compositions

The Perfect American

2013

An Opera by Philip Glass
Music by Philip Glass
Libretto by Rudolph Wurlitzer
Based on the novel by Peter Stephan Jungk

CAST:
Diane – Soprano
Sharon – Soprano
Hazel – Soprano
Lillian – Soprano
Lucy (young girl) – Soprano
Josh (young boy) – Soprano
Dantine – Tenor
Roy – Baritone
Walt – Bass Baritone
Abraham Lincoln – Bass
Secretary – Soprano
Nurse – Mezzo Soprano
Doctor – Tenor

SYNOPSIS:
Scenes from the end of the life of Walt Disney. The action goes from Disney’s home town of Marceline Missouri to his animated dream factory in Los Angeles. Disney is haunted by his own mortality, set against the backdrop of the creation of his visionary empire of imagination.

INSTRUMENTATION
Piccolo, 2 Flutes, 2 Oboes (2nd doubling English Horn), 2 Clarinets in B flat, Contrabass Clarinet (doubling Bass Clarinet), 2 Bassoons 4 Horns in F, 3 Trumpets in C, 2 Trombones, Bass, Trombone, Tuba, Timpani, Percussion (5 Players): Glockenspiel, Xylophone, Marimba, Triangle, Anvil, Castanets, Shaker, Rattle, Tambourine, Wood Block, Temple Blocks, Cymbal, Suspended Cymbal, Tamtam, Snare Drum, Tom-toms, Tenor Drum, Bass Drum, Large Bass Drum; Celesta (doubling electric keyboard with Harpsichord sound), Piano, Harp, Electric Bass, Strings

COMMISSION:
Commissioned by the Teatro Real Madrid and the English National Opera

PREMIERE:
Premiered January 22, 2013 at the Teatro Real with the Teatro Real Orchestra and Chorus, conducted by Dennis Russell Davies.

PUBLISHER:
Dunvagen Music Publishers

The Perfect American
The Perfect American

CATEGORIES
Opera, Theater