NEW CHAMBER MUSIC
ABHANDENGEKOMMEN
MEISTER GERHARD
A ONE-ACT OPERA FOR YOUNG AUDIENCES
PROJECT
DESCRIPTION
Meister Gerhard was already an internationally-known builder when he was commissioned to design and oversee production of the new Cathedral in Cologne.
With the project already in full swing, he is approached by a mysterious gentleman wearing a black hat with a red feather. He introduces himself as Herr Schnüttschräge, himself a renown builder. He makes a bet with Gerhard - that he can build a waterway from Trier to Cologne before the cathedral is completed. Thinking his victory is assured, Gerhard agrees. Departing, Schnüttschräge says, "How about a common deadline - we'll give ourselves until the cock crows on the last night three years from now. And by the way, if I win, I get your soul." Gerhard realizes that he has just made a deal with the Devil himself!
Both Gerhard and Schnüttschräge do whatever they can to best the other. Made aware of the trouble he's in, Gerhard's wife, Hude, trains a rooster to crow on command, and Gerhard's dog to bark whenever the Devil comes around.
As the deadline draws near, Gerhard is haunted by a red duck floating on top of the Devil's waterway, which gets closer and closer day by day. Who will win the bet!?
PRODUCTION
CONSIDERATIONS
Principal Roles (4 Singers)
MEISTER GERHARD...........................................................Tenor
GUDE, Gerhard's wife............................................................. Soprano
THE DEVIL ........................................................................... Bass-Baritone
ROOSTER/DOG/NARRATOR......................................... Mezzo-Soprano
This opera features flexible orchestration options: dual pianos and percussion, a 6-piece ensemble, or a 13-piece chamber orchestra. It can be adapted to traditional stages, intimate black boxes, church sanctuaries, multi-purpose public venues, private parlors, and other non-traditional spaces. Anticipated running time is between 45-70 minutes.
THE COMPOSER
Frank Pesci (b. 1974) is a composer of “… sophisticated music with surprising harmonies.”
His compositions have been performed across North America and Europe. He has written nearly 100 works for the concert stage, including forty choral works, eleven song cycles, nearly twenty chamber and concert scores, and five operas.
Recent commission and collaborative partners include the Cologne Opera (Oper Köln), Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne, Aachen Symphony, SUNY Potsdam, Marble City Opera, UNLV Opera, Boston Conservatory, Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe, Boston Opera Collaborative, London Review of Books, National Book Award winning poet Terrance Hayes, New Music Works, the What is Noise ensemble, Trinity Church in the City of Boston, and Saturday Night Live writer Simon Rich.
He had a twelve-year career as a professional liturgical musician, working across the southern and eastern US, and touring England and France. He served performing arts non-profits throughout the mid-Atlantic and New England regions. He served as Associate Artistic Director of Boston Opera Collaborative, and Executive Director of the New Hampshire Music Festival.
Born in Washington, D.C., he graduated from the University of Cincinnati and the University of Southern Mississippi, where he received the Theodore Presser Award. He studied with Luigi Zaninelli, John Heiss, and Daron Hagen.