OVERVIEW
Roles:
| Role | Voice Type | Range ? | Character Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jacqueline | high | C4-C6 | A worldclass cellist with multiple sclerosis |
| Cello | silent-spoken | Cello | Jacqueline's cello |
Please Note: The table above has content that is scrollable left to right.
SYNOPSIS
Content warning: terminal illness
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 Pré
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 Pré
MUSIC DESCRIPTION
Jacqueline 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 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 a difficult work, requiring a hefty amount of virtuosity. The reward, however, is something deeply affecting.
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 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 a difficult work, requiring a hefty amount of virtuosity. The reward, however, is something deeply affecting.
SCORES FOR PURCHASE
PREMIERE PRODUCTION INFORMATION
Cast:
| Role | Name |
|---|---|
| Jacqueline | Marnie Breckenridge |
| Cello | Matt Haimovitz |
Please Note: The table above has content that is scrollable left to right.
Premiere Production Team:
| Role | Name |
|---|---|
| Dramaturgy and Direction | Michael Hidetoshi Mori |
| Producer | Jaime Martino |
| Set/Costume Design | Camellia Koo |
Please Note: The table above has content that is scrollable left to right.
Content Tags:
1 voiceAriaCast size of 2CelloCheatingChildComedyConversionDark comedyDark humourDaughterDeathDisabilityDisabledDiseaseDramaDreamFamilyFemale composerFemale creatorHigh voiceHumourHusbandIllnessInstrumentalJacqueline du PréJealousyJudaismLonelinessLongingLoveMarriageMemoryMotherMSMultiple sclerosisMusicMusicianNatureParentPartyPerformerPursuitReligionRomanceSecretSeriousSexSexismSexualitySiblingsSistersSoloSopranoTragedyTriumphWifeWomen
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