MISS FORTUNE Cast: Lord Fortune (bass-baritone) Lady Fortune (mezzo-soprano) Tina, their daughter (soprano) Fate (counter-tenor) Hassan, a kebab seller (tenor) Donna, proprietor of a laundry (mezzo-soprano) Simon, a wealthy young man (high baritone) Chorus of sweatshop workers and party guests (S.A.T.B.)
Scene 1:
Dark Looming Shadows (Tina, Lord Fortune, Lady Fortune, Chorus (S.A.T.B.), Fate)
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While Tina checks her horoscope, her parents Lord and Lady Fortune prepare to host a fabulous party – which has barely begun when they learn that their vast wealth has suddenly vanished in a financial catastrophe. They make rapid arrangements to escape to a foreign hideaway; but Tina declares that she is going to live in the real world from now on, and get an honest job. Fate hovers in the background. Scene 2:
Nocturnal (Tina, Chorus (T.B.), Fate)
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At night. Leaving the family home forever, Tina finds herself in a sinister street where a murder has recently happened. Hiding her fear, she takes an optimistic view, and makes for a brightly-lit building which appears full of activity. Scene 3:
Stitched (Chorus (S.A.T.B.), Tina, Fate)
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The building Tina enters is a garment sweatshop, full of tired workers. They offer Tina a job sweeping the floor, which she enthusiastically accepts, believing it will be her entrée to the fashion trade. The workers finish their shift, leaving Tina to guard the premises. A mysterious gang of intruders enters (Fate concealed amongst them) and the workshop is destroyed. Alarmed and helpless, Tina escapes. Scene 4:
Aubade (Hassan, Tina, Fate)
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On a patch of wasteland, Hassan is tending his kebab van while singing a poetic Aubade. Tina rushes in, distressed; Hassan calms her, and they watch the dawn together. Hassan goes away to restock his van, and Tina is left in charge. The van starts to shake, and a gang of attackers break it to bits; Tina rushes away to escape the violence. Fate’s voice is heard again. Scene 5:
The Mysteries (Donna, Hassan, Chorus (S.A.), Tina, Fate, Simon)
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Donna, working in her laundry, is pondering the mysteries of the universe when Hassan bursts in, distraught at the destruction of his livelihood; meanwhile the sweatshop women are packing up and leaving town, following the meltdown of their workplace. Tina appears, stunned and lost; Donna offers her work in the laundry. Tina unenthusiastically accepts, and is put to work ironing a lifetime’s worth of shirts; Fate sarcastically urges her on. She is interrupted by the fleeting weekly visit of Simon, a wealthy young man, who has come to collect his own shirts. Convinced that every new person portends disaster, Tina turns pale, and tells Donna about her troubles. Donna suspects the involvement of Fate, whom she advises Tina to confront, telling her that she will find him near a wasteland at the edge of town. Somewhat incredulously, Tina makes her way there.