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OVERVIEW
Title: Rocking Horse Winner
Composer: Gareth Williams
Librettist: Anna Chatterton
Commissioned By: Tapestry Opera and Scottish Opera
Language: English
Producer: Tapestry Opera
Run Time: 75
Roles:
Role | Voice Type | Range ? | Character Description |
---|---|---|---|
Ava | high | A#3-Bb5 | Paul's mother, mid-forties, beautiful, cold |
Paul | middle | C3-B4 | Ava's son, mid-twenties, developmentally delayed, lives at home |
Bassett | middle-low | B2-E4 | Paul's helper, forties, wants to move up in the world |
Oscar | middle | C#3-A4 | Paul's uncle, late forties, business man, savvy, sly |
The House | high | SATB | A mirror of Ava's psyche |
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SYNOPSIS
Rocking Horse Winner primarily explores the relationship between Paul, a young adult, and his emotionally distant mother, Ava.
Paul is driven to bridge the relationship with his mother, but Ava sees Paul’s attempts to engage as fussy and considers motherhood an obligation. She remains distant, trapped in a materialistic reverie. Driven into poverty by “bad luck,” Ava longs for past luxuries, and her gloom pervades the house to the point where the walls whisper in Paul’s ear.
Paul assures his mother that he’s lucky and he’ll fix their bad luck himself. He runs upstairs to ride his rocking horse, which he thinks will help him. As he rides, he enters a trance, calling out a mysterious name.
Paul’s uncle Oscar hears the noise and enters the room. An exhausted Paul tells Oscar the rocking horse has a new name every week; last week, his name was Blue Peter. Oscar realizes this was the winner of last week’s horse race and off-handedly asks Paul for betting tips for today’s race. Paul answers far too firmly for it to be guesswork. Sensing the possibility but needing proof, Oscar calls in the caretaker, Bassett, and the three head to the upcoming race.
Doubt turns to awe and then to excitement as Oscar and Bassett discover Paul isn’t guessing but predicting the winning horses. The cash starts rolling in for everyone. Oscar can stop lying about his poverty, Bassett can quit his job, and Paul can finally make his mother happy but insists his part in things stay hidden.
However, it’s not enough for Ava. She spends it as fast as Paul makes it, filling their home with more and more. The house joins in, asking for increasing amounts of decoration and decadence. Paul rides his rocking horse again and again, sometimes long into the night, desperate to make her happy and to stop the house from singing in his ears.
After one last ride, Paul predicts the winner of the biggest race of the season. Oscar and Bassett bet everything, and Paul has made everyone incredibly rich. And yet, his mother remains unhappy. Desperate, drained, barely alive, he climbs one last time on the horse, and dies alone.
MUSIC DESCRIPTION
This is not to say it’s incorrect; far from it. Rather, it is intense and masterful at creating exactly what the drama calls for, which is often a sense of unease and foreboding. DH Lawrence’s story is famous; many will know the ending before setting foot in the theatre. Thus, Gareth Williams’ music purposefully haunts the ear, just as Ava’s need for more haunts her family, reflecting each character's psyche as if through an antique mirror.
There is a reminiscence of Debussy’s treatment of text, and the usage of certain motivic elements (particularly one tone cluster) serves to ground the soundscape. There are flavours of minimalism, a la Glass, Reich, and Pärt, joined to ethereal moments, complex rhythmic sections, and engaging melodies. The result is a textural feast made of both gossamer and granite.
SCORES FOR PURCHASE
Arias & Excerpts:
A waltz is cut short. Ava discloses how far she’s fallen, and how difficult she finds caring for her son.
Character | Voice Type | Range ? |
---|---|---|
Ava | high | D4-G5 |
Oscar | silent-spoken | spoken |
Bassett | silent-spoken | spoken |
Paul is curious about why he and his mother don’t have a car, and Ava explains it’s because they’re poor. Paul again asks why that’s so, and Ava states it’s because his father has no luck. Paul announces that he is lucky.
Character | Voice Type | Range ? |
---|---|---|
Ava | high | A#3-F#5 |
Paul | middle | F#3-E4 |
Oscar | middle | A#3-D#4 |
Bassett | middle-low | D#3-B3 |
Paul creeps upstairs and rides his rocking horse, asking it to take him to where luck is. He rides faster and faster and at the peak, shouts a name: Daffodil.
Character | Voice Type | Range ? |
---|---|---|
Ava | high | G4-Bb5 |
Paul | middle | C3-Gb4 |
Oscar | middle | G3-Bb4 |
Bassett | middle-low | G2-Bb3 |
Uncle Oscar enters, having heard the noise, and asks Paul what’s going on. Paul reveals his secret: the rocking horse is lucky, and tells him the names of race horses. Oscar calls in Paul’s caretaker, Bassett, who admits that Paul tells him the names of winning race horses. The three head to the races to prove it.
