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''Thel'' or ''The Lamentations of Thel'' ( or – ) is a chamber opera in four scenes with a prologue by the Russian composer Dmitri N. Smirnov to his own libretto in English after
William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake has become a seminal figure in the history of the Romantic poetry, poetry and visual art of the Roma ...
. It was composed in 1985–1986, and was also translated to Russian.


Subject and creation history

The
opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...
was composed during 1985-1986 in Moscow and Ruza. It is a sequel to another opera based on Blake, '' Tiriel'' (1985). The libretto is based on the very early poem by Blake, " The Book of Thel" (1789), in which he presented part of his immense mythology. Thel, so-called from the Greek word meaning "desire" or "will", is young girl complaining on her future death. There are points of dialogue between two works. And they are interconnected through the common idea of search for a meaning to life, through the place where the action is set, the Valleys of Har – a creation of Blake’s imagination – and also through the similarity of the music material. In the first instance, however, we are dealing with a dramatic tragedy, an illustration of the forces of evil, which brings death and destruction to the world, whereas in the second we have an intimate and lyrical parable-pastoral.


Performance history

World premiere: 9 June 1989,
Almeida Theatre The Almeida Theatre is a 325-seat producing house located on Almeida Street off Upper Street in the London Borough of Islington. The theatre opened in 1980, and produces a diverse range of drama. Successful plays are often transferred to West E ...
, London. * Director: Annabel Arden * Designer: Willow Winston * Soprano: Jane W Davidson * Contralto: Lore Lixemberg * Countertenor: Andrew Watts * Conductor: Jeremy Arden * Company: Théâtre de Complicité Second staging: 29 May 1993, Ballroom Student’s Union,
Keele University Keele University is a Public university#United Kingdom, public research university in Keele, approximately from Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England. Founded in 1949 as the University College of North Staffordshire, it was granted uni ...
,
Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...
. * Director and soprano: Jane Davidson; * Conductor: Rahmil Fishman


Roles

*Thel –
soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...
*Clod of Clay –
contralto A contralto () is a classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range is the lowest of their voice type, voice types. The contralto's vocal range is fairly rare, similar to the mezzo-soprano, and almost identical to ...
*Lily of the Valley – Boy or girl soprano *Cloud –
countertenor A countertenor (also contra tenor) is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range is equivalent to that of the female contralto or mezzo-soprano voice types, generally extending from around G3 to D5 or E5, although a sopranist (a ...
(or soprano) *Worm – Mime *Ghosts – Mixed chamber choir (SATB) :''Time and Place: The Vales of Har, the Places of the Dead'' :''Duration: 52 minutes''


Synopsis

''Scene I.'' The daughters of Mne Seraphim are all shepherdesses in the Vales of Har, apart from the youngest, Thel. She spends her time wandering on her own, trying to find the answer to the question that torments her: why does the springtime of life inevitably fade so that all things must end? She meets the Lily of the Valley who tries to comfort her. When Thel remains uncomforted, the Lily sends her on to ask the Cloud. ''Scene II.'' The Cloud explains that he is part of a natural process and, although he sometimes disappears, he is never gone forever. Thel replies that she is not like the Cloud and when she disappears she will not return. So the Cloud suggests asking the same question of the Worm. ''Scene III.'' The Worm is still a child and cannot answer. Instead it is the Worm’s mother, the Clod of Clay, who answers. The Clod explains that we do not live for ourselves, but for others. She invites Thel to enter into her underground realm and see the places of the dead where Thel herself will one day reside. ''Scene IV.'' Once there, at the places of the dead, however, Thel is assailed by mysterious voices asking a whole series of yet more terrible questions of existence. Uttering a shriek, she flees back to her home in the Vales of Har.


