After each Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra concert, there is a backstage get together where patrons and musicians can mill around while sipping punch and munching pastries. It was at one of these that Hal France, the music director of the orchestra at the time introduced me to Robert Swedborg, the director of Orlando Opera.
My wife and I were familiar with Robert's wife, Melissa, who was one of those rare, gifted and loving music teachers at Christopher's elementary school in Oviedo. Melissa also played viola in the orchestra and is always a welcome smile in these little soirees.
Robert was very kind and curious as to my previous works. He mentioned that there was a very popular opera for little kids called, I think, "Monkey See, Monkey Do" that their opera produced on a regular basis. He suggested that I might compose another such opera for kids, as few such things exist; something that would fit in a school period of 50 minutes and mountable in the average school cafeteria. His openness to any kind of new work and my first considerations to compose an opera stayed with me. I realized that the music I was most interested in was not suited to little kids. I thought I could make a great opera employing electronic music that would hit high schools.
I wanted this project as easy to launch as possible for any opera company and came up with the following idea: how about a single act opera for 4 singers and simple sets that would get music and images from a DVD? The surround format could be used to both give personal music cues to the singers with the center channel, and have the audience hear music from the remaining 4.1 speakers. The images could be projected onto the walls or screens to create virtual sets. It could be easily set up and struck. It could be made to fit into a single school period of 45 minutes. I asked my poet-twin -brother Kevin to supply me with a libretto and my Full Sail colleague Keith Richardson to help with the visuals. The opera and I made a trade for services- I recorded the children's choir for a puppet show production in return for the employ of two of their in-house singers Janette Zilioli and Aaron Pegram.
My first idea for an opera was based on the story of Iron John, especially as illuminated in Robert Bly's book of the same title. But that story would take longer than 45 minutes to tell. So, I asked my brother Kevin for help finding and setting a great story. His first libretto was based upon the story of Erysichthon; an ancient Greek myth with a powerful message against the destruction of our environment. I worried that it was too caustic, however, for the conservative parents in the Florida high school scene, so we kept on looking. Kevin returned with the idea of Starboy. This libretto, based upon a myth told in the Amazon jungles, tells a story about the dangers of the attachment to beauty.
Surround music production was very cutting edge for 2003. I went to Full Sail President Garry Jones to ask for help with equipment. Garry loaned me a ProTools TDM/G4 system, which had just fallen into obsolescence to use at home. I also won a grant from the United Artists of Central Florida for $1500 for software (MetaSynth) and hardware purchases. It wasn't enough money to buy sets, musicians' fees, costumes, etc - but it might be enough money to try out the idea.
First, I explored the creation of sounds with the program MetaSynth. This is an ingenious software package that translates images into sounds. This was a fabulous way to move away from 12 notes per octave pitch and regular meter. The first step consisted of creating images in Photoshop and Paint that would translate into the sounds and gestures I needed.
I used quite a few images of 3D trees that I previously constructed in Bryce. Trees have excellent gestural form, and would lend themselves to growth and development, both microcosmically and macrocosmically.
Once in MetaSynth, I could quickly alter both the imported image itself and the sonic grid that would translate it into sound as much as I needed. The program plays the image from left to right. The 'higher' (y coordinate) translated into higher pitch. Each pixel is a separate event, translating color to Left/Right soundstage. 16 bit 44.1 kHz soundfiles are then rendered and stored.
After several months of creating perhaps a thousand unique soundfiles, I was ready to build them into surround audio space to accompany song and action of the libretto with ProTools (5.1). I chose four songs that would only require two singers for the January 2004 Preview.
I knew that making the music accessible to all singers was crucial. After the 4 songs' sequences were produced, I created a CD for Janette and Aaron that provided four different versions of each of the four songs. The first version contained only the melody, a constant click track and a few cue sounds. This track allowed the singers to learn the melody of the song without the distraction of the soundscape. The second version added low level accompanying music. The third brought the level of the accompanying soundscape up to performance level, but still contained click, cues and melody. The fourth version was accompaniment music only (only in stereo instead of 5.1, of course). Janette and Aaron came to Full Sail in the Fall of 2003 to hear the tracks for the first time and get their music scores. To their relief, I was not asking them memorize the songs or do any acting - to their relief. All I needed for them to do was be able to sing the songs in public from a music stand like a recital. They had an extremely busy schedule through March, and I wouldn't see them till the day of the performance on January 16th, 2004.
The Preview served many purposes. First, it allowed me to actually hear how amplified surround sound would interact with the sound of live singing. Second, it introduced the concept to my audience. Third, it provided an event that would be recorded on audio and video that I would make into a DVD to find funding to complete a full production.
Since only four songs were prepared, Kevin told the story as a storyteller might perform. Under his story, I placed music derived from fragments of the future songs. This IS and opera, and, when complete, will be completely sung!
Dear Star, beautifully sung by Aaron here, is a song of love and devotion to his favorite Star in the night sky. He has prayed to Star and found mental refuge with it all of his life, as he has found it so beautiful. He has been exiled from the tribe all of his life, as his parents were feared magicians, and he is feared to be one as well. He yearns for (female) companionship, now in his teen years.
Starboy stumbles across a crystal bottle in the jungle, with which he becomes entranced and, believing it is a gift from his Star, within which he mixes a strong potion. He creates a ritual of worship to Star, who incarnates into a beautiful woman and reveals herself to him in the morning. She also informs him that sunlight cannot touch the brew in the bottle, lest she die and return again to the sky.
Of course, Starboy is amazed, delighted and frightened to see his dreams come true. She alluringly promises to return at night.
Just as they are about to touch at the very end of the song, the village is under attack by a neighboring tribe. Star leaves just as a warrior from his village interrogates him, thinking he may be from the warring tribe, or, perhaps a spy. Starboy learns of the impending battle. Star returns to tell Starboy of the 50 enemies in a nearby cave. Starboy rushes to the village to warn them; he has his chance of redemption with the tribe.
But all goes wrong. When Starboy enters the village he is greatly feared by the King, who hates all things magic - and thinking the boy to be a sorcerer - has him imprisoned. Star informs the King about the warriors in the cave, and, when he is proven correct is freed. Star, on her own, uses her great magical power, wins the war for the village by causing a meteor shower. Starboy becomes drunk with the false claim that it was he who caused this supernatural spectacle, and, upon returning to the village is feared as all powerful.
During the song, he spills the bottle, the village flees in fear and he flees back to his hut. By now realizing that he has gone too far, Star appears and declares her disdain and begins her journey back to the sky. She climbs a tall silver tree and Starboy follows. Star far outclimbs him, leaving him in a perilous world of spectors and ghosts, but implores him to return to earth - that he does not belong in the spirit world. The moment Starboy touches ground - he dies.
I would like to finish mount the complete Starboy opera! I will update the four songs to some extent to increase rhythmic intensity compared to what I have already prepared. I hoped that the power of a trained operatic voice could be heard over the surround music. But, this simply wasn't the case! Only higher notes could be clearly heard and diction was covered throughout. Even these fine singers needed to be amplified to be heard over the room noise and the volume I wanted to achieve. Therefore, I am open to mounting Starboy with non-operatic singers.
Please contact me if you are interested in working with me as a performer or financial supporter towards a first performance of Starboy!
