OVERVIEW
Title: The Shadow
Composer: Omar Daniel
Librettist: Alex Poch-Goldin
Commissioned By: Tapestry Opera
Language: English
Producer: Tapestry Opera
Run Time: 90
Roles:
| Role | Voice Type | Range ? | Character Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Allegra | high | A#3-Bb5 | An unmarried rich girl, controlled by her father and yearning for love. 18 years old. |
| Don Paulo | low | G2-D4 | A mafia Don, wealthy and powerful. 45-60 years old. |
| Waiter | middle | C#3-D5 | Proud and efficient. 25-40 years old. |
| Raoul | middle-low | Gb2-C5 (falsetto) | A dissatisfied mailman, yearning to be a person of substance. In love with Allegra, and seeking to win her heart. 30 years old. |
| Allegra's Father | low | G#2-D4 | Intolerant and traditional. 45-60 years old. Not seen. |
| The Shadow | middle-high | C4-G#5 | A tuxedo-clad henchman of Don Paulo, who publlicly humiliates debtors. 30-45 years old. |
SYNOPSIS
MUSIC DESCRIPTION
SCORES FOR PURCHASE
Arias & Excerpts:
Spring has sprung in Barcelona.
| Character | Voice Type | Range ? |
|---|---|---|
| Allegra | high | D4-A5 |
| Don Paolo | low | B2-E4 |
| Waiter | middle | C3-D5 |
Raoul the mailman is in love with Allegra. He arrives at her house and they flirt, but are interrupted by Allegra's father. Raoul vows that he will win over Allegra by disgusing himself as a wealthy merchant named Hernando.
| Character | Voice Type | Range ? |
|---|---|---|
| Raoul | middle-low | F#2-A4 |
| Allegra | high | C4-F5 |
| Father | low | G#2-D4 |
Disguised as Hernando, Raoul asks out Allegra.
| Character | Voice Type | Range ? |
|---|---|---|
| Raoul | middle-low | B2-C5 |
| Allegra | high | A#3-F#5 |
| Father | low | C3-B3 |
Raoul and Allegra go out on their date and order a feast. The bill arrives and Raoul cannot pay it. He tries to escape, but in the process stabs the waiter in the neck with a fork. Raoul and Allegra leave the restaurant, Allegra is unaware of what has just happened.
| Character | Voice Type | Range ? |
|---|---|---|
| Waiter | middle | C#3-A4 |
| Raoul | middle-low | F2-D#4 |
| Allegra | high | D#4-G#5 |
| The Shadow | middle-high | E4-F5 |
Raoul goes to see Don Paulo for a loan. Before he approves, Don Paulo warns Raoul about a shadow that haunts people who have not paid their debts.
| Character | Voice Type | Range ? |
|---|---|---|
| Raoul | middle-low | A2-E4 |
| Don Paolo | low | G#2-D4 |
| The Shadow | middle-high | C4-E5 |
Raoul, dressed as Hernando, proposes to Allegra and gives her an engagement ring.
| Character | Voice Type | Range ? |
|---|---|---|
| Raoul | middle-low | B2-E4 |
| Allegra | high | E4-E5 |
Allegra has lost her engagement ring.
| Character | Voice Type | Range ? |
|---|---|---|
| Allegra | high | A#3-A#5 |
Raoul still hasn't paid off his debt. Allegra arrives and tells him she has lost the ring, not knowing that he is also Hernando.
| Character | Voice Type | Range ? |
|---|---|---|
| Raoul | middle-low | A2-D#4 |
| Allegra | high | Spoken |
The Shadow arrives to haunt Raoul.
| Character | Voice Type | Range ? |
|---|---|---|
| Raoul | middle-low | Silent |
| The Shadow | middle-high | B3-C#6 |
Raoul (as Hernando) confronts Allegra about the missing ring. She tells him it's being polished.
| Character | Voice Type | Range ? |
|---|---|---|
| Raoul | middle-low | B2-E4 |
| Allegra | high | D4-A5 |
| The Shadow | middle-high | Silent |
The Shadow arrives and tells Allegra the truth about Hernando/Raoul.
| Character | Voice Type | Range ? |
|---|---|---|
| The Shadow | middle-high | G#3-G5 |
| Allegra | high | D4-Bb5 |
| Raoul | middle-low | C#3-D4 |
Raoul, as Hernando, arrives at Allegra's balcony but sees her with The Shadow.
| Character | Voice Type | Range ? |
|---|---|---|
| Raoul | middle-low | F#2-A4 |
| Allegra | high | D#4-E5 |
| The Shadow | middle-high | D4-G5 |
Raoul attacks and kills The Shadow.
| Character | Voice Type | Range ? |
|---|---|---|
| Raoul | middle-low | F#2-F#4 |
| The Shadow | middle-high | G3-G5 |
Raoul (as himself) sits on a bench. Allegra arrives and wonders if she'll ever find love. She leaves for mass to ask for forgiveness.
| Character | Voice Type | Range ? |
|---|---|---|
| Raoul | middle-low | F#2-F#4 |
| Allegra | high | Bb3-Ab5 |
PREMIERE PRODUCTION INFORMATION
Premiere Production: May 21-30, 2009 at Berkeley Street Theatre, Toronto ON
Producers: Tapestry Opera
Cast:
| Role | Name |
|---|---|
| Allegra | Carla Huhtanen |
| Don Paulo | Theodore Baerg |
| Waiter | Keith Klassen |
| Raoul | Peter McGillivray |
| Allegra's Father | Theodore Baerg |
| The Shadow | Scott Belluz |
| Role | Name |
|---|---|
| Music Director | Wayne Strongman |
| Director | Tom Diamond |
| Designer | Camellia Koo |
| Lighting Designer | Robert Thomson |
CREATION
DEVELOPMENT
Graduates of the Tapestry 2001 LIBLAB, Alex Poch-Goldin and Omar Daniel were already collaborating within a year. Tapestry staged their first short opera, Lisa, for the company’s first Opera to Go, produced at the new Isabel Bader Theatre for the 2002 Opera America Conference.
The team maintained their momentum and in April 2004, Tapestry mounted the first workshop of The Shadow. As the story evolved over the next couple of years, deeper psychological implications began to emerge, informing the character development. These developments influenced Omar’s compositional process, including choice of instrumentation and thematic vocabulary. Early on, one of those choices was a distinctly spare medieval movement, which remained in the final production. Other choices faded or morphed as the characters grew and changed.
QUOTATIONS FROM MEDIA
"Engrossing..."
- Globe and Mail
“Complex characters, a suggestive score and a timely theme about unpaid debts make Alex Poch-Goldin and Omar Daniel's The Shadow a contemporary opera worth singing about.”
- Glenn Sumi, NOW, May 27, 2009 (5 “N’s”)
“A clever mix of comic opera and high melodrama, this humorous and heightened world premiere seems designed to be enjoyed by opera aficionados and lay-folk alike.”
- Byron Laviolette, Eye Weekly, May 22,2009
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