Shared Dramatic Pacing in Jake Heggie's Three Decembers
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James Madison University JMU Scholarly Commons Dissertations, 2020-current The Graduate School 5-7-2020 Shared dramatic pacing in Jake Heggie's Three Decembers Cynthia Wohlschlager Follow this and additional works at: https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/diss202029 Part of the Music Pedagogy Commons, Music Performance Commons, and the Music Practice Commons Recommended Citation Wohlschlager, Cynthia, "Shared dramatic pacing in Jake Heggie's Three Decembers" (2020). Dissertations, 2020-current. 14. https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/diss202029/14 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the The Graduate School at JMU Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations, 2020-current by an authorized administrator of JMU Scholarly Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Shared Dramatic Pacing in Jake Heggie’s Three Decembers Cynthia Skelley-Wohlschlager A Doctor of Musical Arts Document submitted to the Graduate Faculty of JAMES MADISON UNIVERSITY In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts School of Music May 2020 ________________________________________________________________________ FACULTY COMMITTEE: Committee Chair: Professor Kevin McMillan M.M. Committee Members/Readers: Don Rierson, Ph.D. Jamison Walker, D.M.A. Acknowledgments I want to thank my Committee Chair, Kevin McMillan M.M., for helping me to understand what my contribution to this art form can be, for holding the highest standards in the pursuance of excellence in this field while remaining human and kind, and for his sincere dedication in helping me with this document. His countless hours of creative and intelligent editing and professional guidance have been fundamental to me during this process. I want to thank Dr. Don Rierson, Ph.D., for interesting and informational discussions about opera, for expanding my awareness of the bigger picture, and for sharing his wisdom about avoiding the over-stressing of the small stuff. Thank you for sharing your editing and academic writing experience in a way that greatly influenced the shape of this document. I want to thank Dr. Jamison Walker D.M.A., for sharing his boundless energy and enthusiasm for this art form, for his insistence that I trust my voice, and for his knowledgeable guidance and advice. I want to recognize his professional dedication by agreeing to become one of my document readers at the end of a busy semester. ii Table of Contents Acknowledgments...............................................................................................................ii List of Tables. ....................................................................................................................iv List of Figures......................................................................................................................v Abstract ............................................................................................................................viii Introduction..........................................................................................................................1 I. Three Decembers Creative Team: Collaboration on 21st Century Topics.......................3 II. Heggie's Musical Style: Tracing Motif and Investigating Shared Dramatic Pacing.....18 III. Rehearsal environment and performance techniques for Heggie operas.....................46 Conclusion.........................................................................................................................60 Opportunities for Future Research.....................................................................................62 Appendices Compositions for the Operatic Stage, Jake Heggie...............................................64 List of Awards, Terrence McNally........................................................................68 Three Decembers Synopsis....................................................................................70 Understanding the Social Climate.........................................................................74 Full AIDS Quote, Terrence McNally.....................................................................77 Three Decembers Whole Work Map Excerpt from Part One Scene1...................78 A list of character mentions by another character and what was said...................79 Note by Jake Heggie..............................................................................................85 First the Words by Jake Heggie.............................................................................87 Interview with Jake Heggie...................................................................................93 Bibliography....................................................................................................................116 iii List of Tables Table 1. Whole-Work Mapping........................................................................................77 Table 2. Scene Mapping....................................................................................................54 iv List of Figures Figure 1. Three Decembers, Part One, Scene 1, Madeline Mitchell Theme, mm.1-10.....20 Figure 2. Three Decembers, Part One, Scene 1, Madeline Mitchell Motif (MMM), m.1.22 Figure 3. Three Decembers, Part One, Scene 1, MMM rhythm sung by Charlie when explaining his mother's Christmas letter, mm. 75-77........................................................23 Figure 4. Three Decembers, Part One, Scene 1, MMM sung by Charlie on the text "Madeline Mitchell," MMM sung by Charlie: "Theater icon," MMM sung by Bea on "American sweetheart of the stage," mm. 79-84...............................................................24 Figure 5. Three Decembers, Part One, Scene 1, rhythm of MMM sung by Bea on the text: "dream of it!" and "A nobody," mm. 104-106...................................................................25 Figure 6. Three Decembers, Part One, Scene 1, Heggie is building the intensity, anticipating the onstage entrance of Madeline..................................................................25 Figure 7. Three Decembers, Part One, Scene 1, MMM sung in unison by Bea and Charlie on the text "Madeline Mitchell," mm. 118-119.................................................................26 Figure 8. Three Decembers, Part One, Scene 1, MMM played by the orchestra in response to Charlie and Bea singing Madeline's name, m. 119........................................26 Figure 9. Three Decembers, Part One, Scene 1, MMM in the orchestra bookending Maddy's sung line, mm. 135-139.......................................................................................27 Figure 10. Three Decembers, Part One, Scene 1, MMM in the orchestra underneath and connecting Maddy's sung lines, mm. 144-148...................................................................28 Figure 11. Three Decembers, Part One, Scene 1, MMM rhythm sung by Maddy, mm. 158-159..............................................................................................................................28 Figure 12. Three Decembers, Part One, Scene 1, MMM sung by Charlie and played by the orchestra, mm. 180-181...............................................................................................29 Figure 13. Three Decembers, Part One, Scene 1, MMM rhythm sung by Maddy and Bea followed by the orchestra plays the MMM underneath Charlie's refusal to go, mm. 304- 305......................................................................................................................................29 Figure 14. Three Decembers, Part One, Scene 1, MMM in the orchestra as Charlie and Bea sing of their exasperation with their Mother, mm. 310-311.......................................30 v Figure 15. Three Decembers, Part One, Scene 1, MMM rhythm sung by Maddy and Charlie as she asks him to give his partner 'Curt' a hug from her, mm. 315-317.............30 Figure 16. Three Decembers, Part One, Scene 1, Gossip motif, mm. 34-36....................32 Figure 17. Three Decembers, Part One, Scene 1, Maddy Motif, mm.66-68.....................33 Figure 18. Three Decembers, Part One, Scene 1, Maddy Motif while Madeline is singing, mm. 149-151......................................................................................................................34 Figure 19. Three Decembers, Part One, Scene 1, use of compound meter while Maddy is singing, mm. 199-203........................................................................................................34 Figure 20. Three Decembers, Part One, Scene 1, Heggie's use of shared dramatic pacing, mm. 85-90..........................................................................................................................35 Figure 21. Three Decembers, Part One, Scene 1, Charlie and Burt's Love Motif, mm. 369-371......................................................................................................................36 Figure 22. Three Decembers, Part One, Scene 1, Heggie uses breath marks and fermata for dramatic pacing, mm. 426-428....................................................................................36 Figure 23. Three Decembers, Part One, Scene 1, Charlie and Burt Love Motif, mm. 435-440......................................................................................................................23 Figure 24. Three Decembers, Part One, Scene 1, Heggie uses fermatas to create awkward tension for dramatic pacing, mm. 591-595........................................................24