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i The Ghost Sonata

The Ghost Sonata A new opera by John

Paul Jones libretto by Helen Cooper based on the original play by August Strindberg

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The Ghost Sonata is a play in three acts by Swedish playwright August Strindberg. Written in 1907, it was first produced at Strindberg’s intimate theatre in Stockholm on 21 January 1908. Since then, it has been staged by such notable directors as Max Reinhardt, Olof Molander, Roger Blin, and Ingmar Bergman (who directed it in 1941, 1954, 1973, and 2000).

Stringberg’s work is a key text in the development of modernist drama and a vivid example of a ‘chamber play’. Strindberg creates a world in which ghosts walk in bright daylight, a beautiful woman is transformed into a mummy and lives in the closet, and the household cook sucks all the nourishment out of the food before she serves it to her masters.

Starting the morning after a terrible disaster in Stockholm, the play relates the story of a young student, who finds himself drawn into the lives of the inhabitants of a stylish mansion in Stockholm. He makes the acquaintance of the mysterious Jacob Hummel who invites him into the house, only to find that it is a nest of betrayal and sickness. To Strindberg, family was something that he could never understand or even be a functioning part of: “Family... the home of all social evil, a charitable institution for comfortable women, an anchorage for house-fathers, and a hell for children” (Inferno, Strindberg).

Deception, horror, financial ruin, control, love and loss are all essential ingredients in one of Strindberg’s most striking works.

The Ghost Sonata

Introduction

August Strindberg by Richard Bergh (1905)

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John Paul Jones When first asked if I was interested in writing an opera, I did not feel that I knew enough about the medium to do justice to the project. I then recalled my childhood days touring with my parents with Variety companies, feeling the wonder and magic of music and theatre combined. These memories, along with the passion for opera which I have nurtured over the years, gave me the inspiration to embark upon this adventure.

Choosing the right subject was of the utmost importance for me, and after much research I came upon August Strindberg’s The Ghost Sonata. I realised that this was a piece of just the sort of darkness and complexity that I was looking for.

Although written at the turn of the 20th century, it seems to me a very modern play, concerning itself with power, greed and deceit as well as frailty, cruelty and loves lost and sought. The depth of the characters and the emotional undercurrents give great scope for music, and I intend to use the full range of the symphony orchestra to convey both the atmosphere, suspense and passion of the piece employing mainly lyrical and tonal, yet progressive materials. I am also very happy to be writing for voices again - the heart and soul of the opera.

It is also very exciting to be working with my librettist Helen Cooper, and know without doubt that between us we are making a very mysterious and dramatic piece.

A short film of John discussing the opera alongside some rehearsal extracts is at www.vimeo.com/71103818 | password: musicsales01

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Artistic Statements

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Helen Cooper I was thrilled when John asked me to write the libretto for The Ghost Sonata.

Strindberg has fascinated me ever since I translated his play Miss Julie for Tom Cairns’ stage production and the screenplay Miss Julie for Mike Figgis’ film.

Strindberg wrote The Ghost Sonata not long before he died in a kind of frenzy.

His hands were literally bleeding as he wrote it. It is a deeply autobiographical piece. Director Hummel looks back on his life. The haunted house Strindberg creates here is peopled with the ghosts from his past. Amongst them are: the love of his life, who has morphed into a white-haired woman with no memory left; the beautiful woman with whom he fathered his illegitimate daughter, who is transformed into a mummy, lives in a closet and believes herself to be a parrot; a dead young milkmaid, who haunts Hummel throughout the play; the dead consul, who walks out of the house to count the number of wreaths donated to him and to check how many mourners are attending his funeral; the household cook, who sucks all the nourishment out of the food before serving it up; and the daughter, Hummel’s hope for the future, who is pining away amongst a sea of hyacinths.

Wagner’s Die Walküre is mentioned several times in the piece. As I have worked the last three years on Antony McDonald’s production of The Ring Cycle, it has been a revelation to me to discover how much Strindberg was inspired

by Wagner’s epic, while writing The Ghost Sonata. Like Wotan, Hummel looks for a brave young man to marry his daughter, so they can produce new, bright courageous offspring. Strindberg wrote at a time when old beliefs were crumbling and new beliefs could only just be glimpsed on the horizon. Fundamental truths were replaced by a kind of relativity of truth, depending on where you stand and what you are looking at.

Other playwrights of that time still expressed these new ideas through heroes, heroines and villains, who belonged to the serene balanced world of classical art. Strindberg, however, expresses his ideas through new people. They are lost, frightened, irrational, spiritually unsettled, elfquestioning, self-divided. They doubt. They are modern.

There is a wonderfully contemporary Murdochian feel to Director Hummel as well, which is fascinating. For example, Hummel, in his ruthless pursuit of power and profit, won’t stop at anything to acquire the information he needs to further his power. He won’t even stop at hacking into people’s minds! These men also share a romantic streak, as they both believe in a happy ending. Hummel’s hopes for the latter however are dashed. The piece ends in death and destruction. I love this piece. It is a brilliant choice for an opera!

