An operatic kind of month

I haven't posted for a while, which invariably means one of two things is true:

1) I have been very busy, so that I haven't had free time* to post, or
2) I haven't been busy at all, so I don't have anything to post about.

*Note: when I say haven't had free time, I don't mean that I've had no down time at all, just not enough to make me feel like devoting some of it to blogging, which does require some degree of sustained concentration.

In this case, it has been the former. In addition to my research, which occupies a relatively constant portion of my time, I have had various other time consuming activities: Patience rehearsals (which I have already written about, and will probably write more), a visit from Amanda (which I will write), frequently annoyingly time-consuming plasma physics assignments (which I don't plan to write about), getting sick (this doesn't exactly take time - in fact it gave me time today because I took most of the day off to rest, and have actually felt better than the last two days (when I had work I needed to do)...

This post, however, will be about one particularly interesting activity on which I have been spending some of my time: namely writing my own operetta.

When The Mikado finished last December, I missed it so much that I decided to have a go at writing my own show. I have experimented with this in the past: I wrote the words to 10 songs for a show about a travelling zoo that doesn't own any animals, so the workers have to dress up as them. They don't mind this: as they point out in what I would now describe as a patter song (I'm not sure that I was particularly familiar with the concept at the time, though of course I had heard them before) it is a very good way to attract attention from young women: you'll only find cute animals at this zoo.

I had some fun with that, but I started too ambitiously (I have an outline that includes 26 songs), and found writing the music very difficult: I have ideas in my head, but wasn't able to constructively put anything on paper.

When auditioning for The Mikado, though, I found a free music notation program online. I used it to write out the vocal line for myself to use once I gave the piano score to the accompanist: I could have just photocopied it, but I thought that if I had a program on my computer, I might be inspired to try composing again.

So I went ahead and wrote the libretto for a much shorter show: similar in construction to Gilbert and Sullivan's one act, 35 minute Trial by Jury (people enter one by one and introduce themselves in a fashion, and the action continues more or less in real time, and no-one exits before the show finishes), but even slightly shorter. I then had a play with composing the music for the first song, and was able to come up with something I was satisfied with.

Around this time (March, by now: you have to remember that this is something I do not just in my spare time, but the spare time of my spare time), I was facebook chatting with John about various things including alternative plots or motivations in The Gondoliers. He was impressed by the paths my imagination could take, and said I would be really good at writing musicals... That was all the invitation I needed, so I mentioned my in-progress composition and sent him the words for a couple of the songs. He was enthusiastic about it, so I had a further incentive to work on the rest of the music.

I have been working - in spurts to some extent, and in my free time - since then, and recently completed a first draft of the whole show! I feel quite proud of that, since not everyone has written an operetta. It's by no means a polished work: I'm sure I'm not the world's worst composer, but I'm not going to be quitting my day job either, and there are things I would do differently if I ever write another (which is possible), but for a beginner it's admirable (true G&S aficionados will recognise that I'm quoting Patience here). I've been making some very minor changes here and there in order to send a copy to Kelsey, who expressed an interest when John and I were discussing it at his birthday party. I hope that at some point the three of us and a few other MITG&SPers will be able to have a sing-through.

So, a bit about the operetta itself. It's not meant to be a Gilbert and Sullivan imitation or parody, but it is influenced by them. It is set on graduation day at a university (you shouldn't think that it is particularly autobiographical: yes, I'm a student, but so are many people in their early 20s, an important age for operetta subjects), in an era before women were allowed at universities. The cast is (in the order I often see in Gilbert and Sullivan books, which is vaguely order of social rank rather than importance to the show):

The Chancellor of the university (bass)

Graduating students:
Peter, first in the class (tenor)
Edward von Eclipiden IV, second in the class (comic baritone)
Marcel, third in the class (lyric baritone)
Michael (tenor)
Chorus of students

Women of the town:
Baroness von Eclipiden (contralto)
Christina (soprano)
Stephanie (mezzo-soprano)
Edward's tutor (mezzo-soprano)
Chorus of women

I don't want to give away the whole plot, but the first three songs progress as follows. Christina enters to announce the beginning of the show (there are a few points where the characters make reference to them being in a show, and one where the plot is noticeably affected by the fact that there is a chorus loudly singing about what is going on). She tells the audience that the intention is to tell the tale of her love for Peter, who is very bright and caring, but has no money (wow, no-one has ever written an opera or musical with this kind of plot!!).

The Baroness walks on, to Christina's delight. The Baroness has donated a hundred thousand pounds for a scholarship to the student graduating at the top of the class, with the additional condition that Christina has sworn that she'll marry this student this very afternoon. Christina is very happy with this plan, because Peter is so obviously going to win. The Baroness tells the audience (and the women's chorus, who are listening while Christina is too busy wrapped up in thoughts of her impending happiness) that she has a secret plan that will lead to her son Edward's victory, despite his complete stupidity.

The men's chorus then enters singing about how they will be able to get easy, well-paying jobs now that they've graduated from a highly regarded university (this is perhaps the best song in the show). Only Marcel, Peter's best friend, expresses a different emotion, mentioning his plans to complete a PhD. Unfortunately, Peter has gone unexpectedly missing! This is especially bad news given that there is one final assignment due before the class graduates (this isn't made clear until a little later, but I thought I'd mention it since this is the end of the plot summary for you).

So, is anyone game to predict how the story continues? If the really game request it, I can email you some of the music if you like.