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God's Liar
An opera after Tolstoy
Libretto by Emma Warner and John Casken
John Casken’s second opera is based on Tolstoy’s novella Father Sergius. God’s Liar follows the moral and spiritual journey of cavalry officer Stepan Kasatsky as he embraces and then resigns the church, ending his life as a vagrant in Siberia.
John Casken and Emma Warner’s libretto tells his epic story through the eyes of a modern day film maker, who makes a script from the fragments of Father Sergius’s life.
Edition: Performance material
Product Details
Description
Father Sergius, Tolstoy’s short story on which God’s Liar is based, follows Sergius’ long journey through life. We first see him as a young man fully in command with a bright future. Betrayed by his fiancée, his vanity leads him to seek an escape from his present world, a decision that finally results in poverty and vagrancy.
This haunting and disturbing tale speaks forcefully to us in any age. However, the synopsis has been developed to include our own time, casting the even-numbered scenes in the present, whilst following the basic line of Tolstoy’s original story. After the opening scene set in the 19th century, we then find Stephen, a young academic of today whose research is based on the discovery and transcription of the diaries of a 19th century Russian hermit, and who is persuaded to sell the fruits of his research to the film industry.
Stephen, shocked by what Hollywood has done with his work, becomes obsessed with finding out the truth behind Sergius’ actions. As the opera progresses, the two centuries begin to merge and, in the final scene, the story thrusts Sergius/Stepan, now an old beggar, onto a modern street where he is taunted by a crowd. Stephen recognises him, rescues him and is joined by a woman from the crowd, a figure who seems to be the woman from his own past and also to represent all those in Stepan’s life. The search for truth which has occupied both Stepan and Stephen has provided no answers, only darkness and silence: perhaps this is the final lie. The thread that runs throughout the opera returns with the woman’s final lines: “one good deed... worth more than all the lies...”
This haunting and disturbing tale speaks forcefully to us in any age. However, the synopsis has been developed to include our own time, casting the even-numbered scenes in the present, whilst following the basic line of Tolstoy’s original story. After the opening scene set in the 19th century, we then find Stephen, a young academic of today whose research is based on the discovery and transcription of the diaries of a 19th century Russian hermit, and who is persuaded to sell the fruits of his research to the film industry.
Stephen, shocked by what Hollywood has done with his work, becomes obsessed with finding out the truth behind Sergius’ actions. As the opera progresses, the two centuries begin to merge and, in the final scene, the story thrusts Sergius/Stepan, now an old beggar, onto a modern street where he is taunted by a crowd. Stephen recognises him, rescues him and is joined by a woman from the crowd, a figure who seems to be the woman from his own past and also to represent all those in Stepan’s life. The search for truth which has occupied both Stepan and Stephen has provided no answers, only darkness and silence: perhaps this is the final lie. The thread that runs throughout the opera returns with the woman’s final lines: “one good deed... worth more than all the lies...”
Orchestral Cast
1(afl,pic).1(ca).2(1.ssax,bcl,2.asax,Ebcl,bcl).1(cbsn)-1.1.1.0-perc(b.d, tam-t, gong, 2tub bells, bell plate, 4tom-t, 3cow bells [lg/med/sm], 3tempbl, field dr, s.d, bass pedal dr, sus cym, sizz cym, Chinese cym, clash cym, bell tree, vib, sleigh bells, marac, vibraslap, guiro, glass wind chimes, musical saw)-hp-3vn.2va.2vc.db
Cast
Prince Stepan Kasatsky / Father Sergius · bass-baritone - Stephen · tenor - Countess Marie Korotkova / Mary / Makovkina / Film Star / Girl / Pasha / The Woman · soprano - chorus (MzMzTTBarBar)
More Information
Title:
God's Liar
An opera after Tolstoy
Libretto by Emma Warner and John Casken
Language:
English
Edition:
Performance material
Publisher/Label:
Schott Music Ltd., London
Year of composition:
1999 - 2000
Duration:
110 ′
World Premiere:
July 6, 2001 · London (UK)
King's Cross
Father Sergius: Omar Ebrahim; Stephen: Jeffrey Lentz; The Woman: Anne Bolstad; Mezzo: Louise Innes; Mezzo: Louise Mott; Tenor: Henry Moss; Tenor: Daniel Norman; Baritone: Alastair Hamilton; Baritone: Michael Burke · Conductor: Ronald Zollman · The Almeida Ensemble
Original staging: Keith Warner · Set desing: John Lloyd Davies
King's Cross
Father Sergius: Omar Ebrahim; Stephen: Jeffrey Lentz; The Woman: Anne Bolstad; Mezzo: Louise Innes; Mezzo: Louise Mott; Tenor: Henry Moss; Tenor: Daniel Norman; Baritone: Alastair Hamilton; Baritone: Michael Burke · Conductor: Ronald Zollman · The Almeida Ensemble
Original staging: Keith Warner · Set desing: John Lloyd Davies
Technical Details
Product number:
LSL 1305-01
Performances
God's Liar
KlangBogen Wien 2004
Conductor: Walter Kobéra
Orchestra: Amadeus Ensemble Wien
August 19, 2004 |
Wien (Austria) , Akademie der Bildenden Künste, Atelierhaus (Semper-Depot)
God's Liar
KlangBogen Wien 2004
Conductor: Walter Kobéra
Orchestra: Amadeus Ensemble Wien
August 16, 2004 |
Wien (Austria) , Akademie der Bildenden Künste, Atelierhaus (Semper-Depot)
God's Liar
KlangBogen Wien 2004
Conductor: Walter Kobéra
Orchestra: Amadeus Ensemble Wien
August 11, 2004 |
Wien (Austria) , Akademie der Bildenden Künste, Atelierhaus (Semper-Depot)
God's Liar
KlangBogen Wien 2004
Conductor: Walter Kobéra
Orchestra: Amadeus Ensemble Wien
August 5, 2004 |
Wien (Austria) , Akademie der Bildenen Künste, Atelierthaus (Semper-Depot)
God's Liar
KlangBogen Wien 2004
Conductor: Walter Kobéra
Orchestra: Amadeus Ensemble Wien
August 2, 2004 |
Wien (Austria) , Akademie der Bildenen Künste, Atelierhaus (Semper-Depot) — National Premiere
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