The gold beetle (Fujikura)
| Work data | |
|---|---|
| Title: | The gold beetle |
| Original title: | The gold bug |
| Shape: | “Opera for a Young Audience” in five scenes |
| Original language: | English |
| Music: | Dai Fujikura |
| Libretto : | Hannah Dübgen |
| Literary source: |
Edgar Allan Poe : The Gold Bug |
| Premiere: | March 9, 2018 |
| Place of premiere: | Theater Basel |
| Playing time: | approx. 1 ¼ hours |
| Place and time of the action: | Sullivan's Iceland ( South Carolina ) |
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Der Goldkäfer (English original title: The Gold-Bug ) is a children's opera (original name: "Opera for a Young Audience") in five scenes by the Japanese-British composer Dai Fujikura (composition) and Hannah Dübgen (libretto) based on the short story The Gold- Bug by Edgar Allan Poe , which premiered on March 9, 2018 at Theater Basel. The composition was commissioned by the Basel School of Music (FHNW), funded by the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation .
action
First Scene
Albert and his daughter Lilith fight their way through the rain and storm to Wilhelm's hut to ask him if he is in need in view of the storm. But he is very excited about a gold beetle that he has found. When Albert wanted to see him, Wilhelm evasively replied that he had loaned it to the veterinarian Monica, but could make a drawing that he quickly threw on a piece of parchment. The beetle has "three black dots on its golden armor", Wilhelm explains, but when looking at the sketch Albert sees neither antennae nor legs, only a skull and feels mocked by Wilhelm. Wilhelm's grandson Sam puts the drawing in a drawer and blows out the candlelight.
Second scene
A house in a “city full of churches”. Sam visits Lilith. She sings a song that Sam listens to in front of the house. When he enters, the children are talking about their parents. Lilith's mother died, Sam's parents “just went away”. Lilith explains her name, it is derived from a "demoness in ancient Mesopotamia". Albert enters and calls his daughter "Lily", which annoys her. Sam reports that his grandfather Wilhelm is doing badly, he claims to have been bitten by the gold beetle. But only "scratches" could be seen. Wilhelm no longer sleeps for fear that “death” might fetch his beetle and everyone else. The animal looks exactly as Wilhelm drew it. Albert is worried and promises to come to Wilhelm's hut in the afternoon and see that things are going well.
Third scene
Albert and Lilith enter the hut again. Wilhelm is overjoyed because his gold beetle will "save everyone". This time he presents the animal, Albert confirms that he wears the three black points. Wilhelm and Albert get into a heated argument about what can be seen on the sheet - it supposedly looks different near an open fire than in bright sunlight. Sam solves the riddle: The parchment used carelessly by Wilhelm as a note sheet contains a secret message, written by pirates with a secret ink. In fact, letters become clear: A message from the notorious pirate Captain Kidd and his men. Wilhelm claims to have found the parchment on the beach, exactly where he discovered the gold beetle. All together decipher the code, Albert uses the means of logic, so the letter "o" is not often in English, but in the text it is. They succeed in the solution: "Thirty feet west of the liriodendron tree ..." The place is only a few miles away, everyone sets out to dig up the treasure.
Fourth scene
Sam, Lilith, Wilhelm and Albert are sailing across the sea in a boat and are looking forward to the gold treasure. Lilith inadvertently confesses her love to Sam and blushes.
Fifth scene
At the beach. They discovered the tree and the treasure chest that was mentioned in secret writing. The key to the treasure chest should lie above the seventh branch in a narrow cavity. But the opening is too small even for Sam's fingers. The gold beetle could slip in and get the key out. It is provided with a loop to pull it out. The project succeeds. You open the found treasure chest with the key and find immeasurable treasures in it, the flag of Captain Kidd, broken weapons and harpoons. All are rich - they were "bitten by the gold beetle". Sam and Lilith confess their love to each other, Albert resolves to research all the treasures and write a book about them. Everyone leaves with the happy cry: "There is so much to discover!"
Work history
The client of the children's opera justified the choice of the composer by saying that Fujikura is known for his “humorous, tonal language” and his “imaginative instrumentation”. He is also very interested in the tonality, the repertoire and the narrative for a young audience. What is important about the pirate story is that it is equally interesting for boys and girls. The Theater Basel praised Fujikura: “Humorous and playful, savoring the full range of colors of the orchestra, Fujikura brings the different characters to life and creates atmospheric soundscapes of great sensual power that inevitably cast a spell on the listener. You almost think you can feel the gold beetle crawling over your skin. "
reception
The Badische Zeitung spoke after the premiere of a "high stimulus density" of the work, ruling an attempt to prepare the short story by Poe for children, was "in any event failed all along the line": "Unfortunately, it requires intense concentration, the large vibrato sung words, which Dai Fujikura creates almost as a caricature of opera singing. There is no normal narrative tone in this work and no spoken text. In addition, there is no surtitling, so that you are pretty lost in this treasure hunt. ”In the Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) it was said that“ the commission to design an opera for a young audience ”was“ a little bit to have been lost ":" The whole thing is theatrically ambitious, but not easy to decipher. "
Performances
- 2018 Theater Basel (world premiere)
Web links
- Complete libretto by ISSUU
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Dai Fujikura: THE GOLD-BUG - Music Theater for Young People from Age 8 (English) on evs-musikstiftung.ch, accessed on May 23, 2018.
- ↑ The gold beetle in the program of the Basel Theater , accessed on May 23, 2018.
- ↑ Georg Rudiger: In vain treasure hunt. In: Badische Zeitung , March 12, 2018, accessed on May 23, 2018.
- ↑ Martina Wohlthat: Like waiting for a bus that never comes. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung , March 11, 2018, accessed on May 23, 2018.