OPERA WALKER - WALLIN
Raymond Walker
Rolf Wallin
UK, twentieth century
Born 7 September 1957, Oslo, Norway
The Bride of Seville (1963) Opera for schools in three acts based on Rossini’s The Barber of Seville, co-written with William Beaumont.
Elysium (2015) An opera in two acts. Libretto (English) by Mark Ravenhill.
Duration: full eve Cast: 5 treble voices; SA chorus Orch: pf
Duration: 120’ Cast: 2S, Boy soprano, Mz, T, Bar Orch: 3(afl,2pic).3(ca).Ebcl+2(bcl).3(cbn)/4.3.3.1/timp.4perc/kbd.hp/ electronics/str
Count Almaviva, in the guise of Lindoro, a young student, is serenading Rosina, the ward of Dr Bartolo. The Doctor will not allow him to marry her since he wants her beauty and money for himself. Figaro suggests that Lindoro should billet himself with the Doctor in the guise of a soldier, but he is revealed. Marcellina would like to marry the Doctor and knows something shady about his past. Figaro persuades her to disclose the secret. Marcellina wins a lottery and becomes rich. She confronts the Doctor with the fact that he altered Rosina’s father’s will to make it appear that she would lose her fortune unless she married a man of whom the Doctor approved. The Doctor is forgiven and is accepted by Marcellina. A double wedding is planned.
Elysium is a fable about the inborn human fear of change. In the future, humans have evolved, enhanced by a chip transmitting tremendous amounts of information through an eerie electronic music. Such ‘transhumans’ fluently and accurately exchange complex feelings, sensations, and motivations, enhancing understanding and reducing human conflict. Only a small community of ‘natural’ humans remains, kept on an island as living commemorations of the transhumans’ origins. As a performance of Beethoven’s Fidelio breaks down, Wife, a natural human, breaks free and encounters a transhuman woman, sparking a mutual fascination. Elysium follows the journey of these two women: one nostalgic for the old humanity, its genuine emotions and natural bodies, the other desperate to become a free transhuman. Meanwhile, the islanders are offered the choice: to die on the island or to join the transhumans.
Publisher: Novello & Co Ltd. Vocal score and libretto for sale
Cinderella in Salerno Opera for schools in three acts based on Rossini’s La Cenerentola, co-written with William Beaumont.
Publisher: Chester Music Ltd.
Cast: 7 treble voices; SA chorus Orch: pf
Based on Rossini’s La Cenerentola this opera tells the famous story of Cinderella, her ugly sisters and the Prince. Publisher: Novello & Co Ltd. Vocal score and libretto for sale
Above: Rolf Wallin’s Elysium, Norwegian National Opera, Oslo, 2016 124
CAT08195 Chester Opera-Ballet Brochure 2017.indd 124
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