Josefine Opsahl EKKO

EDITION WILHELM HANSEN WH33793

Josefine Opsahl

EKKO

Opera in 3 Acts (2025)

Libretto: Alvina Chamberland

Act 1 - Act 2 (Ouverture)

Volume 1/3

Score

Josefine Opsahl EKKO

Opera in 3 Acts

(2025)

Libretto:

Alvina Chamberland, additional text: Josefine Opsahl

Commissioned by OperArkitekterne & Teater Momentum

After an idea by OperArkitekterne

First Performance at Copenhagen Opera Festival, August 2025

Supported by Statens Kunstfond

Duration: c. 2 hours

Full Score

Music engraving in Sibelius

Publisher´s editor Katrine Gregersen Dal & Rasmus Koppelhus

Edition Wilhelm Hansen, A/S Bornholmsgade 1A 1266 København K Denmark

www.wisemusicclassical.com

EKKO Opera in 3 Acts

Synopsis

EKKO Opera investigates the nature of love - the possibilities and limitations for it to unfold its multifaceted and diverse embodiments in societies and beyond. The opera evolves around the story of Echo and Narcissus from Ovid’s Metamorphoses and elaborates on its themes and story to shed new light on gender, love, bodies, voices, inclusion and diversity.

In EKKO the nymph Echo is a straight trans woman and the beautiful young Narcissus is a straight cis man. Due to their “different” relationship their love can never be in the existing society and they are both cursed by the goddess Hera. Echo - the trans woman - is condemned to forever only be an echo - only able to vaguely repeat the lives and statements of others and Narcissus - the straight cis man - is condemned to never be able to love others as much as the reflection of himself. Their curses make the two characters slowly whither and perish from the society they tried to be a part of. As they perish they are absolved in natural materials - Echo becomes a cave forever only echoing and Narcissus becomes one with the water projecting his reflection.

Transcending their initial form both characters enter another dimension where societal norms, roles and rules no longer apply and they are able to live and love freely.

ACT 1

Echo and Narcissus’ relationship, society’s response and the curse.

Echo and Narcissus’ love is presented - pure and unconditional at the core of it.

Narcissus doubts whether their love can ever be because Echo is a trans woman and their relationship is “different” - society echos his doubt and makes it grow to monstrous proportions. Hera appears as a culmination and embodiment of the societal norms and curses Echo and Narcissus.

ACT 2:

Impact of the curses.

Echo and Narcissus slowly wither because of the curses. Echo looses her voice and Narcissus looses his love for anyone but his own self-image Due to the curses they both die or perish from the society they tried to be a part of and instead transform into natural materials (Cave and Water).

ACT 3:

Acknowledgement of a new, transcended reality.

Having transformed and transcended their initial form, Echo and Narcissus now find themselves in a completely different dimension. Freed from their initial/human body and transcended into natural matter, they embody a more natural state of being where they can finally exist and therefore love in balance with their true nature.

Flashbacks to before the curse provides a better understanding of their relationship/reality in society prior to being cursed and deepens the experience of the new reality, its possibilities and freedom.

Background and concept

EKKO is based on an idea and concept by OperArkitekterne. OperArkitekterne - by Composer Josefine Opsahl and Conductor Rose Munk Heiberg - works for a contemporary and diverse opera genre with room for multiple genders, voices, bodies and narratives both on and around the opera's stages. With a loving nod to a strong opera tradition, the company wants to move the opera genre forward and create brand new contemporary operas based on the beauty that opera already contains yet freed from the stereotypes and outdated hierarchies of the past.

Performance notes

One of the cornerstones for EKKO is questioning and renewing the type of voices in opera as well as bending the hierarchies between voices and gender on the opera stages as well as in the score Therefore, the vocal parts are not marked with regular voice types. In stead the parts are named Voice 1-7 and organized with the highest voice being Voice 1 and the deepest Voice 7. The vocal parts display a wider use of the voices than the traditional opera voice categories would allow. The diverse aspects of the voices featured in the score allow the singers of EKKO to express diverse emotions in a vast range of dynamics, charged with deep personal vocal traits existing prior to the operatic domestication of the voice. This also lets the vocals of EKKO embody and float between genders and characters fluidly.

