OVERVIEW
Title: Pub Operas (The Sloans Project)
Composer: Gareth Williams
Librettist: David James Brock
Commissioned By: Tapestry Opera and NOISE Opera
Language: English
Producer: Tapestry Opera
Roles:
| Role | Voice Type | Range ? | Character Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Soprano | high | C4-G5 | Juke box singer / Future bride |
| Mezzo-soprano | middle-high | C#4-G5 | Bartender / Wife of old man |
| Tenor | middle | G#3-G#4 | Stranger in bar / Old man |
| Baritone | middle-low | D#3-F#4 | Serial killer / Future groom |
SYNOPSIS
Composer Gareth Williams and librettist David James Brock created a site-specific promenade opera inspired by Glasgow's oldest pub, Sloans. The audience moves through the 250-year-old pub and encounters a series of scenes telling stories of love, loss, revenge and forgiveness.
MUSIC DESCRIPTION
SCORES FOR PURCHASE
Arias & Excerpts:
A young couple celebrates their recent engagement in the Sloans pub, only to be interrupted by a drunk whose 24-year marriage has just ended. The drunk leaves his wedding ring, and, sensing an opportunity, the young couple takes it.
| Character | Voice Type | Range ? |
|---|---|---|
| Bride-to-be | high | C4-G5 |
| The old man | middle | D3-A4 |
| Husband-to-be | middle-low | E3-E4 |
An old drunk recounts his failed marriage.
| Character | Voice Type | Range ? |
|---|---|---|
| The old man | middle | D3-A4 |
A bar manager recounts the night she heard Frederick Chopin play piano, and the effect it had on her relationship with the bar’s resident piano player.
| Character | Voice Type | Range ? |
|---|---|---|
| The manageress | high | Cb4-G5 |
Two men break into their old haunt, bringing their recently deceased friend along for the ride. They pour three pints and pull up a country song on the jukebox. In turn, they reflect on what they’d tell him if he were still alive.
| Character | Voice Type | Range ? |
|---|---|---|
| Country Carla | high | Eb4-F5 |
| Keith | middle-low | F3-F4 |
| Peter | middle | Bb3-Eb4 |
| Their (dead) friend | silent-spoken | silent |
A father befriends the man who murdered his daughter but eluded the police, plotting revenge in the process.
| Character | Voice Type | Range ? |
|---|---|---|
| Peter | middle | B2-G#4 |
| Kenneth Cook | middle-low | D#3-Bb4 |
A man recounts his prior murders.
| Character | Voice Type | Range ? |
|---|---|---|
| Peter | middle-low | B2-G#4 |
On the wedding day of the young couple from the first scene, the now-sober old man arrives with a surprise: his wife. And they want their ring back.
| Character | Voice Type | Range ? |
|---|---|---|
| Bride | high | E4-B5 |
| Wife | middle-high | G#3-F5 |
| Old Man | middle | C#3-G#4 |
| Groom | middle-low | B2-F#4 |
PREMIERE PRODUCTION INFORMATION
Premiere Production: July 21-24, 2011 at Sloans Bar and Restaurant, Glasgow
Producers: Tapestry Opera
Cast:
| Role | Name |
|---|---|
| Bride-to-be / Country Carla | Xin Wang |
| Husband-to-be / Peter | Benjamin Covey |
| Old Man / Keith / Kenneth Cook | James McLean |
| Manageress / Wife | Heather Jewson |
| Role | Name |
|---|---|
| Director | Sue Miner |
| Lighting Designer | Kimberly Purtell |
| Music Director | James Bourne |
| Music Director | Christopher Foley |
| Stage Manager | Isolde Pleasants-Faulkner |
| LIBLAB Dramaturg | Michael Patrick Albano |
| Producer | Susan Worthington |
| LIBLAB Music Dramaturg | Wayne Strongman |
| Production Manager | Matthew Byrne |
CREATION
DEVELOPMENT
Commissioned by NOISE Opera with development support from Tapestry New Opera, The Sloans Project was recently remounted for the 2013 Edinburgh Fringe Festival at the Scottish Arts Club.
QUOTATIONS FROM MEDIA
"...pushes the boundaries of musical and staging tradition, while still bringing richly textured, beautiful music to the listener’s ear..."
- Keira Grant, Mooney on Theatre
"It was more than just intimate, we the audience were part of the action along with the singers. It was my first experience of being an extra in an opera. Yes, we were a real part of the action. It was exhilarating to say the least.”
- Alan Cooper, The Herald Scotland
"...a fantastic ghost story, bringing to life characters from a building which has seen more than its fair share of Glasgow drama through the years... The experience is electric... and full of stories which are highly charged with laughter and sadness.”
- Kelvin Holdsworth, Opera Britannia
“Brock’s libretto was full of surprising imaginative twists. It drew you in with its reflections of real life experiences, tragic, comical and ultimately happily uplifting.”
- Alan Cooper, The Herald Scotland
"...amazing and often quite magical..."
- Alan Cooper, Scottish Television (STV)
"... puts opera 'in yer face' with impressive flair..."
- Mary Brennan, Glasgow Herald
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