Character | Voice Type | Range ? |
---|---|---|
Ava | high | E5-C#4 |
Paul | middle | C3-B4 |
Oscar | middle | C3-A4 |
Bassett | middle-low | A2-E4 |
Paul is nearly overwhelmed by the noise, but manages. Oscar and Bassett place their bets on Daffodil. Bassett takes the role of a race announcer, and the three watch Paul’s prediction come true. The three sing of how this will change everything.
Character | Voice Type | Range ? |
---|---|---|
Paul | middle | C3-F4 |
Oscar | middle | C3-A4 |
Bassett | middle-low | A2-E4 |
Paul tells Oscar he hopes the winnings will stop the house from singing. Paul hears “her” sing of how there’s never enough, how there must be more. He makes Oscar promise not to tell his mother about where the money comes from; it might ruin the luck. Oscar tells him to never stop riding.
Character | Voice Type | Range ? |
---|---|---|
Oscar | middle | C#3-F#4 |
Paul | middle | B2-G#4 |
Paul asks his mother why she always sings sad songs and if she knows anything happier. Ava rebukes him. She expresses profound regret for the stupidity and vanity of her youth. The world only smiles for the young, she says. Paul hopes she’ll smile for her birthday tomorrow, but she does not. At her birthday party, Oscar gives her the winnings from the race, but her response is dry: it’s not enough.
Character | Voice Type | Range ? |
---|---|---|
Ava | high | C4-B5 |
Paul | middle | C#3-A4 |
Oscar | middle | G3-D4 |
Ava is disappointed in her birthday celebration, and Paul asks her why she isn't happy.
Character | Voice Type | Range ? |
---|---|---|
Ava | high | D4-A5 |
Paul | middle | C3-F3 |
Oscar | high | F2-C3 |
The predictions keep coming true, and the money keeps coming. The money gets spent, and Paul keeps riding. All the while the house is getting filled with finery. But it keeps singing. There must be more, but Paul’s luck falters as his energy wanes.
Character | Voice Type | Range ? |
---|---|---|
Ava | high | F#4-F#5 |
Oscar | middle | B3-Ab4 |
Bassett | middle-low | C#3-Db4 |
Paul | middle | Eb3-F4 |
Paul begs his rocking horse for more luck for the Derby. Ava decides Paul’s been too agitated lately, and the distance between them grows wider. Ava leaves his room and bemoans Paul’s lack of understanding. She deserves luxury now and then, and Paul robs her of comfort. As if on cue, she hears Paul noisily riding his rocking horse again. While she screams at him to stop, Oscar, Bassett, and the house cheer him on. Paul calls out a name.
Character | Voice Type | Range ? |
---|---|---|
Ava | high | C4-Ab5 |
Paul | middle | C3-D4 |
Oscar | middle | E4-G4 |
Bassett | middle-low | C#4-E4 |
The last ride has left Paul gravely ill. Oscar and Bassett tell him they bet it all, and they’re set for life. Paul asks his mother if she’ll finally be happy- finally smile. She does, but as they leave his room to celebrate, Paul hears the house whisper. There must be more. Paul is desperate, and crawls to his rocking horse for more luck, more money. He tries to ride, fails, makes one final call for his mother, and dies alone.
Character | Voice Type | Range ? |
---|---|---|
Ava | high | C5-Eb5 |
Oscar | middle | D3-G4 |
Paul | middle | D3-F4 |
Bassett | middle-low | G2-G3 |
Ava bemoans Paul's lack of understanding, and her need for luxury.