Roles

Echo and Narcissus are sung by one voice for each part in ACT 1 whereas in ACT 2 & 3 the voices morph to become a sum of one - to - three voices (in the list of roles referred to as ‘echo of Echo’ or ‘reflection of Narcissus’) - singing in unison, in harmonies or echoing/reflecting the main character’s statements. As the curses slowly break down Echo and Narcissus, their voices and agency increasingly gets taken from them and the echoing/reflecting voices take over. The splitting of voices also serves to broaden the notion of diversity in expression and avoid the traditional hierarchies between voices in the opera genre.

Voice 1 Hera & echo of Echo

Voice 2 Echo

Voice 3 reflection of Narcissus

Voice 4 Water Being & echo of Echo

Voice 5 Water

Voice 6 Narcissus

Voice 7 reflection of Narcissus

All voices (Voice 1-7) as Choir

When a voice doesn’t embody a specific character, it is a part of the choir. The choir embody a diverse range of characters, entities and expressions: societal norms, outside reflections, Hera’s multiplied voice, water beings and nature.

Change of roles - Square Boxes: Square boxes above the staves indicate which role the voice undertakes and transforms into during the opera.

Instrumentation

Clarinet in Bb Horn in F

Violin

Viola

2 Violoncello Double Bass

2 Percussion: Crotales, Marimba, Vibraphone, 4 Tom-toms, 4 Wood Blocks, Tam-tam, Gran Cassa, Bass Drum w. foot pedal

Score is notated in C

Tenderwhisper:

Tenderwhisper:tolove,tolove,tolove,tolove

Piumosso(q=132) Tenderandsensitive 'Bodiesandvoicesmuﬄingandmeltingtogether'

Voices1-7,Throughtherestofthescene: Bodiesandvoicesslowlymuﬄingandmeltingtogether -useownandotherbodiestomuﬄe,alterandstopsound withdeepcompassionandsensitivity

whisper:'IdonotmindIdomindIdomind' centeredaroundnote:B

whisper:IdonotmindIdomindIdomind centeredaroundnote:B

whisper:'IdonotmindIdomindIdomind' centeredaroundnote:B

whisper:IdonotmindIdomindIdomind centeredaroundnote:B

whisper:'IdonotmindIdomindIdomind' centeredaroundnote:B

scream:

Narcissus'Curse

TheimpactoftheCurse

TABLEAU7

Choir asreﬂectionsinawatersurface callingNarcissus

ALLVOICES1-7:

Onebreath

Spendallair(emptylungs) sothelastnotesounds'outofbreath' Fightagainstthelossofbreathbyincreasing dynamicswhenalmostoutofair

You

breatheadlib independentlyfromtheotherparts

independentlyfromtheotherparts

RepeatthewordMeablibsingingonthewriennote infreerythmicpoaerns independentoftheotherparts

Repeattheword'Me'ablibsingingonthewriennote infreerythmicpoaerns independentoftheotherparts

RepeatthewordMeablibsingingonthewriennote infreerythmicpoaerns independentoftheotherparts

Raisevolumeand thefrequencyoftherepeats withthedynamics

RepeatthewordMeablibsingingonthewriennote infreerythmicpoaerns independentoftheotherparts

Raisevolumeand thefrequencyoftherepeats withthedynamics

Repeattheword'Me'ablibspeaking infreerythmicpoaerns independentoftheotherparts

RepeatthewordMeablibspeaking infreerythmicpoaerns independentoftheotherparts

Repeattheword'Me'ablibspeaking infreerythmicpoaerns independentoftheotherparts

Raisevolumeand thefrequencyoftherepeats withthedynamics

Graduallyturnsingingintoshouting freepitch

Vc1

Vla

Vc1

TABLEAU11

moretone-butstillwhisperquality

TABLEAU12

Muﬄedsound-singingintootherbodies /orownmouthcoveredwithownor othershand

bubblinglaughter(discreet)

Muﬄedsound-singingintootherbodies /orownmouthcoveredwithownor othershand bubblinglaughter(discreet)

Muﬄedsound-singingintootherbodies /orownmouthcoveredwithownor othershand

bubblinglaughter(discreet)

Muﬄedsound-singingintootherbodies /orownmouthcoveredwithownor othershand bubblinglaughter(discreet)

Muﬄedsound-singingintootherbodies /orownmouthcoveredwithownor othershand bubblinglaughter(discreet) --

bubblinglaughter(more)

Breatheadlib independentlyfromtheotherparts

GlissandoonnaturalharmonicsonDstring adlib Flautendo

GlissandoonnaturalharmonicsonDstring adlib

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