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Forces Characters The old man (Hummel) The student (Mr. Arkenholz) The colonel The mummy (the colonel’s wife) Adele (their daughter, except not...)

Johansson (Hummel’s servant) Bengtson (valet to the consul) The cook The milk maid The caretaker’s The dead consul The dark lady The fine gentleman (Baron Skankorg) A white haired woman (Hummel’s fiancée) Small Chorus

bass baritone tenor bass mezzo soprano soprano tenor baritone contralto actor wife actor actor actor actor actor

Orchestration 2 flutes (2nd doubling piccolo) 2 oboes (2nd doubling cor anglais) 2 clarinets (2nd doubling bass clarinet) 2 bassoons (2nd doubling contra bassoon) 4 horns in F 2 trumpets in Bb 2 trombones (2nd doubling bass trombone)

tuba percussion (2 players) timpani vibraphone, bass drum, snare drum, tam tam, triangle, cymbals glockenspiel harp strings

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John Paul Jones

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A prolific session musician in the 1960s, John Paul Jones played, arranged and recorded with artists including Dusty Springfield, Tom Jones, The Rolling Stones, Rod Stewart and Cat Stevens. He was a founder member of Led Zeppelin and following his unparalleled career with them, he worked as a performer, arranger and producer for artists and groups including Diamanda Galas, REM, Brian Eno, Peter Gabriel and La Fura dels Baus. He released his debut solo album, Zooma, in 1999 followed by The Thunderthief (2001). Since 2004, his sonic explorations have also led him to perform as part of John Cage’s Musicircus at the Barbican under the direction of Stephen Montague, touring with bluegrass trio Nickel Creek, and working as co-composer and performer for Merce Cunningham’s Nearly Ninety.

In 2009 he co-founded the band Them Crooked Vultures, with Dave Grohl and Joshua Homme, releasing a universally acclaimed album and touring the world to sold-out venues. In 2011 John toured with Seasick Steve and performed in Mark-Anthony Turnage’s opera Anna Nicole. As well as writing The Ghost Sonata, John performs with his computer noise duo Minibus Pimps, and with acclaimed Norwegian free improvisation group Supersilent.

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John Paul Jones

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Helen Cooper

Plays by Helen Cooper include Mrs. Gauguin, finalist Susan Smith Blackburn Award, (Almeida Theatre, London, Amsterdam, Hamburg and Ghent); Mrs. Vershinin, finalist Susan Smith Blackburn Award, (Riverside Studios, London, Tramway, Glasgow, Theatre der Welt, Hamburg and broadcast on BBC Radio 3) both directed by Mike Bradwell; The House of Ruby Moon, developed by the Royal National Theatre Studio and premiered at the London New Play Festival; Three Women and a Piano Tuner, finalist Susan Smith Blackburn Award, commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company; and Mothers at the Gate, commissioned by the Hampstead Theatre.

Her translations include Miss Julie for Greenwich Theatre, Hedda Gabler for Chichester Festival Theatre and Don Giovanni for Scottish Opera. She was the dramaturg for Tom Cairns’ production of La Boheme at Stuttgart Opera House and collaborated on the dance piece This is the Picture for the Aletta Collins Dance Company.

Her screenplay Miss Julie, directed by Mike Figgis, was also highly acclaimed. In 2009 she was the dramaturg of Antony MacDonald’s production of Wagner’s Ring for Nationale Reisopera in The Netherlands. She is a regular tutor at Webster University in Leiden, The Netherlands.

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CD Extracts Student Hummel

Allan Clayton Benedict Nelson

Adele Mummy

Claire Hampton Louise Ratcliffe

Orchestra of Welsh National Opera | Stuart Stratford, conductor Track 1 Act One, Scene One Student, Hummel, Chorus (S.A.T.) The opening of the Opera.

In front of a large house, Director Jacob Hummel sits in his wheelchair, reading his newspaper, when he sees a dishevelled young man rushing in, begging for a drink as he is parched. Hummel is baffled, as he can’t see whom the young man is talking to. Later it transpires that the young man, a student, is talking to the ghost of the young milkmaid Hummel murdered.

Track 2 Act Two, Final Scene Mummy, Hummel, Chorus (S.A.T.B.) After having exposed Hummel as a fraud and a murder, The Mummy, Amalia who was Hummel’s lover 20 years ago and the mother of his only child, tells Hummel to go into the cupboard, where she has paid penitence for the last 20 years, and orders him to hang himself. He does.

Track 3 Act Three, Scene One Student, Adele In Adele’s Room, filled with hyacinths, The Student tells Amalia how after having met the inhabitants in this house, he has lost his innocence and has been crushed by the truth. He realises that we “reap what we sow”. However, their love for each other could save them both…

Seeking commissioning partners. Anticipated performance: 19/20 season.

Expressions of interest and further information, please contact: Gill Graham, Group Head of Promotion, Music Sales Group Gill.Graham@musicsales.co.uk | Tel: +44 (0)20 7612 7400 | musicsalesclassical.com

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