Tamanduá

an opera by João MacDowell

Listen:

|   Main Characters: |

Carol: bird, soprano – American woman, journalist.

Aruanan: anteater, baritone – Street poet.

Pedro: jaguar. tenor – Brazilian man who’s lived in the US, drug dealer.

Julia: she-wolf, mezzo – Brazilian woman, mother of Sofia (daughter of Aruanan).

| Plus: |

Jose & NY Editor: Tenor (1 Comprimario, may come from chorus)

Solo Dancers: 4 Animal Spirits

Instrumentation:

2 Flutes (both double on piccolo)

1 Oboe

1 Clarinet in Bb

1 Bassoon

2 Horns

2 Trumpets in C

2 Trombones

Tuba

Timpani (4 kettles)

3 Percussionists

Violins I, II

Violas

Cellos

Basses

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Check: Scene by Scene

Program Notes by Prof. Jeffrey Gall:

(for the Performance by the Montclair State University Opera Workshop, Alexander Kasser Theater, Peak Performances – December 2009)

Tamanduá is conceived as a meeting place, whose physical symbol is water: the frontier between land and sea, the boundary separating New York from Rio, the mysterious source of life and (as blood) death. The opera’s protagonists bring their hopes and desires, fears and prejudices to a series of encounters, as their fates cross at the water’s edge. A larger spiritual context surrounds their experience, relating the plot to the African Brazilian religion of Candomblé and the native shamanic rituals of Pajelança. The role of the chorus oscillates between the realistic (dance-hall crowd) and the hieratic (the witches).

Deriving archetypes from the indigenous animism, the opera assigns an animal soul to each of the characters. These spirits are not merely symbols, like the Orishas, or patron deities of Candomblé, they lend the protagonists special characteristics and guide their fates. Carol is perpetually in flight. Julia is a mother as well as a lover. Pedro is a quicksilver and predatory figure; Aruanan, earthly and direct.

Aesthetically speaking, Tamanduá is a trans-cultural hybrid. It is sung in English, Brazilian Portuguese and various indigenous tongues. The libretto employs a wide range of tone from slang to soaring lyricism. The music embraces elements of classical modernist compositional techniques, Western pop, Brazilian popular styles (samba, bossa nova, baiao) and indigenous chant.

More Info:

www.tamanduaopera.com

http://joaomacdowell.com/guided-tour/opera/opera-tamandua/


3 Acts: 2h40min
Languages: Portuguese and English
Cast (5): sop, mezzo, 2 tenors, baritone.
Orchestra: 2fl, 1ob, 1cl, 1bs, 2hr, 2tp, 2tb, tba timp, 3 perc, strings. Plus Chorus.
Chamber version: Piano, cello and percussion.

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