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Synopsis
Prologue: the Walls of Troy
A Teacher explains the origins of the war to a skeptical Pupil and other Trojans.
Act I: Troy
Cassandra
reflects glumly on the marriage of her brother Paris. Her friends Brie
and Chris arrive to cheer her up. They ask her to entertain them with
her prophetic visions, which they (and the larger community) find
laughable. Much to her annoyance, the community believes the identical
prophecies when they are delivered by Cassandra’s twin brother, Helenus,
who conveniently omits the negative events that are to come.
Cassandra’s mother, Queen Hecuba, urges Cassandra to be less strident,
less impolitic, in her prophecies. Encouraged by Helenus, the community
makes a ritual procession to ask the gods for victory in war --- a
victory that Cassandra knows will never come.
Act II: Shipboard
After
the fall of Troy, Cassandra is a captive on a ship commanded by the
Greek warrior Agamemnon. She mourns for the lost Troy of her childhood, a
city that no one will ever see again. Taunted by Agamemnon, she sees
visions of Brie, Chris, and Hecuba, who have been dispersed among other
war refugees. She is inspired by their spirit of defiance. Cassandra
foresees that Agamemnon is fated to be murdered by his wife upon their
arrival in Greece. Realizing that Agamemnon will not believe her
prophecies, she begs him strategically to turn the ship around. He
responds by accelerating towards home port, unknowingly hastening his
own death.
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Title Information
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Approximate Runtime (hh:mm)
1:00
Number of Acts
2
Musical Style
Lyrical-Serial: through-composed, although fairly strictly divided into arias and ensemble numbers from duets to sextets.
Vocal & Musical Forces
6 principals (some doubling of roles): High Soprano, Lyric Soprano, Mezzo-soprano, Tenor, Baritone, Bass; no chorus. Instrumental: 9 players: oboe, bassoon, D trumpet, harpsichord, string quintet.
Original Cast
Carolyn Sinclair (Cassandra), Jane Archibald (Andromache/Electra), Jo-Anne Bentley (Hecuba/Clytemnestra), Michael Colvin (Apollo/Pyrrhus/Sailor), Andrew Tees (Agamemnon), Jon-Paul Décosse (Priam/Ajax).
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