Score
Supernova Jones : a comic opera for family and primary school audiences, in One Act (two scenes) / music by David Kram ; libretto and script by Mark Dickenson and Jen Bray ; lyrics by David I Kram.
Library shelf no. 782.14/KRA 1 [Available for loan]
Work Overview
Synopsis - Teenager Suzie is embarrassed by her superhero
parents. She just wants to be normal. Inspired by TV advertising,
she visits the clinic of Doctor Normal. Assisted by a nurse, he
commences the procedure but is interrupted by Captain Flamenco,
who attempts to rescue Suzie. After Flamenco is zapped by the
normalizing machine, Suzie realizes that something is not right.
It transpires that Doctor Normal is actually Mister Moon, a media
mogul who uses the power of advertising to deny people their
feeling of specialness, in order to herd them like sheep into his
marketing empire. Even Suzie's mum and dad fall prey to his
technology. This makes Suzie realise that she indeed does have
superpowers, like her parents had said; she now accepts herself.
Hence Moon is defeated and Suzie is feted. The moral - don't be
afraid to have special talents.
Underpinning the original music are interwoven quotes from
standard opera and nursery rhymes. These have been indicated in
the score. The aim is to introduce children to the sounds of
operatic voices, the techniques of opera composition and some
popular melodies of great composers - Mozart, Rossini, Bellini,
Verdi, Wagner, Bizet, Saint-Saƫns and Puccini.
Work Details
Year: 2000
Instrumentation: Young soprano, lirico spinto soprano, lirico spinto tenor, bass, piano.
Duration: 45 min.
Difficulty: Advanced — Professional opera singers, professional pianist
Commission note: Devised and written for the Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne
First performance: by More Than Opera — 15 Apr 03. Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Horti Hall, Melbourne
Libretto/script by Mark Dickenson and Jen Bray.
The composer notes the following styles, genres, influences, etc associated with this work:
Comedy, operatic, recitative, snatches of dialogue, elements of music theatre. Malcolm Fox's 'Sid the Serpent who wanted to sing' is arguably the most popular opera which is performed by professionals to schools. 'Supernova Jones' is in similar vein.
Performances of this work
15 Apr 03: Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Horti Hall, Melbourne. Featuring More Than Opera.
2002: Performed by VCA postgraduate students under the direction of the composer and librettists at the Fun4Kids festival, Warrnambool, Vic
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