Character | Voice Type | Range ? |
---|---|---|
Ava | high | C4-Ab5 |
PREMIERE PRODUCTION INFORMATION
Premiere Production: May 27, 2016 at Berkeley Street Theatre, Toronto ON
Producers: Tapestry Opera
Cast:
Role | Name |
---|---|
Ava | Carla Huhtanen |
Paul | Asitha Tennekoon |
Bassett | Peter MacGillivray |
Oscar | Keith Klassen |
The House | Elaina Moreau |
The House | Erica Iris Huang |
The House | Sean Clark |
The House | Aaron Durand |
Role | Name |
---|---|
Director | Michael Hidetoshi Mori |
Music Director | Jordan de Souza |
Stage Manager | Isolde Pleasants-Faulkner |
Assistant Stage Manager | AJ LaFlamme |
Set Design | Camellia Koo |
Costumes | Ming Wong |
Lighting | Michelle Ramsay |
Production Manager | Shanna Miller |
SUBSEQUENT PRODUCTION INFORMATION
Cast:
Role | Name |
---|---|
Ava | Christine Suits |
Paul | Tyler Nelson |
Oscar | Scott Quinn |
Bassett | Sean Galligan |
Role | Name |
---|---|
Conductor | David Alan Miller |
Director | Michael Hidetoshi Mori |
Scenic Designer | Cameron Anderson |
Costume Designer | Valérie Thérèse Bart |
Lighting Designer | Brandon Stirling Baker |
Subsequent Production: March 31 & April 2, 2023 at Manship Theatre, Baton Rouge
Cast:
Role | Name |
---|---|
Ava | Hope Briggs |
Paul | Joseph Ittoop |
Oscar | Tyler Smith |
Bassett | Eric Morgan |
Role | Name |
---|---|
Conductor | Michael Borowitz |
Stage Director | Jonathan De Los Santos |
Assistant Stage Director | Ivan Griffin |
Subsequent Production: July 5-7, 2023 at Westbrook Performing Arts Center, Westbrook, ME
Production Team:
Role | Name |
---|---|
Conductor | Jackson McKinnon |
Director | Richard Gammon |
Subsequent Production: November 1-2, 2023 at Streetcar Crowsnest, Toronto, ON
Cast:
Role | Name |
---|---|
Paul | Asitha Tennekoon |
Ana | Lucia Cesaroni |
Bassett | Peter McGillivray |
Oscar | Keith Klassen |
The House | Midori Marsh |
The House | Alex Hetherington |
The House | Anika Venkatesh |
The House | Korin Thomas-Smith |
Role | Name |
---|---|
Director | Michael Hidetoshi Mori |
Music Director | Kamna Gupta |
Assistant Director | 郝邦 宇 Steven Hao |
Costume Design | Ming Wong |
Lighting Design | Echo Zhou 周芷會 |
Set Design (based on original designs by Camellia Koo) | Jawon Kang |
Head of Wardrobe | Kathleen Johnson |
Violin I | Aysel Taghi-Zada |
Violin II | Tanya Charles Iveniuk |
Viola | Brenna McLane |
Cello | Sybil Shanahan |
Piano / Répétiteur | Stéphane Mayer |
Production Manager | Carlos Varela |
Assistant Production Manager | Micah Champagne |
Stage Manager | Myra A. Malley |
Assistant Stage Manager | Tamara Vuckovic |
Surtitles | Jingyi Zhou |
CREATION
DEVELOPMENT
The fourth collaboration between Tapestry Opera and Scottish Opera, Rocking Horse Winner began its journey in 2011. Composer Gareth Williams and librettist Anna Chatteron met two years earlier thanks to Tapestry’s LIBLAB, the origin point for a number of Tapestry’s major works.
The choice of D.H. Lawrence’s short story was Williams’. He felt it implicitly musical, and both her and Chatterton were awestruck by the simple, doomed vulnerability of Paul’s character. For Chatterton, a central theme was detachment: what is pulling each character apart? What prevents them from healthy relationships?
Williams had been inspired by his work with people on the autism spectrum while in Belfast, and suggested the character of Paul be altered slightly from D.H. Lawrence’s original work and portrayed as a young adult with similar developmental traits. To tighten the narrative, the setting was brought into a slightly more modern idiom, and the gardener, Bassett, was made into Paul’s caregiver. It was then workshopped, with a final draft of the score appearing shortly before rehearsals in April 2016.
QUOTATIONS FROM CREATIVE TEAM
“We were struck by the vulnerability of the young boy at the heart of the story - vulnerability is an interesting aspect to explore in the genre of opera - with those powerful, cast iron voices bouncing off each other. There is also a real lack of understanding and communication between the mother and her son. The libretto keeps her tight-lipped while the score almost pleads with her to open up."
- Anna Chatterton
“Two things came to the fore that excited me: the beautiful and complicated relationship between mother and son; and the opportunity to cast the voice of the family’s house as a chorus, which offers wonderful dramatic possibilities.
Where the parenting role of an upper class mother in the early 20th century was being redefined in the time of the short story, the opera examines the role of an upper class single mother dealing with a developmentally challenged child, a situation and dynamic that, in 2016, we are continuing to learn how to better deal with.”
- Michael Mori
“[The mood] is one of faded and empty decadence that these characters live in. It may also have a bit of a subtle haunting mood to it.”
- Camellia Koo
QUOTATIONS FROM MEDIA
"...evocative and beautiful..."
- The Globe and Mail
"...first class..."
- Opera Ramblings (Cast Recording)
AWARDS
Winner at the 2017 Dora Mavor Moore Awards:
Best Production
Performance - Asitha Tennekoon
Performance - Ensemble
Direction - Michael Hidetoshi Mori
Lighting Design - Michelle Ramsay
Nominated at the 2017 Dora Mavor Moore Awards:
Performance - Carla Huhtanen
Scenic Design - Camellia Koo
Musical Direction - Jordan de Souza
New Musical/Opera - Anna Chatterton and Gareth Williams
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Rocking Horse Winner - Tapestry Opera
When Words Sing: Seven Canadian Libretti Edited by Julie Salverson, Playwright's Canada Press, May 2021.
Chatterton's libretto along with her description of the writing are accompanied by essays from Gareth Williams, the composer, Camellia Koo, the designer and director Michael Hidetoshi Mori.
Cast Recording
MEDIA
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