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- Stephen Oliver
L'oca del Cairo (1990)
(L'oca del Cairo)- Novello & Co Ltd (World)
Commissioned by the Batignano Festival, Italy
- 0212/2200/timp/str(4.3.2.2.1)
- SATB
- Contralto, 3 Sopranos, 2 Tenors, 2 Bass Baritones
- 1 hr 30 min
- English, Italian
Programme Note
BRIEF SYNOPSIS
Don Pippo is a collector of rarities. He had a wife, but she disappeared some years ago; and he has heard that she is dead. In order that his daughter might not disappear in the same way, he has locked her up in a tower with another girl for company. But both girls have lovers and Don Pippo has a bet with the men that they can’t get the girls out within a year. Today is the last day of that year. Matters are complicated by another proposal his daughter has had from a stranger whom they have never met, a Count Lionetto. Pippo wants her to accept, because Lionetto is offering a famous golden goose that belonged to Cleopatra – in fact, the Cairo goose. The girls’ lovers set out to capture the goose and bargain for the girls’ release.
Stephen Oliver's version of L'oca del Cairo is more than just a completion of Mozart's opera fragment of the same title. Taking Varesco’s libretto as a starting point, Oliver extended it and modified it slightly. All of the original Mozart fragments used remain truthful to Mozart’s instrumentation style. The music that Oliver himself contributed is equally amusing and shocking, creating a unique and fascinating contrast.
CAST
3 sopranos, 1 contralto, 2 tenors, 2 bass-baritones, SATB chorus
Don Pippo is a collector of rarities. He had a wife, but she disappeared some years ago; and he has heard that she is dead. In order that his daughter might not disappear in the same way, he has locked her up in a tower with another girl for company. But both girls have lovers and Don Pippo has a bet with the men that they can’t get the girls out within a year. Today is the last day of that year. Matters are complicated by another proposal his daughter has had from a stranger whom they have never met, a Count Lionetto. Pippo wants her to accept, because Lionetto is offering a famous golden goose that belonged to Cleopatra – in fact, the Cairo goose. The girls’ lovers set out to capture the goose and bargain for the girls’ release.
Stephen Oliver's version of L'oca del Cairo is more than just a completion of Mozart's opera fragment of the same title. Taking Varesco’s libretto as a starting point, Oliver extended it and modified it slightly. All of the original Mozart fragments used remain truthful to Mozart’s instrumentation style. The music that Oliver himself contributed is equally amusing and shocking, creating a unique and fascinating contrast.
CAST
3 sopranos, 1 contralto, 2 tenors, 2 bass-baritones, SATB chorus