Some facts about Sredni Vashtar:
-it is around 25 minutes long
-it is based on a short story by Saki (the text of which can be found at www.srednivashtar.com, along with a neat picture of an angsty polecat ferret!)
-it is written by Nicholas Pavkovic (his website, with samples of his music, can be found at www.pavkovic.com)
-the librettist is Jim Coughenour
-it is comprised of five segments:
1. Overture
2. I am the singer...
3. Aria: Conradin's Lament and Discovery
4. Aria: Ceremonies and Festivals
5. The Consolations of Toast
Information on Saki's life can be found with a quick wikipedia-ing (thank you, technology!). His apparent obsession with animals is legitimate, his mother having been killed (basically) by a charging cow, and I think one of his uncles being eaten by a tiger or something. His short stories pit Edwardian morals against nature, with nature winning. The wikipedia site has links to online versions of several of his works.
I feel that Sredni Vashtar the chamber opera is a very expressive, intelligent, creative, and sensitive setting of a wicked and funny libretto ("The Consolations of Toast," just as an example, explores both the exultation and the pathos inherent in browned bread with butter). But come see the piece--don't take my word for it!*
Performance information:
August 27th, 8 pm
Kevin Korth, accompanying on piano
San Francisco Conservatory, 50 Oak St.
October 30, 8 pm
Ross Ipsen, conducting
San Francisco Conservatory
More information to come!
*This feels like a catchphrase waiting to happen...or perhaps it has happened. Anyway, I'm appropriating it.
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