LITTLE NEMO IN SLUMBERLAND (2012)
A magic opera in two acts
Duration: 65 minutes
Music Text
J.D. McClatchy (E)
Scoring
solo voices: 6 treble, S, T, B; treble chorus; fl(=picc).ob(=CA).cl(=Eb/bcl).bn-hn-perc(1)-harp-pft(=cel)-strings (1.1.1.1.1 minimum in players, the more the better)
Publisher:
Peermusic Classical
(Burning Sled Music)
Territory
This work is available from Peermusic Classical for the world.
World Premiere
November 2012, Sarasota Opera House, Sarasota, FL
Martha Collins, director
Conductor: Steven Osgood
Company: Sarasota Youth Opera
Roles
All of the treble roles should be cast with children without regard to gender.
Guardian of the Dawn / Mother's Voice (S)
Dr. Pill (T)
Morpheus / Father's Voice (B)
Princess (Tr)
Flip (Tr)
Nemo (Tr)
Giant #1 / Lawyer #1 / Palace Guard #1 (Tr)
Giant #2 / Lawyer #2 / Palace Guard #2 (Tr)
Giant #3 / Lawyer #3 / Palace Guard #3 (Tr)
treble chorus (divides into three parts)
Supers (mute dancers, gymnasts, layabouts, sundry ne'er-do-wells)
Time and Place
Slumberland
Synopsis
The opera recounts the adventures of a boy named Nemo over the course of two nights. Family visitors and the neighbor’s little girl are transformed in his dreams into fantastic characters, all of them involved in Nemo’s quest to save Slumberland from Emperor Sol, who wants it to be bright, all night and all day. Nemo encounters a crystal enchantress, menacing giants, the impish Flip, the dottering Dr. Pill, along with King Morpheus and his lovely daughter. Nemo’s adventures along the way include a floating bed and a balloon ride, dizzying changes of scale and a palace that turns upside down. As they all realize at the opera’s end: “We need a world where things are different. / We need a world we can’t control, / where nothing is what it seems. / We need a world of dreams.”
Production Stills
Here
Selected Notable Performances
UK Opera Theater; Pittsburgh Creative and Performing Arts School; Tulsa Youth Opera; Sierra College Opera; Pittsburgh High School for the Performing Arts
Selected Press
“Hagen has managed to create a fresh 21st-century sound that’s accessible, yet musically intelligent and gives the young performers a chance to learn how to successfully bridge the gaps in their vocal registers, deal with syncopated rhythms and accurately make their way through intricate tonal passages that would inspire even Verdi and Puccini.”
— June LeBell, yourobserver.com
“Little Nemo in Slumberland has staying power. The score is open and optimistic, easily accessible and heart-on-the-sleeve sentimental. It has a timeless appeal that will ensure it has many more opportunities to delight audiences.” — Gayle Williams, Herald-Tribune
“All good tunes sound like other good tunes, the way that happy marriages are all alike; and Daron’s Nemo overflows with good tunes.” — Ned Rorem