voice, choir and orchestra
The Scarlet Princess is an adaptation of the 17th Century Kabuki play, The Scarlet Princess of Edo.
Setting the tone for the entire opera is the opening, a storm scene in which a monk and his male acolyte vow their undying love for each other before committing suicide by leaping off a cliff. However, the monk loses his courage, and as the boy, Shiragiju falls, he sings a death aria and curses the monk, Seigen. The opera is the sensuous and erotic tale of reincarnation, obsessive love, demonic possession, revenge, murder and redemption. It is populated by a colourful cast of imperial figures, nuns, monks, villagers, outcasts, prostitutes, johns, ghosts and demons.
In recalling the years prior to The Scarlet Princess it became apparent to me that I had been preparing for this long, arduous and, ultimately, fulfilling journey for many years.
Several of my previous compositions for orchestra and ensembles explored ghostly elements or distant reminisences (Scenes From A Jade Terrace, Afterimages). I learned about choral writing with my composition for chamber choir, percussion and harp, Love Songs For A Small Planet. As well, I set letters of Van Gogh and Money for an extended concert aria for baritone and orchestra, Obsessions, which was eventually recorded by Russell Braun and the National Arts Centre Orchestra with Mario Bernardi conducting.
By chance, several years ago my husband Alex and I went to New York and happened to see a wonderful play in previews. I was so moved by the power of the work that I felt I had somehow been changed by the event. The drama was taut, the story, intriguing, the writing superb. The playwrite drew us into the fabric of an unbelievable story, one thread at a time, and ultimately devestated us with a powerful dramatic revelation right at the end. I turned to Alex at the end of the evening and told him that if I was ever to write an opera, I would want the author of this play as my librettist.
The play was M. Butterfly, the playwright, David Henry Hwang. We’ve worked well as a team. Together we fashioned the events of the drama from the original play. David originally delivered a seventy page libretto. I practically fainted. But assuring me that editing was one of his strengths, he eventually presented me with fifty pages. He was quick and responsive if I requested a deeper characterisation of one of the principals, or indeed if I asked for any change. I encouraged him to use sensuous, erotic language for certain scenes. I relied on David for his dramatic instincts. The Scarlet Princess encompasses my entire compositional metier. It also reveals the full range of my emotional experience.
In writing this opera, I chose to work in the tradition of grand tragic opera and, in so doing, decided not to shy away from the big gestures and big passions of the genre. The demands and risks of taking on such a task are great, and the artistic rewards are that much greater.
A work of this nature is not created in a vacuum. I wish to thank General Director Richard Bradshaw and his cast of characters at the Canadian Opera Company for their support.
Alexina Louie, April 2002
oeuvre@22839 generated in Montréal by litk 0.600 on Tuesday,
November 29, 2011. Development & maintenance: DIM.