JACQUELINE

Composer: Luna Pearl Woolf
Librettist: Royce Vavrek
Premiere Information: February 19, 2020 at the Betty Oliphant Theatre
Producer: Tapestry Opera
Commissioned By: Tapestry Opera
Run Time: 1hr, 47min with one intermission

SYNOPSIS

This is not a biographical opera, it is an exploration of an emotional journey. At age 5, Jacqueline has instant chemistry and sparks fly when she meets her cello. Their relationship grows stronger and closer and Jacqueline matures into a charismatic and likeable teen, powerful on major stages. Soon she is a world star, but facing a terrible and secret struggle: her fingers don’t work. Misdiagnosed with “exhaustion”, rather than the multiple sclerosis that is the true cause, she pushes onwards. After a catastrophic concert, she retires, still in the height of her youth.

A farewell. The body is mortal, the music…

“We cannot become what we need to be by remaining what we are.”
-Jacqueline du Pre
“A Virtuosic Tragedy”

MUSIC DESCRIPTION

Jaqueline says so much with so little. While there are other operas with minimalist tendencies, Vavrek and Woolf’s work here creates as much richness with two instruments as the proverbial cast of thousands.

The music is decidedly contemporary, but without lauding the fact. Woolf’s music is evocative and often abstract, with long cello only passages that come off as soliloquies and difficult vocal lines. It also utilizes quotations from Brahms and Elgar loved to anchor the listener. The result feels like a direct transmutation of Jaqueline’s mind into sound; the sonorous thrills of love, disjointed bolts of pain and heartbreak, the wry, cheeky humour.

This is difficult work, requiring a hefty amount of virtuosity. The reward, however, is something deeply affecting.

SCENE BREAKDOWN

Star Birth
Jaqueline says so much with so little. While there are other operas with minimalist tendencies, Vavrek and Woolf’s work here creates as much richness with two instruments as the proverbial cast of thousands.

Disease I
Jaqueline says so much with so little. While there are other operas with minimalist tendencies, Vavrek and Woolf’s work here creates as much richness with two instruments as the proverbial cast of thousands.

5 Years Old
Jaqueline says so much with so little. While there are other operas with minimalist tendencies, Vavrek and Woolf’s work here creates as much richness with two instruments as the proverbial cast of thousands.

You and Me
Jaqueline says so much with so little. While there are other operas with minimalist tendencies, Vavrek and Woolf’s work here creates as much richness with two instruments as the proverbial cast of thousands.

Recording
Jaqueline says so much with so little. While there are other operas with minimalist tendencies, Vavrek and Woolf’s work here creates as much richness with two instruments as the proverbial cast of thousands.

Intense Perfumes
Jaqueline says so much with so little. While there are other operas with minimalist tendencies, Vavrek and Woolf’s work here creates as much richness with two instruments as the proverbial cast of thousands.

Marriage I
Jaqueline says so much with so little. While there are other operas with minimalist tendencies, Vavrek and Woolf’s work here creates as much richness with two instruments as the proverbial cast of thousands.

Samson
Jaqueline says so much with so little. While there are other operas with minimalist tendencies, Vavrek and Woolf’s work here creates as much richness with two instruments as the proverbial cast of thousands.

Super Nova
Jaqueline says so much with so little. While there are other operas with minimalist tendencies, Vavrek and Woolf’s work here creates as much richness with two instruments as the proverbial cast of thousands.

Dirty Joke
Jaqueline says so much with so little. While there are other operas with minimalist tendencies, Vavrek and Woolf’s work here creates as much richness with two instruments as the proverbial cast of thousands.

The Record I
Jaqueline says so much with so little. While there are other operas with minimalist tendencies, Vavrek and Woolf’s work here creates as much richness with two instruments as the proverbial cast of thousands.

Dizzy
Jaqueline says so much with so little. While there are other operas with minimalist tendencies, Vavrek and Woolf’s work here creates as much richness with two instruments as the proverbial cast of thousands.

Psychoanalysis II
Jaqueline says so much with so little. While there are other operas with minimalist tendencies, Vavrek and Woolf’s work here creates as much richness with two instruments as the proverbial cast of thousands.

Seductress I
Jaqueline says so much with so little. While there are other operas with minimalist tendencies, Vavrek and Woolf’s work here creates as much richness with two instruments as the proverbial cast of thousands.

Persecution
Jaqueline says so much with so little. While there are other operas with minimalist tendencies, Vavrek and Woolf’s work here creates as much richness with two instruments as the proverbial cast of thousands.

Meteorite
Jaqueline says so much with so little. While there are other operas with minimalist tendencies, Vavrek and Woolf’s work here creates as much richness with two instruments as the proverbial cast of thousands.

Mon Ami I
Jaqueline says so much with so little. While there are other operas with minimalist tendencies, Vavrek and Woolf’s work here creates as much richness with two instruments as the proverbial cast of thousands.

Disease II, Part I
Jaqueline says so much with so little. While there are other operas with minimalist tendencies, Vavrek and Woolf’s work here creates as much richness with two instruments as the proverbial cast of thousands.

Run
Jaqueline says so much with so little. While there are other operas with minimalist tendencies, Vavrek and Woolf’s work here creates as much richness with two instruments as the proverbial cast of thousands.

Disease II, Part II
Jaqueline says so much with so little. While there are other operas with minimalist tendencies, Vavrek and Woolf’s work here creates as much richness with two instruments as the proverbial cast of thousands.

Bathing in the Sea in October
Jaqueline says so much with so little. While there are other operas with minimalist tendencies, Vavrek and Woolf’s work here creates as much richness with two instruments as the proverbial cast of thousands.

Mon Ami II
Jaqueline says so much with so little. While there are other operas with minimalist tendencies, Vavrek and Woolf’s work here creates as much richness with two instruments as the proverbial cast of thousands.

Cancellation
Jaqueline says so much with so little. While there are other operas with minimalist tendencies, Vavrek and Woolf’s work here creates as much richness with two instruments as the proverbial cast of thousands.

Impact
Jaqueline says so much with so little. While there are other operas with minimalist tendencies, Vavrek and Woolf’s work here creates as much richness with two instruments as the proverbial cast of thousands.

Scuttlebum
Jaqueline says so much with so little. While there are other operas with minimalist tendencies, Vavrek and Woolf’s work here creates as much richness with two instruments as the proverbial cast of thousands.

Seductress II
Jaqueline says so much with so little. While there are other operas with minimalist tendencies, Vavrek and Woolf’s work here creates as much richness with two instruments as the proverbial cast of thousands.

The Record II
Jaqueline says so much with so little. While there are other operas with minimalist tendencies, Vavrek and Woolf’s work here creates as much richness with two instruments as the proverbial cast of thousands.