Scoring

*Singers:
soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...
, boy (or girl) soprano,
countertenor A countertenor (also contra tenor) is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range is equivalent to that of the female contralto or mezzo-soprano voice types, generally extending from around G3 to D5 or E5, although a sopranist (a ...
,
contralto A contralto () is a classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range is the lowest of their voice type, voice types. The contralto's vocal range is fairly rare, similar to the mezzo-soprano, and almost identical to ...
,
mime artist A mime artist, or simply mime (from Greek language, Greek , , "imitator, actor"), is a person who uses ''mime'' (also called ''pantomime'' outside of Britain), the acting out of a story through body motions without the use of speech, as a the ...
, mixed chamber choir *Orchestra: flute (piccolo), oboe, clarinet, bassoon, French horn, trumpet, trombone, 2 percussion players (
timpani Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion instrument, percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a Membranophone, membrane called a drumhead, ...
,
jingle bells "Jingle Bells" is one of the most commonly sung Christmas songs in the world. It was written by James Lord Pierpont. It is an unsettled question where and when Pierpont originally composed the song that would become known as "Jingle Bells". It ...
,
triangle A triangle is a polygon with three corners and three sides, one of the basic shapes in geometry. The corners, also called ''vertices'', are zero-dimensional points while the sides connecting them, also called ''edges'', are one-dimension ...
, suspended
cymbal A cymbal is a common percussion instrument. Often used in pairs, cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys. The majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sou ...
,
gong A gongFrom Indonesian language, Indonesian and ; ; zh, c=鑼, p=luó; ; ; ; ; is a percussion instrument originating from Southeast Asia, and used widely in Southeast Asian and East Asian musical traditions. Gongs are made of metal and ...
,
bass drum The bass drum is a large drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. The instrument is typically cylindrical, with the drum's diameter usually greater than its depth, with a struck head at both ends of the cylinder. The head ...
,
tam-tam A gongFrom Indonesian and ; ; zh, c=鑼, p=luó; ; ; ; ; is a percussion instrument originating from Southeast Asia, and used widely in Southeast Asian and East Asian musical traditions. Gongs are made of metal and are circular and fl ...
,
glockenspiel The glockenspiel ( ; or , : bells and : play) or bells is a percussion instrument consisting of pitched aluminum or steel bars arranged in a Musical keyboard, keyboard layout. This makes the glockenspiel a type of metallophone, similar to the v ...
,
tubular bell Tubular bells (also known as chimes) are musical instruments in the percussion family. Their sound resembles that of church bells, carillons, or a bell tower; the original tubular bells were made to duplicate the sound of church bells withi ...
s,
xylophone The xylophone (; ) is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars struck by mallets. Each bar is an idiophone tuned to a pitch of a musical scale, whether pentatonic or heptatonic in the case of many African ...
,
vibraphone The vibraphone (also called the vibraharp) is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using Percussion mallet, mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone ...
)
celesta The celesta () or celeste (), also called a bell-piano, is a struck idiophone operated by a keyboard. It looks similar to an upright piano (four- or five-octave), albeit with smaller keys and a much smaller cabinet, or a large wooden music ...
,
harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orchestras or ...
, 2 violins, viola, violoncello, double bass.


Publishers

*
Boosey & Hawkes Boosey & Hawkes is a British Music publisher (sheet music), music publisher, purported to be the largest specialist classical music publisher in the world. Until 2003, it was also a major manufacturer of brass instrument, brass, string instru ...
,
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
(for the UK, British Commonwealth (excluding Canada) and the Republic of Ireland) * Internationale Musikverlage Hans Sikorski,
Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
.


Quotations

* "The simple opposition between Tiriel, an enraged and exhausted old man, and Thel, a child from the Songs of Innocence has allowed Smirnov to create a pair of works quite different but complementary" (''
Gerard McBurney Gerard McBurney (born 20 June 1954) is a British composer, arranger, broadcaster, teacher and writer. Life Born in Cambridge, England, he is the son of Charles McBurney, an American archaeologist, and Anne Francis Edmondstone (née Charles) ...
'')


External links


Text of Blake’s poemBoosey & Hawkes
{{authority control Chamber operas Russian opera English-language operas Operas Operas by Dmitri Smirnov 1989 operas