Re-realising opera performance for chamber ensemble

Tay, Melvin (2024) Re-realising opera performance for chamber ensemble. Doctoral thesis (PhD), Manchester Metropolitan University.

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Abstract

Chamber arrangements of large-scale works have been gaining popularity in the last decade with professional groups, educational institutions, and amateur opera societies, especially as they reduce costs and allow for performances in small venues. Their use also increased as they allowed for social distancing during the Covid-19 pandemic. However, many arrangements are often poorly executed, and scores include indications pencilled in haphazardly, resulting in time being wasted before and during rehearsals. Therefore, this thesis suggests alternative approaches and explores how we can re-realise opera performance by using chamber arrangements. It will explore the methods which may be used in producing these arrangements, illustrated by my own arrangements and performances (I also conduct the performances) of two operas, a 65-minute version of Puccini’s La bohème that was performed in November 2021 and Lehár’s The Merry Widow that was performed in April 2023. There is little literature on how a chamber arrangement of an opera might be made, with reduced forces and reduced duration. Hence, in order to construct a framework for my own arrangement, I proposed a list of ten factors to consider when producing an opera arrangement. I also documented my process of arranging the two operas with regards to the ten factors. And finally, I designed a questionnaire that would be able to capture useful data from the audience, singers and instrumentalists involved in the performances. By undertaking this research, I found out that the ten factors were comprehensive in making sure that all aspects of producing an opera arrangement were considered. They consider the entire journey from the genesis of a project regarding its purpose and vision, which leads onto the arranging process, and finally towards the performance, after which, feedback is obtained. There is much that arrangers may learn from the research presented in this thesis such as the methods by which I employed the use of current timbre research to analyse an original score through the listening process and translating that into my own arrangement.