• Philip Glass
  • The Marriages Between Zones Three, Four, and Five (1997)

  • Dunvagen Music Publishers Inc (World)

Commissioned by the Theater der Stadt Heidelberg

Opera in two acts.
Libretto (English) by Doris Lessing

  • 2(pic).2.2(Ebcl)+bcl.2/3.3.2+btbn.1/perc/2syn/vn.vc
  • SATB, off-stage chorus SATB
  • 2 Sopranos, 2 Mezzo sopranos, Tenor, 2 Baritones, Bass
  • 2 hr 13 min
  • Doris Lessing
  • English

Programme Note

CAST
Murti - soprano
Vashti - soprano
Al Ith - mezzo-soprano
Dabeeb - mezzo-soprano
Sylvan - tenor
Ben Ata - baritone
Jarnti - baritone
Kunzor - bass
Mixed Chorus

SYNOPSIS
"Marriages" is the 2nd part of the trilogy of operas based on the "Canopus in Argos" series of novels by Doris Lessing. The work is set in the indeterminate lands of the Zones, Strange realms which encircle the Earth. Zone Three, a peaceful, contented, matriarchal paradise, is ruled by the gentle Queen Al-Ith; the neighbouring Zone four is land given to war and chaos, controlled by brutal warrior-king, Ben-Ata. Their marriage, a melding of the extreme male and female principles, threatens to destabilise the entire galactic empire.