albuquerque Journal Schott Music Corporation / European American Music Distributors Company 254 W. 31st St, 15th fl New York, NY 10001 (212)-­‐461-­‐6940 (ph) (212)-­‐871-­‐0237 (fax) www.schott-­‐music.com | www.eamdc.com
Program Note: Fantastic Mr. Fox is a tuneful, singable opera. The music is sometimes funny. Sometimes sad. Some-­‐ times scary. The orchestra and the singers tell a story that has more than one meaning at any given time.” So says composer Tobias Picker of his opera based on a story by Roald Dahl, and commis-­‐ sioned by the Roald Dahl Foundation for premiere by Los Angeles Music Center Opera. “There are a lot of grown-­‐up elements in this opera, even though it’s for children and adults,” con-­‐ tinues Picker. “[Dahl] had a wicked imagination.” Although many of Dahl’s children’s books have been made into movies and stage musicals, Fantastic Mr. Fox is the first to become an opera. Picker’s involvement in the project came after Peter Hemmings, General Director of Los Angeles Music Center Opera, and Donald Sturrock, Artistic Director of the Roald Dahl Foundation, attended opening night of the composer’s Emmeline at Santa Fe Opera in 1996. The composer happily ac-­‐ cepted the invitation, and the work had its world premiere at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in December of 1998, with Peter Ash conducting and Canadian baritone Gerald Finley as Mr. Fox. TOBIAS PICKER Tobias Picker, called “our finest composer for the lyric stage” by The Wall Street Journal, has drawn acclaimed performances by the world’s foremost musicians, orchestras and opera houses. His operas have been commissioned and performed by the Santa Fe, Los Angeles, Dallas, San Francisco, Montreal, and Metropolitan Opera companies among others. Mr. Picker has received numerous awards and prizes, including a Charles Ives Scholarship as well as a Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship, and was elected in 2012 to the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He has served as composer-­‐in-­‐residence of the Houston Symphony, the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival and the Pacific Music Festival. Picker’s symphonic music has been commissioned and performed by the world’s leading orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, The Philadelphia Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony, The Cleveland Orchestra, and the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Schott Music Corporation / European American Music Distributors Company 254 W. 31st St, 15th fl New York, NY 10001 (212)-­‐461-­‐6940 (ph) (212)-­‐871-­‐0237 (fax) www.schott-­‐music.com | www.eamdc.com